Let's Talk About Isla

HannahO28

I've been meaning to post this for awhile now. Isla comes up on this board so often and I think it is so pretty. It is obviously getting more popular. There is an actress named Isla. Scottish names in general are getting more popular....

I love this name...but despite all it's growing popularity, I fear that no one IRL knows how to pronounce it. I think most people on the board know how to say it. I've gotten attached to this board and it is getting hard for me to gauge exactly how much 'real people' know about baby names. 

Does anyone know and Isla IRL? Does she have problems with pronunciation? Do you think the rising popularity will make the name easier to recognize and pronounce in the near future?  

Thoughts? 

ETA: For anyone who doesn't know, it is pronounced EYE-la 

HappyMrsK

I don't know anyone IRL named Isla, but I think most people would be able to pronounce it. It's a sound similar to Island or Isle so if anyone was unsure, you could always point that out.

MrsHughesNC

I would pronounce it "Eye-la," but only because of the actress Isla Fisher.

Otherwise, I'd probably pronounce it "iss-la" or "eece-la," like Madonna's song "La Isla Bonita" (because I'm a child of the 80s and used to skate around my friend's pool table to that song in my lavendar skates with pink fat laces. )

sunflower8710

Wellll. I know somebody named "Isla" who insists its pronounce "Iz-la," personally, I think her mom had a baby name book without a pronunciation guide!

Also: Feel free to flame away if that really is how you pronounce it, lol

starbuckker

Isla is absolutely my favorite girl name in the english language BUT I am terrified of using it because I don't want a name for my daughter that she would spend her life correcting.

I've talked to my co-workers about it, and none of them have heard of it, and about half of them pronounced it "is-la" instead of "eye-la".

It's unfortunate. I'm hoping though, with it growing in popularity people will start pronouncing it correctly.

strangebird

I met my very FIRST Isla in real life less than a month ago. She's eleven-weeks old. It is, however, gaining popularity rapidly. I have a strong suspicion it will be time-stamped trendy, as it's extremely rapid rise reminds me of the trend Justine experienced in the 1990s. 

I think I have a pretty good grasp of what the average person knows and feels about names. I don't think most people will instinctively know how to pronounce Isla. I also don't think that most people will have heard of it, unless they have young children, despite its popularity. So, it likely means there will be a lot of pronunciation and spelling questions.

homediva

Before I started looking into names, I thought it was pronounced Izz-la. Now I know better, but I feel like a lot of people would still think it is pronounced Iss-la. My mom's name is Lila, which is also becoming popular, which could be a nice alternative without the pronunciation worry. 

onemorethyme

it's pretty, but it makes me think of madonna's song  "la isla bonita"

also having a name that people don't know how to say is very aggrivating to everyone IMO

JaysonandKristin

I know a three year old Isla.  Her family pronounces it Eye-luh

Spookster

My co-workers name is ila pronouced the same as isla I like isla personally but agree that most people will butcher the pronounciation.

braveangel2

I don't worry about the pronunciation honestly. If you introduce Isla a few times, people will get the hang of it. This is usually one of my "don't dumb down a child's name because of anothers lack of experience or knowledge" names.

Its jumped up in popularity by leaps and bounds, and I bet it would be just a smidge higher if there weren't attempts to make it more phonetic. It's lovely as it is, and if the popularity leap doesn't bother you, then I say keep it on the list.

That said, I don't know anyone named Isla (in person), and I didn't know how to pronounce it the first time, but I remember it easily now.

azuremama

I think it's becoming popular enough that a lot of people will pronounce it right.  If not, I think pointing out that it's like "island" would be enough.  I wouldn't pick it if you're going to get mad if anyone ever mispronounces it, but I think it's a very pretty name and wouldn't cause too many problems.

TanyaKM

It's my top pick for a girl. I love it... and honestly, people mispronounce names all the time. I have to correct people all the time and I think my name is pronounced pretty much how it is spelled -- Tanya -- so you never know when someone will have a problem with a particular name. I'm not going to let it dissuade me from a name I love.  

britab

I have friend named Isla but spelled Ila. I think it adds to the confusion that Isla (E-s-luh) means island in Spanish and there are a lot of Spanish speakers in the US.

sraexx

Oh my goodness, I was going to post the same question only, I'm Spanish. I have known only one Spanish Isla (ezz-la) and the board and general consensus is the Scottish version, but I love it for a little Spanish baby girl but I am pretty sure we would be told forever that we were buchering a Scottish name. Our last name is Spanish as heck thoug so that would probably help.

eouellet

I don't really get the fear about the name being mispronounced.  First, I feel that the "Eye-la" pronunciation is fairly intuitive, but I guess there are plenty of people here who disagree...But regardless, so the kid has to correct a few teachers on the first day of school during roll call - who cares?  It's not like people won't thereafter remember how to pronounce it properly.  My name is Elizabeth - obviously the pronunciation is easy, but I've ALWAYS had teachers, coworkers, bosses, etc. ask me if I prefer a nickname (I don't.)  No skin off my back, and I don't think that would stop anyone from naming a child Elizabeth or any other commonly nicknamed names.

 

FWIW, I really like the name Isla.

alohamora

strangebird:

I met my very FIRST Isla in real life less than a month ago. She's eleven-weeks old. It is, however, gaining popularity rapidly. I have a strong suspicion it will be time-stamped trendy, as it's extremely rapid rise reminds me of the trend Justine experienced in the 1990s. 

I think I have a pretty good grasp of what the average person knows and feels about names. I don't think most people will instinctively know how to pronounce Isla. I also don't think that most people will have heard of it, unless they have young children, despite its popularity. So, it likely means there will be a lot of pronunciation and spelling questions.

Thanks, strangebird!  I was going to post exactly the bolded parts.

SummerBaby12

I saw someone I know on facebook last year name their daughter that.  I had never seen the name Isla in my life...I was like what is    is la...that is how I thought it was pronounced.  We grow up getting taught that is means is....so I would not know its pronounced eyesla....

eouellet

SummerBaby12:

We grow up getting taught that is means is....so I would not know its pronounced eyesla....

 

Do you pronounce "island" ISS-land, then?

Ali080605

My Daughter's name is Isla.

We get a lot of the Hispanic pronunciation errors, but we brought that on ourselves b/c our last name can be Hispanic.  While I do correct, I don't mind.  I think "Ez-la" is pretty too.

After an initial correction, almost no one makes a repeat mistake & many people get it right the first time.  We also get tons of compliments on her name.

Mispronunciation most often occurs with calls from schedulers at the Dr.'s office (DD has a variety of specialists, so the error occurs more often for us than it probably will for you.)

Re: Popularity - DD was the first Isla at our pedi's office.  Since DD was born there have been 3 other Isla's starting at our pedi's office.  It is a large practice, but for a name that was unknown a few years ago, that is a sharp increase.

 

fraglette

As pps have pointed out - depending on region/culture it is proper to pronounce it Ees-la or Eye-la.  I've met both.  I think given that, you might need to correct some people, but I wouldn't think you'd need to correct them more than once.