I’m in Spain right now and have come across a street named “”vila” today, I really like the sound of it, pronounced either [name_m]AH[/name_m]-bee-la (the Spanish v sounds more like a soft b), [name_m]AH[/name_m]-vee-luh or [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-VEE-luh and looked it up. It seems to/could be a version of [name_f]Aveline[/name_f], [name_f]Evelina[/name_f], etc. which have Germanic roots and mean “desired”. It is also the name of a town in Spain.
What do you think of the name?
With which names would you pair it with?
If you had to use it in the/one middle spot, would you choose it for [name_f]Leonor[/name_f], [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] or [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]?
What would be your preferred pronunciation?
[name_m]How[/name_m] would you initially pronounce [name_f]Avila[/name_f]? (Without the ” I said [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-VEE-la.)
[name_f]TIA[/name_f]
”vila is either [[name_m]AH[/name_m]-bee-lah] (in Spanish) or [[name_m]AH[/name_m]-vee-luh] (in Portuguese).
The name is pretty but to me it’s mostly a surname or a place name. I think if I met a girl named [name_f]Avila[/name_f] I would assume her parents to be Catholic and devoted to St [name_f]Theresa[/name_f] of ”vila.
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] [name_f]Avila[/name_f] [[name_m]AH[/name_m]-vee-luh] would be pretty.
@sugarplumfairy are you from Portugal or Spain?
I didn’t even know of the place until I googled it (let alone the saint) and I’m far from being catholic…
It was really just a street name in [name_f]Barcelona[/name_f] that I saw and needed to look up immediately (others were [name_f]Augusta[/name_f] & [name_f]Minerva[/name_f]).
I’m from Portugal but I’ve been to ”vila in Spain recently so those associations are very familiar. It’s a relatively well-known tourist spot, and [name_f]Theresa[/name_f] is one of the major Catholic saints (and generally an influential figure of her period I believe).
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think it’s a town (city?) that most people have heard of in Spain (is it really popular?)?
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you think that without the accent your emphasis would change?
Naturally, I imagine most people in Spain know the city. I don’t know about other countries.
I would always pronounce it [[name_m]AH[/name_m]-vee-luh] - with or without the accent - because that’s how the city and the surname are pronounced. I think it would be awkward to deliberately anglicise the pronunciation.
I’m in the US. I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] the [name_m]AH[/name_m]-bee-la pronunciation. So beautiful. Unfortunately, my first instinct (as someone with a complete lack of knowledge about Spanish or Germanic names) is a-VILL-a, which I don’t like at all. Almost any of the pronunciations you all have mentioned would sound incredibly beautiful. Not so much with this one. But if you’re not in the US, no worries, right? 
@sugarolumfairy truth is, while I’ve been in Spain what feels like a million times, I’ve only been out of catalonia 2 times (I think) so my geography knowledge of Spain is limited…
I think if I were in Spain I would definitely use the Spanish pronunciation (it’s beautiful) but as the actual name has [name_m]German/name_m roots, emphasizing the Vee part would be natural (especially when looking at its sister names).
@catheyc thanks for commenting, I appreciate it I think [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-VEE-la would be the most natural pronunciation where I live (right now) but [name_m]AH[/name_m]-VEE-la would probably work too.
I’ve been to the town and St. [name_f]Teresa[/name_f] of [name_f]Avila[/name_f] is one of the big-time saints (doctor of the church), so I’d assume it was a tribute to her and pronounce it accordingly. Although, my Spanish V isn’t quite as close-lipped as my English B… More of a mid-point between (English) V and B?
I could get used to the [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-VEE-la pronunciation though. Doesn’t [name_m]German[/name_m] have pretty standardized pronunciation, compared to English which is all over the place? I don’t think you’d have a problem getting people to say [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-VEE-la.
I never thought about [name_f]Avila[/name_f] as a name. I like it!