Name spelling help + am I psycho? :)

Free2Sing

MH & I are now throwing around the name Isla-- or Ila.  Pronounced eye-luh.

It's not a common name, but what do you think is the most common spelling?  My great-grandma had the same name (although we're not naming the kid after her, per se) and spelled it Ila, but I don't have an attachment to that spelling.  I've just seen it spelled Isla so much more, that I feel that's the common spelling-- but MH feels differently.  I don't care either way, although I prefer the look of Isla when it's spelled out.

But then that leads to the debate of "will people call her is-luh?"  I asked my 9 year old niece how she thought I-s-l-a would be pronounced & she told me about a boy in her class named Isle- pronounced: "eyes-lee"  I wanted to beat my head against a wall & definitely don't want people to do that when they hear my kids name!

2nd question: Our very favorite boy name in the entire world-- that we swear we definitely want to use as a first name for our first boy--- is the same great-grandmother's maiden name.  Is that totally weird that (potentially) our kids would have her first & maiden name?  That seems slightly psycho to me, but the only ppl that would know would be my family.  She passed away 2 years ago.  It's not that she was this magical lady that I want to name my kids after-- she wasn't bad or anything, just wasn't super duper close with her.  But I love her first name & her maiden name & really want to use them for kids.

Sascha3

It's not psycho at all if you love the names!

I always read Isla as ees-la.  Like in the Madonna song, La Isla Bonita.  Is the actress Isla Fisher an eye-la or an ees-la?

missesBAD

I would definitely spell it Isla, and I LOVE the name. I think MOST ppl would pronounce it correctly. 

And yes, you are pyscho. Just kidding! Seriously, I would not worry about the connection to your great-grandmother. No one knows but you and I bet many ppl in your family wouldn't even put it together.  

ronnie day

I think any name that you have to tell people how to pronounce it is annoying.  JMO.

It's the exact reason we decided against Emme, after DH's great gramma, because it's Scottish for Emma which we love, but we didn't want to have to keep explaining to people that it was pronounced Emma, not Emmeeeeeee.

 

Waiting4myJulyBaby

So funny that you post this tonight, I have my sweet 6 yr old niece Ayla curled up in bed with me sound asleep (my husband is working overnight and her parents are at the hospital with her sick sister, but I wish she was here every night!)

Just like the name you've posted it's pronounced Eye-Luh but she says teachers and other students always call her "Aye-Luh"

When ever I see Isla I pronounce it as Eye-Luh, I've never seen the spelling Ila, but I do like it- although it looks like two lower case L's to me and confuses me!  

m1ssl1ss

if you think back, how many times did someone new have to say your name out loud? not enough to matter in my opinion.
It's a beautiful name and the spelling makes sense.

As far as a future boy name, who cares? As your mind originally thought, there is no problem with ending up using a complete name from a family member. You're over thinking it take a breather

Free2Sing

Waiting4myJulyBaby:

So funny that you post this tonight, I have my sweet 6 yr old niece Ayla curled up in bed with me sound asleep (my husband is working overnight and her parents are at the hospital with her sick sister, but I wish she was here every night!)

Just like the name you've posted it's pronounced Eye-Luh but she says teachers and other students always call her "Aye-Luh"

When ever I see Isla I pronounce it as Eye-Luh, I've never seen the spelling Ila, but I do like it- although it looks like two lower case L's to me and confuses me!  

That's the exact reason why I don't like Ila-- looks like LLA typed out, and has potential to be confusing when handwritten as well.

Basically, I don't want our kid to have to explain her name all the time. 

kcvasquez

Isla is a very pretty name! I do understand how it can be mispronounced but these days it will be the most normal name in her class next to Heathyer and Addysyn!

ashleypet

ISLA is eyela

Sascha3

ashleypet:

ISLA is eyela

I don't think I have ever come across an Isla in real life, so I didn't know how to pronounce it.  I do think it is a very pretty name though!

selenawrites

I love Isla, and would pronounce it eye-la, but my friend who is a whiskey geek already claimed that one

ambs21

I think Isla is the common spelling for the pronunciation EYE-luh, but I do think you will have some people mispronounce it.  I do not prefer the Ila spelling.  As previously stated, it kind of looks like LLA.  As for using family names, I think that's great, and I don't think anyone will judge for them both being after (sort of) your G-Gma.  Good luck choosing!

Free2Sing

Thank you ladies!  You've made me feel much better & less psycho!  We had the earthquake yesterday & spent today prepping for an impending hurricane, and this weekend (while hurricane is supposed to hit) we are babysitting a friend's 10 month old-- and we've never had a kid for more than a few hours at a time!    So those things could be contributing to my psycho feelings today.

Now to just convince MH that Isla is the way to go...  good thing we have 4.5 months left! 

Annya26

I have a client named Isla and think it's a lovely name. I never even questioned the pronunciation. To me Ila looks like LLA as pp said, as well I read it ill-ah at first glance. 

miababy

Definitely Isla!  I LOVE the name and know how to say it.  My neighbor named her daughter Isla and gets tons of compliments.  She says she rarely has to correct people and we don't live in the most worldly area.  I knew the name though before she named her that.

 No, you're not crazy - name your kiddos the names you love!  

JerryLaines

I would definitely go for "Isla" whenever I see the name spelt that way I consider it "eye-luh".  Its kind of like the word aisle, you don't say "ay-sle" so I don't understand why people pronounce "Isla" as "is-la" JMO.  

And you are not crazy for liking a name.  If you and your husband absolutely love the name then go for it!  Also, if they ask if you named the boy after your GG then tell them no and you didn't even realize it or something like that. 

njkitty

If I saw the name Isla, I would swear up and down it should be pronounced "EES-lah" since that it is the spanish word for island and that's how it is pronounced in spanish.

If you want "eye-lah" I would spell it Ayla. 

Pacheco825

I would spell it Ila. I think if you put an s in it, it would be pronounced wrong.

luckylindy

I would spell it Isla. I think most people would pronounce it correctly.