Alternate spelling?

Nmschultz · September 2012

I can guess why the general consensus will be, and I agree, but I wanted to post so I can give the feedback to my husband.

Is there an alternate spelling for Isla? I love the name and spelling, and he likes how it sounds, but HATES the spelling! He is afraid our baby (if one is a girl) would always be correcting people on the pronunciation.

evaazalea · September 2012

If it helps, it is becoming a much more common name and people are learning the pronunciation. Yes, not everyone will get it, but correcting it is easy, my own name has two different pronouciations so I do have to correct people, it's not a huge deal. Having to give out a weird spelling to everyone would be far more annoying and I cannot think of a good alternative.

CayleighDawn · September 2012

I've seen it spelled Ayla, but prefer Isla by a long shot. I think people tend to know how to pronounce it because of Isla Fischer.

beckymonster · September 2012

I didn't know it was pronounced Ayla until I read this post. If I wanted to use the name Ayla, I would definitely spell it Ayla. I would think Isla would be pronounced Izla.

stahlop · September 2012

I've seen it spelled Ayla (which I prefer) and Ila (which looks like Ill-ah to me).

MrsAery-to-be · September 2012

I had a patient in today whose name was pronounced "Isla" but she spelled it Ila. I guess that might be an option altho I like the original spelling better. This is a name that we are also considering if #2 is a girl.

swimiz500 · September 2012

SIL is named Isla, and people pretty much never have a problem pronouncing it. It is a nice name and I don't think she'd have to correct very many people these days.

alliejo725 · September 2012

CayleighDawn:
I've seen it spelled Ayla, but prefer Isla by a long shot. I think people tend to know how to pronounce it because of Isla Fischer.

This. Ayla actually looks more confusing to me, and my impulse would be to say "AYE-luh" (rather than EYE-luh).

A friend of mine bought a house from an elderly couple, and the wife spelled her name Ila. But like PP said, I think Isla looks better.

scorch · September 2012

Nmschultz:
I can guess why the general consensus will be, and I agree, but I wanted to post so I can give the feedback to my husband.
Is there an alternate spelling for Isla? I love the name and spelling, and he likes how it sounds, but HATES the spelling! He is afraid our baby (if one is a girl) would always be correcting people on the pronunciation.

My DD is named Isla and we do have an issue , mostly at the drs office with having to correct the nurses. My mom grew up with a friend who's moms name was spelled Ila , buti like it with the s better.

BethPSU · September 2012

We just named DD Isla and yes a lot of people are unfamiliar with it or unsure how to pronounce it. That said, once we tell them people seem to get it pretty quickly. The other spellings look wrong to me. I would not pronounce Ayla the same as Isla and Ila looks ugly and confusing to me.

MrsFoof · September 2012

How is Isla supposed to be pronounced? I assumed it was Eas-la.

I like Ayla (A-la).

scorch · September 2012

Ayla is a different name with a different meaning and a different pronunciation . Its not an alternate of Isla.

scorch · September 2012

MrsFoof:
How is Isla supposed to be pronounced? I assumed it was Eas-la.

I like Ayla (A-la).

Eye-la. the s is silent like Island.

Nmschultz · September 2012

Thanks for the feedback...now to convince the hubby

JaneDrewAK · September 2012

Is this conversation ridiculous to anyone else?
Isla is not that weird of a name, pronounced EYEla like island or isle. Ayla is a totally different name pronounced AYla like say or way. Ila looks strange because of how similar an uppercase i and lowercase L are written.

Zimger · September 2012

scorch:
MrsFoof:

How is Isla supposed to be pronounced? I assumed it was Eas-la.

I like Ayla (A-la).

Eye-la. the s is silent like Island.

This is how I would pronounce Isla. If someone can pronounce Isle as in "Emerald Isle" properly then they should not have any issue with Isla. Ayla is pronounced Ay-la and is a different name.

af1274 · September 2012

Well, if you change the spelling of it, she will either be correcting the pronunciation or correcting the spelling. It seems counterproductive to me. She will have to correct something, so it might as well be the pronunciation.

FWIW, I think Isla is a much prettier than Ayla, and I don't think the pronunciation is difficult to grasp.

macchiatto · September 2012

JaneDrewAK:
Is this conversation ridiculous to anyone else? Isla is not that weird of a name, pronounced EYEla like island or isle. Ayla is a totally different name pronounced AYla like say or way. Ila looks strange because of how similar an uppercase i and lowercase L are written.

I agree with all of the above. I absolutely love the name Isla. I grew up with a neighbor named Ila and that version isn't as appealing to me and like you said, it looks odd typed.

thetheisens · September 2012

I think it's insulting to the name and it's history and heritage to misspell it. If you love the name, spell it correctly. Besides, plenty of people mispronounce names that seem obvious. Isla is a beautiful name.

JMU_Bride09 · September 2012

I agree with PP...I can't think of anything better. Isla definitely looks way better than Ila. And I would definitely pronounce Ayla as AYE-LAH rather than EYE-LAH. If it helps, you can tell your husband about my experience. I have an extremely uncommon name and have spent my entire life correctly both the pronounciation and spelling (even to close family members). It is annoying, but I would never change my name for the world. I love it, and I love being the only ____ I've ever met. It's a personal preference; some people would hate it. But you can't know ahead of time how your children will feel, so if that's the only objection that YH has, he shouldn't worry about it. You could give her a more common name that people know how to spell and pronounce, and she may wish she had a more uncommon name. You just don't know. Go with what you love, and don't worry about other people

guilletskichuk · September 2012

Before reading all of the above posts I was going to suggest the name Ayla. Not because I think it is pronounced the same way but because I think it is an equally beautiful name which might not be as difficult to pronounce.

I agree with the PPs who said that most should not have trouble with the name if they know how to pronounce isle etc. But I've heard people pronounce Isla incorrectly.

I went to school with a girl whose middle name is Islay, pronounced Isla. I always liked the sound of the name and hadn't seen the proper spelling of it until several years later.

Now I wonder if my gf who named her daughter Ayla pronounces it Aye-la or Eye-la. I never thought it COULD be anything other than Aye-la. My gf had her daughter two years ago but we haven't spoken in person or on the phone since. She lives a few provinces away and we only communicate via FB these days. Hmm...curious.

jupiterthecat · September 2012

I think that as the name gets more popular, people will upon hearing it assume the correct spelling of Isla, and it will end up being more annoying for her if she has a different spelling. It might be like spelling Michael Mikle or something-- it might make more sense phonetically, but still confus people because it's unexpected. And frankly, part of the charm of the name is the spelling.

plunderb · September 2012

I agree w/ PP ? I would pronounce Ayla as rhyming with Kayla, not like Isla.

There are some alternatives, though.

I have a friend named Aili (EYE-lee), which is Finnish, but I think is also used in other Northern European countries. I don't think Aila is a recognized alternative, but it could work. There's also Aili/Ailidh, which is Irish for light, but that's pronounced AY-lee.

There's also Ayelet (EYE-let), like the writer Ayelet Waldman. Other sound-alike names: Eileen, Ida, Aida.

I agree that Isla will become more familiar to more people in the next decade as it continues to increase in popularity. I do agree w/ your SO, though ? I think it sounds pretty, but the spelling looks wonky, especially in a sans-serif font.

mypalbabs · September 2012

"Isla" in Spanish (meaning island, as in "la isla bonita") is pronounced ees-lah. Depending on the make up of your community, people may default to the Spanish-language pronunciation.

LadyXaverian · September 2012

JaneDrewAK:
Is this conversation ridiculous to anyone else? Isla is not that weird of a name, pronounced EYEla like island or isle. Ayla is a totally different name pronounced AYla like say or way. Ila looks strange because of how similar an uppercase i and lowercase L are written.

Get out of my brain! These were all of my thoughts as well.

april262011 · September 2012

My neighbors name is spelled ila. She is in her mid eighties.

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