Thoughts on [name]Eilidh[/name] for a girl?
Out of interest would you know how to pronounce it?
[name]Do[/name] you think a more phonetic spelling would be better? (Pronunciation is not a problem where we live but not sure about rest of world!) Thanks everyone! Lilidh
Yeah…I have no clue where to begin on pronounciation.
Sorry 
It looks Irish to me. Like a form of [name]Eileen[/name] or something. I’d have to look it up to find out how to pronounce it. Are you asking how to pronounce it or do you already know?
If you know - how is it pronounced??? Is it a form of [name]Eileen[/name]?
Oh - and where are you from?
Thankyou for comments! Is a gaelic name pronounced ay lee. It means ‘light’. I believe it is the gaelic form of [name]Helen[/name] but I’m not totally sure on that one! We’re from [name]Scotland[/name]. Was just wondering if anyone from elsewhere would know how to pronounce it… Apparently not! That’s fine. [name]Do[/name] you think a phonetic spelling - Aylee - would be better? Although that would kinda ruin the heritage of the name… What do you think? Thanks Lilidh
If pronunciation for [name]Eilidh[/name] won’t be an issue where you’re from and where your child will presumably grow up, then I would go with the traditional spelling. On the odd occasion you would have to explain it to someone, they would only need to be told once. Gaelic names are like a catch-22 for me - I think they’re gorgeous but living in the U.S., no one would have a clue how to pronounce them, but if you Americanize the spelling, the names always look less special, sometimes even silly.
Unfortunately I have to admit that just by looking at it I would have wondered if it was pronounced like “eyelid.”
That’s true! I have a friend called [name]Eilidh[/name] whose anatomy lecturer at uni called her eye’lid the whole time and didn’t appreciate the irony! I’ve always loved the name but wouldn’t want to make it hard for her through her life.
I agree with scarlettsmom. If there is not a pronounciation problem where you come from then don’t change it. It’s beautiful that way!
I wish Irish spellings and pn were more accepted in the US b/c they do have such beautiful names and spellings! But the name would get butchered so much here.
My husband is Irish, and I wanted Irish names for the kids - the only one who got one was my first daughter - [name]Alanna[/name]. [name]Even[/name] the name [name]Catriona[/name] would get butchered - here we would pn it [name]Ca[/name] - tree- on- ah , not [name]Ca[/name]- tree- nah
Good luck! It’s a beautiful name.
I am Irish and I am not at all familiar with [name]Eilidh[/name].I believe it is Scottish and it looks like a translation of [name]Helen[/name].Lean (lane) is the irish gaeilge for [name]Helen[/name] ( a fada over the e ) this give the e a broad A sound.It is a beautifully simple name .[name]Aileen[/name] is quite a common womans first name in [name]Ireland[/name] pronounced Ale-LEEN and it is an anglicisation of Lean(pn. [name]Lane[/name]). Perhaps [name]Eilidh[/name] is a Scottish variation of the anglicised [name]Aileen[/name] which is common enough here in [name]Ireland[/name].I have never ever come across an [name]Eilidh[/name] in all my years in [name]Ireland[/name].[name]Hope[/name] this helps.
Thanks for all the comments. We were also considering [name]Isla[/name] (pronounced eye la). Thoughts on that one? Any preferences over the 2? Surname [name]Macrae[/name] (mac ray). Thanks Lilidh
I’m in [name]Scotland[/name] too. Found this top 100 list from the register general’s office the other day. [name]Eilidh[/name] was no. 34 in popularity for 2008 apparently.
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files2/stats/popular-forenames/pop-names-2008-table1.pdf
I really, really like the name [name]Eilidh[/name] but have never used it because we have a very close family friend named [name]Kayleigh[/name] who is around our house all the time so would be a bit rhymie with that. Also I’m a musician and play in a ceilidh band which is already confusing for my girls - when I say I’m going out to a ceilidh they sometimes think I’m going to see [name]Kayleigh[/name]. Cute.
[name]Isla[/name] is a lovely name too. You’re right about the spellings - no problem at all in [name]Scotland[/name].
I stared at [name]Eilidh[/name], completely clueless about the pronunciation, and Eye-lid was sadly best I could come up with. I really need to learn more about Gaelic names! 
The aylee pronunciation reminds me of the -aylee meganame trend in the US, which includes names like [name]Baylee[/name]/[name]Bailey[/name]/Braelie/[name]Caylee[/name]/[name]Haylee[/name]/[name]Hayleigh[/name]/Jaylie/[name]Shaelee[/name], etc., so I personally prefer your idea of [name]Isla[/name].
I think that [name]Isla[/name] is so beautiful!
Good luck!
Yay! Someone’s heard of it! Which do you prefer with our surname? [name]Isla[/name] [name]Macrae[/name] or [name]Eilidh[/name] [name]Macrae[/name]
[name]Do[/name] you think it matters that [name]Eilidh[/name] is close to my name and her brother’s (Rodaidh [name]Lucas[/name])?
Thanks Lilidh
Interestingly I would pronounce [name]Eilidh[/name] every so slightly differently than a name like [name]Hayley[/name] or [name]Bailey[/name] for example - more like AYhhhh-leeh with an abrupt, breathy ending and a definite emphasis on the the first syllable. Scottish people love putting emphasis at the beginning of names. For example the north american pronunciation for [name]Maureen[/name], MOR-REEN with equal emphasis becomes in [name]Scotland[/name] more like MOR-een.
They also say [name]Mary[/name], merry, and marry completely distinctly from each other. Same with ferry and fairy, berry and [name]Barry[/name], etc.
Interestingly I would pronounce [name]Eilidh[/name] every so slightly differently than a name like [name]Hayley[/name] or [name]Bailey[/name] for example - more like AYhhhh-leeh with an abrupt, breathy ending and a definite emphasis on the the first syllable. Scottish people love putting emphasis at the beginning of names. For example the north american pronunciation for [name]Maureen[/name], MOR-REEN with equal emphasis becomes in [name]Scotland[/name] more like MOR-een.
They also say [name]Mary[/name], merry, and marry completely distinctly from each other. Same with ferry and fairy, berry and [name]Barry[/name], etc.[/quote]
Thanks for the info! I hate how little I know about Gaelic names, and I’m glad I now know about the emphasis on the first syllable. Is this for every Scottish name? I absolutely love Scottish accents.
Take care!
Yes, I think for the most part. It gets on my nerves a bit actually! DD1’s name is [name]Natalie[/name], which I say ‘[name]Natal[/name]-ee’ with pretty even emphasis. (I’m Canadian by the way, married to a [name]Scot[/name]) Everyone else says it ‘NAHHHHT-TA-lee’ -drives me crazy. [name]Even[/name] worse, the regional dialect in our locality favours dropping ‘t’s’ so [name]Natalie[/name] somehow becomes ‘NAW-UH-lee’ - terrible! The midwives at the hospital made a joke about it being a brave choice in our city. I now understand why!
[name]Glad[/name] to be of service!
Now trying to think up middle names. We like:
[name]Mairead[/name] (ma-raid)
[name]Mairi[/name] (mah-ree)
Meig (mek)
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Grace[/name]
What do you think?
Thanks Lilidh
With [name]Isla[/name] and [name]Macrae[/name], I think a middle name that isn’t two syllables sounds great, and creates a nice flow.
Meig (Mek) sound really close to the beginning of your last name, and the [name]Gray[/name] sound in [name]Grace[/name] sounds like the Crae part of your last name, so I’ll go with [name]Rose[/name].
[name]Rose[/name] is the #1 middle name in the US, but I’m not sure about its popularity where you live (or if that’s even something that matters to you and your husband).
[name]Just[/name] for fun, do you like [name]Rosalie[/name], [name]Rosaleen[/name] (Irish), or [name]Rosalind[/name]? [name]Isla[/name] [name]Rosalie[/name] [name]Macrae[/name]/[name]Isla[/name] [name]Rosalind[/name] [name]Macrae[/name]/[name]Isla[/name] [name]Rosaleen[/name] [name]Macrae[/name]…
I’d love to know how to pronounce your first name correctly. Is it pronounced [name]Lily[/name]? (It looks beautiful…)
And to Canadianne, thanks for your answer! For what it’s worth, I’ll make sure to call your daughter natalie, with the T.
Yes it is pronounced [name]Lily[/name]. Middle name [name]Ailsa[/name] (pn Ayl-sa). Hubby’s name [name]Micheal[/name] is spose to be pronounce mee-chul but we’ve kinda given up on that one - he goes as [name]Mike[/name] now! Our whole family has traditional gaelic/scottish names.
I do love mairead as a mn but is spose it is a bit too much M with surname! Any other mn suggestions?
I wouldn’t know how to pronounce it, no, and I have an irish sister in law + a niece named [name]Niamh[/name] so am not a novice in such matters.
Aylee sounds too close to [name]Hayley[/name]/[name]Haylee[/name]/etc, which is suffering from serious overkill and huge amounts of bad press at the moment.
[name]Isla[/name] is my daughter’s name so I have to say that’s my favorite …