I came across [name_f]Alina[/name_f] today and I think it is very pretty…which I think is due to my love for [name_f]Elena[/name_f] (which we sadly can’t use).
Can it be spelled [name_f]Elina[/name_f]? Would you pronounce it differently? (ee-leen-ah vs. ah-leen-ah? Is that correct?)
I would pronounce them differently, but just slightly. [name_f]Alina[/name_f] I would prn. Like Uh-lee-na (close to [name_f]Alexa[/name_f]) while [name_f]Elina[/name_f] I would prn. Like Eh-lee-na (closer to [name_f]Ella[/name_f])
I would pronounce them like alexa400 states here. I prefer [name_f]Alina[/name_f]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] curious: why can’t you use [name_f]Elena[/name_f]?
Agreed. They are different, but just slightly. Honestly, though, most of the time the difference in pronunciation probably wouldn’t even be recognizable. I prefer the [name_f]Elina[/name_f] spelling. [name_f]Alina[/name_f] looks like it’s missing some letters.
I would pronounce them slightly differently- [name_f]Alina[/name_f] would be uh-leen-ah while [name_f]Elina[/name_f] would be closer to eh-leen-ah. But like @tarynamber said, not differently enough to be noticeable. [name_f]Elina[/name_f] feels more Russian/Eastern European to me, but probably because I have an [name_f]Asian[/name_f] friend named [name_f]Alina[/name_f].
If you are in the US, I think it will depend on what region that you are in. I would say them differently, but only slightly. [name_m]AH[/name_m]-lee-na vs. EH-lee-na though if I said them quickly, they would sound more similar. Also, I venture in some regions, they would been said identically all the time.
@mischa - my niece’s name is Delana (duh-lay-na --I’m not good at typing pronunciations haha).
However, it’s incredibly frustrating and why I keep annoying you guys because [name_f]Elena[/name_f] is the one name that DH and I would have at the very top of our list. My brother and [name_m]SIL[/name_m] say they don’t care…but, I just would want DD to have her own name and not be confused with a cousin?..
Where I live, [name_f]Alina[/name_f] is pronounced uh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nuh and [name_f]Elina[/name_f] eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-nuh. So the difference is in just one sound. I prefer [name_f]Elina[/name_f], because [name_f]Alina[/name_f] is overused here.