Spelling ("Eye-lee")

jenfarm3 · January 2016

DH and i have finally agreed on a girl name that we both love. for our first pregnancy, at least, i'm really trying to be team green. we've been trying to decide on a boy name and a girl name and while we had no problem picking a boy name (bram walker) we have had the haaardest time agreeing on a girl name. i feel like it's definitely a good thing we started early... anyway, we heard the "name" while DH was watching a whiskey documentary last night on islay whiskeys. (he's a big whiskey/bourbon lover.) he randomly asked me, "what about that for a girl's name?" i love it. i've been a big fan of isla and hadley forever but haven't been able to sell either one of them to him, but apparently combining them was the trick. we are thinking "islay quin." (quin is a family name we are really trying to use as a mn.) i'm aware that "islay" can also be pronounced as "eye la" (it was said both ways in the documentary. and when i search online, i'm finding both pronunciations.) but we really like "eye lee" or "eye ley" (soft ending). i'm having a hard time deciding how we should spell it. should we keep it as "islay" or would that be weird? i am leaning towards this option though... i see it kind of like "lindsey" being spelled with an "ay". still pronounced the same either way though. i've googled and this has seemed to be a dilemma for other parents who have chosen this name. there were multiple other ways they tried to spell it, but i wasn't crazy about many of them. i feel like no matter how we spell it, there is inevitably going to be pronunciation issues throughout her life. (heck, i'm jenna. you'd think that would be easy enough for people but you'd be surprised. *eye roll.*) long story short... help?

Bringmemylongswordho · January 2016

It shouldn't be this hard to spell a name.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

you're right, it probably shouldn't. but i'm having a hard time and it seems others have too. just looking for some opinions. thanks for the help though.

Dilynne · January 2016

This is a hard one. Iylie like Kylie? But it looks weird. I feel like with any of your Islay/Isley I would actually say is-lay, you know?

cupkatie4 · January 2016

you could spell it Eiley or Ailey..like Aileen... I know Isla is popular and I would pronounce it correctly, but when I read the "Is" in "eye-lee" it reads "is-lee" to me

if you go with the E at the beginning I really like the e between e and y too.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

Dilynne said:

This is a hard one. Iylie like Kylie? But it looks weird. I feel like with any of your Islay/Isley I would actually say is-lay, you know?

Yeah. I know what you mean. I know two people with the last name "Isley" or "Eisley" and they're both pronounced "Eye-zlee." So, I could see jumping to that pronunciation.

Knottie1442268460 · January 2016

Eiley

scotten · January 2016

Eiley, or even Eylee.

MelissaM090 · January 2016

I like the silent 'S'.. I would agree with the following pronunciations:

Islay - I-LAY
Islee - I-LEE
Isley - could honestly go either way with the above.

...this probably didn't help at all.

KaLikeAWind · January 2016

So... You want to name your daughter after whiskey.

ElRuby · January 2016

I just no words....

missemmawoodhouse · January 2016

mellymar said:
So... You want to name your daughter after whiskey.

This.

Maybe she'll meet a Jameson. I saw one at a story time once.

MamaWren919 · January 2016

Islay makes me think -lay. That would be my first guess. I would go with Isley, Islee, or Islie. Those endings are more likely to lead to "lee."

LizaKate1213 · January 2016

In know a little girl with this name, spelled Ailey. I don't understand the silent "s" in the other spellings. Eiley (as in Eileen) is another option.

Bringmemylongswordho · January 2016

So. I needed a distraction from coloring, and checked to see if Islay was on Behind the name, and it is! It's considered masculine, and Isla is the feminine form. So, my advice is name her Isla. You can call her Islay as a nn, and with the upswing Isla is on, there won't be as many pronunciation issues as Islay will have, because Scottish names do not make sense to most Americans.

holocene · January 2016

I know an Islie, pronounced Eye-lee.

I feel like Islie is too in the realm of Riley and Miley. Are you open to the suggestion of Isla? It's such a beautiful name and you could call her Islie as a pet name.

groovylocks · January 2016

missemmawoodhouse said:

So... You want to name your daughter after whiskey.
This. Maybe she'll meet a Jameson. I saw one at a story time once.

I have a friend who is a Jack Daniel. My parents said they almost named my sister Tia Maria. Of course.. it was just a joke...

atcwag · January 2016

I know you love the same, but damning your potential daughter to a constant rebuttal of correcting mispronunciation is silly. I say throw this name in the trash.

Edit: typo

groovylocks · January 2016

atcwag said:

I know you love the same, but damning your potential daughter to a constant rebuttal of correcting mispronunciation is silly. I say throw this name in the trash. Edit: typo

Yes unless you spell it "Eilee" - which is like Eileen without the n. It looks ridiculous but it will be less likely to get mispronounced.

I guess a general rule of thumb is if you have to work something out phonetically, that should be taken into huge consideration unless the name has cultural significance to you (ie: Saoirse)

Conky3000 · January 2016

Eilidh is a legit Scottish name but I believe it's pronounced Ay-lee (as in the sound in the word pain)rather than Eye-lee. Like Hayley without the H. I know that doesn't help with exactly what you want, but something to consider. It's so close and there's no messing around with spelling.

I don't suggest Isla because, while it's lovely, it's on a massive upswing in popularity and that would put me off.

Paturkey · January 2016

Just chiming in to say that having lived in Scotland, the island Islay is most definitely pronounced "Eye-la," regardless of what folks in the documentary said. Also PP is right about Eilidh being "Ay-lee" but I doubt most people outside Scotland would have a clue.

I think Eilee is most likely to get the pronounciation you want, but I think it would still get messed up a bunch.

GoldenTMama · January 2016

I have a cousin who combined her middle and last names to make her DD's name and it come out "Eilee" (eye-lee). So there is one way that someone has spelled that name. Good luck.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

mellymar said:

So... You want to name your daughter after whiskey.

Yep. Exactly. Turns out whiskey gave us the idea for a name for our possible future daughter. If you knew how we came up with Bram you'd probably pee a little.

Conky3000 said:

Eilidh is a legit Scottish name but I believe it's pronounced Ay-lee (as in the sound in the word pain)rather than Eye-lee. Like Hayley without the H. I know that doesn't help with exactly what you want, but something to consider. It's so close and there's no messing around with spelling.
I don't suggest Isla because, while it's lovely, it's on a massive upswing in popularity and that would put me off.

I did find this one after posting this thread. I'd be ok with this pronunciation. I will definitely show this to DH. I also found "Aili" which is pronounced "Eye-lee" and apparently fairly common in Finland.

Paturkey said:

Just chiming in to say that having lived in Scotland, the island Islay is most definitely pronounced "Eye-la," regardless of what folks in the documentary said. Also PP is right about Eilidh being "Ay-lee" but I doubt most people outside Scotland would have a clue. I think Eilee is most likely to get the pronounciation you want, but I think it would still get messed up a bunch.

This is interesting. The documentary was filmed in Scotland with Scottish people. I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just wondering why it was being said both ways then.

holocene said:

I know an Islie, pronounced Eye-lee.

I feel like Islie is too in the realm of Riley and Miley. Are you open to the suggestion of Isla? It's such a beautiful name and you could call her Islie as a pet name.

I love Isla. I suggested it to DH ages ago and he couldn't be totally sold on it. Idk what makes him feel so strongly against ending with an "ee" over ending in an "ah" but apparently it's a deal breaker.

Thanks y'all for the help and suggestions. It's given me some ideas and things to think about. As far as deciding to change our minds on naming our potential daughter this based on the likelihood of people having pronunciation issues or the fact that she'll, in some way, be named after a whiskey region... it won't happen but I appreciate your concern.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

Bringmemylongswordho said:

So. I needed a distraction from coloring, and checked to see if Islay was on Behind the name, and it is! It's considered masculine, and Isla is the feminine form. So, my advice is name her Isla. You can call her Islay as a nn, and with the upswing Isla is on, there won't be as many pronunciation issues as Islay will have, because Scottish names do not make sense to most Americans.

I'd already looked it up on Behind the Name, as well, and was aware of this. Whether a name is considered masculine or not doesn't really dictate much to me whether or not I could name my daughter it. I know it matters to some people, but it doesn't to me.

Bringmemylongswordho · January 2016

jenfarm3 said:

Bringmemylongswordho said:

So. I needed a distraction from coloring, and checked to see if Islay was on Behind the name, and it is! It's considered masculine, and Isla is the feminine form. So, my advice is name her Isla. You can call her Islay as a nn, and with the upswing Isla is on, there won't be as many pronunciation issues as Islay will have, because Scottish names do not make sense to most Americans.

I'd already looked it up on Behind the Name, as well, and was aware of this. Whether a name is considered masculine or not doesn't really dictate much to me whether or not I could name my daughter it. I know it matters to some people, but it doesn't to me.

You can do whatever you want, but I think many people have brought up issues that while you might not worry about, your daughter who has to live with the name you give her might.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

Bringmemylongswordho said:

Bringmemylongswordho said:

So. I needed a distraction from coloring, and checked to see if Islay was on Behind the name, and it is! It's considered masculine, and Isla is the feminine form. So, my advice is name her Isla. You can call her Islay as a nn, and with the upswing Isla is on, there won't be as many pronunciation issues as Islay will have, because Scottish names do not make sense to most Americans.

I'd already looked it up on Behind the Name, as well, and was aware of this. Whether a name is considered masculine or not doesn't really dictate much to me whether or not I could name my daughter it. I know it matters to some people, but it doesn't to me.
You can do whatever you want, but I think many people have brought up issues that while you might not worry about, your daughter who has to live with the name you give her might.

Haha. Forgive me if I feel that you are being a bit dramatic. "Islay" may traditional be the masculine spelling but the name is in no way completely masculine. I could see what you mean with other names but I don't think that really applies here.

mylilwildflower · January 2016

I like it, I think it's pretty. I would probably spell it Isley. Unfortunately, unless you're a name nerd like we all are people will most likely mispronounce it quite a bit until they no what the name is...

mylilwildflower · January 2016

I also really like Bram Walker! very nice

strese28 · January 2016

Spell it Eylee and avoid confusion! I think the name is pretty. I didn't read your post to say you're naming your daughter AFTER whiskey - you happened to hear a name you liked while watching a whiskey documentary. Either way - that is besides the point -

I saygo fir it, just spell it as simply as possible.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

@mylilwildflower and @strese28 Thank you!

Knottie1442268460 · January 2016

How'd you get bram?! I'm really curious now.

daystardreams · January 2016

I usually say spell it the original way but in this case, I'd go with Eiley.

Jessie42613 · January 2016

This poor child.

jenfarm3 · January 2016

Knottie1442268460 said:

How'd you get bram?! I'm really curious now.

LOL. I almost don't wanna even give the satisfaction of the story... but simply put: It's shortened from my husband's gamer tag "Brambles".

jenfarm3 · January 2016

Jessie42613 said:

This poor child.

Oh, please.

strese28 · January 2016

yea me too!

GoBadgers · January 2016

Islee

GoBadgers · January 2016

I just read some of the other responses and also think Eilee is a great thought.

mthoomom · January 2016

My cousin had a baby two months ago and she used this name They spell it Eily.

MissyWR · January 2016

Ileigh?

virginiaunicorn11 · January 2016

A Chinese woman I know spells it Aili.

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