Indonesian girl name that also sounds good in English -- Alia?

KellyinHB · December 2014

Hello! I am wandering over here from the July 2015 BMB, as I hear this board is filled with some brilliant insight.

Here's our naming situation: DH's background is Indonesian, and we'd really like to have a name that sounds good both in Indonesian and English.

We're both loving the name Alia as a girl's name. Pronounced Ah-lee-a. It works really well in Indonesian, so we're good there.

Questions: As an English language name.....

Does it sound too unusual?
Will people constantly spell or pronounce it wrong?
Anything else I am not thinking of?

Thanks so much for any insight!!

Bluediamondgirl · December 2014

I think it's pretty. It seems like there are a ton of different spellings for this name, so I'm not even sure which one is most common. I think no matter how you spell it, she'll have to spell it out for people. I think most people would be able to pronounce it correctly though

KellyinHB · December 2014

Thank you for the feedback! In Indonesian, it is spelled Alia. I know... I have seen several spellings, too.

amalama · December 2014

I think it is easy to pronounce, but spelling might be more of a problem. Of the two, I think it would bother me more to be mispronounced though. I really like it though, it's a pretty name!

nurse714 · December 2014

I think Alia would be pronounced correctly for the most part, but she would probably have to spell her name out all the time. I know plenty of Alias and they all spell it Aaliyah. I've never seen it spelled Alia. I grew up always having to spell my name because there are many legit spellings for my name and it didn't bother me at all. It just became second nature to just say my name and spell it for the person.

I think Alia sounds very pretty.

KellyinHB · December 2014

Thank you! Now that I think about it, I guess it's not really a big deal to have to spell a name out. After all, my name is painfully common (Kelly) and I constantly have to spell it for people. I'd say it's most important that people pronounce it correctly when reading it and that it doesn't sound too unusual in English.

Thank you so much for the feedback!

4N6s · December 2014

I assumed it was Alia before your clarified. I think it works

and it's definitely not unusual.

Megpie5 · December 2014

I have a friend named Alia and she never has any issues with mispronunciations. I also prefer this simpler spelling as Aaliyah looks made up to me.

KellyinHB · December 2014

dreadpiratebuttercup said:

I want to like it, but I'm just reminded of the character from Dune. I would pronounce Alia and Aaliyah differently.

Thanks for the feedback! I haven't seen Dune; I'll have to look into that.

LNic5 · December 2014

I like Alia!!

khaleesi123 · January 2015

Even though it isn't what you asked.. My Indonesian friends name is Anisha (pronounced ah-nee-sha) just if you wanted an extra option

KellyinHB · January 2015

khaleesi123 said:

Even though it isn't what you asked.. My Indonesian friends name is Anisha (pronounced ah-nee-sha) just if you wanted an extra option

That's very pretty. Thank you!

jennygirlmt · January 2015

I love it and think it will be fine to pronounce. Our last name is a simple four letter word that I have to spell out over the phone all the time. And my daughter's name is Selene so I always have to spell that. It's seriously no big deal and for people we know it only takes once.

KellyinHB · January 2015

dreadpiratebuttercup said:

If you are looking for other options, here are a few I love: Batari (means goddess) Indah (means beautiful) Lestari (eternal, abiding) Melati (rose)

Those are beautiful. Thank you!

Beevol · January 2015

I think Alia is beautiful and as someone who has had to spell my name out (and have it mispronounced) all my life, it's honestly not a big deal. I think it's better to err on the side of the simpler and classic spelling in the culture of origin than to go for a trendy Americanized spelling.

In Hebrew, Alia (pronounced ah-lee-AH) means to rise in a spiritual sense, like to become closer to G-d.

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Indonesian girl name that also sounds good in English -- Alia?

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