Aysel ruined by ISIL?

Girl Names
1

This name has been at the top of my list for years, and we’re looking at naming our second now. Depending which source you trust, the pronunciation is nearly indistinguishable from ISIL (for those who don’t follow international news, see Islamic State - Wikipedia). [name_f]ISIS[/name_f] was the favored term until the last couple of years, but as ISIL has taken over, I wonder if it’s rendered this name unusable in the [name_u]West[/name_u].

I suppose a related question would be, is [name_f]Isis[/name_f] still usable? It dropped out of the top 1000 in 2015. Aysel is at least different in spelling than ISIL, but of course her name will be spoken more often than read. This stuff changes quickly enough that it won’t be relevant by the time she’s 10 or so, so as the parents/namers we will bear the brunt of any judgment/questions.

Aysel is of Turkish origin and can be translated as moon stream, which was originally a reference to the milky way.

2

I’d be a little concerned. I don’t think anyone will assume she’s named after the group, obviously, but since it’s an unusual name, it might get some double takes or “come again?”
As for [name_f]Isis[/name_f], I know of a few little girls named [name_f]Isis[/name_f] and someone always makes a comment like “oh, that’s unfortunate”.

3

I would say Aysel is okay but [name_f]Isis[/name_f] seems unusable! Unfortunately :frowning: