Ada or Ida - which is better?

I met a little [name]Ada[/name]/[name]Adah[/name] the other day and I was a little surprised to hear it was spelt AYDA. Being a traditionalist, I was kind of disappointed that it wasn’t spelt as [name]Ada[/name]/[name]Adah[/name]. As well as my love for the names [name]Ada[/name] and [name]Ida[/name]!

  1. But I wondered, to you, how is it pronounced? I can see how it would be pronounced [name]Ada[/name]; but I’ve also heard people say that they would pronounce it [name]Ida[/name], if they saw it written down.
  2. Which do you prefer [name]Ada[/name] or [name]Ida[/name] and why?

And my fear with Ida is the Idaho reference.

I generally prefer [name]Ada[/name] as I just find it so so sweet. It’s also a family name. :slight_smile: Although, I have been warming up to [name]Ida[/name].

If it was spelled Ayda, I would probably still pronounce it as [name]Ada[/name], though I dislike the spelling.

Of the two names, I love both, but prefer [name]Ida[/name]. Somehow it sounds stronger to me, which appeals with girls’ names - also, names that begin and end in “A” are very trendy right now, so that’s a slight minus for me with [name]Ada[/name] (though it hasn’t made me shy away from [name]Agatha[/name], which is one of my top contenders for a second daughter).

The Ayda spelling would confuse me a bit. I prefer [name]Ada[/name] to [name]Ida[/name].

Oo, both are lovely, but [name]Ada[/name] gets my vote.

I do like [name]Ada[/name] more personally, but I wouldn’t let the Idaho thing bother you if you like [name]Ida[/name] more.
I don’t think anyone would notice it, and if they do it’s not particularly offensive or anything… just silly!

[name]Ada[/name]/[name]Adah[/name] and [name]Ida[/name] are different names with different pronunciations/meanings.

[name]Ada[/name]= English pronunciation “AY-dah”; some other cultures “[name]AH[/name]-dah”; meaning “noble”.
[name]Adah[/name]= A name from the Bible with a Hebrew pronunciation of “[name]AH[/name]-dah” and means “adornment”.
[name]Ida[/name] = English pronunciation “EYE-dah”; some other cultures “EE-dah”. A Germanic name which means “work, labour”.

I like the vintage charm of both names but [name]Ada[/name] seems to be getting more common. It’s very close to the sound of [name]Ava[/name] and parents have been adding the trendy ending of -lyn/lynn onto it (eg. [name]Adalyn[/name]). [name]Ida[/name] is popular in Scandinavia more than [name]North[/name] [name]America[/name]. I suspect that Ayda’s parents wanted to ensure that people pronounced her name correctly so chose the trendy phonetic version with a “y”. Everyone seems to love adding y’s to every name nowadays.

I prefer [name]Ada[/name] to [name]Ida[/name], has more character I think. And I think of [name]Ada[/name] Lovelace, which is a cool reference.

I pronounce all those names like mischa does. I prefer [name]Ada[/name], even with the growing popularity of [name]Ava[/name].

I like [name]Ada[/name], but I feel that it’s getting more popular so I’m trying to push [name]Ida[/name] more as an alternative.

[name]Ada[/name] by far is better sounding and more aesthetically pleasing for me. However I’m a little biased since I have a horrible association with the [name]Ida[/name], she was the most awful, vile and conniving person I have ever met.0

Basically I can’t be impartial here but I think I would prefer [name]Ada[/name] even if I could. I woukd say it rhymes with [name]Ava[/name]. I would assume [name]Ida[/name] was pronounced “eye da” since that’s the only way I’ve ever heard it but I’ve only met Spanish speaking [name]Ida[/name]'s so maybe this is their prn and not other cultures like [name]Mischa[/name] pointed out.

I like [name]Ada[/name], pronounced [name]Ah[/name]-dah, better than [name]Ida[/name].

Personally, though, I like [name]Aida[/name] (eye-ee-dah) best.

I pronounce [name]Ada[/name] as AID-uh, and I pronounce [name]Ida[/name] as EYE-duh. I prefer [name]Ada[/name] (it’s on my own list) but I think that it’s bound to rise in popularity, so [name]Ida[/name] could be a fresh alternative!