I really love the name Eilidh - it reflects my family heritage and has the sweet, light, sunshiney feel the rest of my list has as well. It’s a bit difficult to wear in Canada, but I live in an area with a lot of Gaelic names so it would be easy enough to figure out.
My biggest issue is that my own name is Haley, and Eilidh is pronounced as “ay-lee” or “ay-lay” (essentially my name without the H) by all resources I can find, so would it be too much for me to use Eilidh?
My family calls me Haley but often I also get nicknames, and S/O very rarely calls me by my first name. I’ve also thought of Eilidh with a hyphen (Eilidh-Mae, Eilidh-Rae, Eilidh-Belle, etc.) to make the sounds a bit more distinct?
What do you think, could I get away with an Eilidh if it’s close to my own name?
I honestly don’t think it’s that big of a deal. The family I nanny for has a daughter named [name_f]Ella[/name_f], and the mom’s name is [name_u]Allison[/name_u], nicknamed [name_u]Allie[/name_u]. [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_u]Allie[/name_u] are quite similar and yet I never even noticed it until very recently, like last week, even though I’ve been working nearly full time with them for 2 years. Honestly people don’t often say your name and your child’s name together, so it isn’t often brought up. And when it is brought up, it’s not like you’re siblings, they will live a huge portion of their life separate from you, so I don’t think it’s that weird.
Sorry, I disagree and I do think [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] is way too close to [name_u]Haley[/name_u], even hyphenated with another name. It’s a direct rhyme (AY-lee is the pronunciation I’ve always heard, and I’ve met quite a few), plus H isn’t the most prominent/forceful of initial sounds which I think compounds like likelihood of confusion and increases the sense of similarity.
It’s a really pretty name though! Could you be tempted by [name_f]Islay[/name_f] (usually pronounced like [name_f]Isla[/name_f], but I’ve also heard EYE-lay), [name_f]Ailsa[/name_f] (AYL-sa) or [name_f]Tiree[/name_f] (island name, TIH-ree, rhymes with Miri)?
I say use it! They’re very distinct visually and if you often get called nn’s rather than Haley will then they’re not that similar. Personally I wouldn’t go the double barrelled first name route just because they’re not to my taste.
I know a mother called Gynna with a daughter called Georgina and a mother called Louisa with baby boy Louie- no one seems to find that weird
Also, if people can name their kids the exact same name as them without comment (quite common in USA I believe) then what’s the problem with having two that sound similar ?
Overall opinion- if you love it, stick with it. (Should also probably admit I’m a bit biased as I love the name Eilidh )
[name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] is so sweet! And I don’t think it’s too close at all. for me, in my scottish accent, [name_u]Haley[/name_u] is
hay-LEE and [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] is, AY-lay so…
[name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] has such a different vibe to [name_u]Haley[/name_u] that I think you could get away with it. It actually gives the name more meaning as it connects to you too. Eilidh-Mae would be gorgeous and separates it further
I’m not a big fan of very similar names, so I also agree [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] is too close to [name_u]Haley[/name_u]. There’s also [name_f]Eileen[/name_f], [name_f]Ailsa[/name_f], [name_u]Ainsley[/name_u] or [name_f]Elsie[/name_f].
Personally, it would be too close for me, yes. Especially as I can’t really think of any natural nicknames for [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] that wouldn’t also be nicknames of [name_u]Haley[/name_u].
I think it’s fine if it doesn’t bother you. Coming from a, albeit cousin, set with lots of similar sounding names, it isn’t all that confusing or a big deal when there’s a mix up.
This is the way I feel as well. I want to love it for you because of its sunshine-y vibes, but it seems confusing. I think people might often be mixed up about who is being referred to in conversation or calling a name, especially in a loud place or from a distance. Some might even think that these two separate names are referring to the same person in different accents!
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