So, my husband and I really like the name [name]Elias[/name] as an option for our little guy… But the pronunciation is a catch-up for us! There are a few:
(1) ee [name]LEE[/name] as
(2) eh LYE uss
(3) EH lee ess (kind of like saying the letters L-E-S)
I’ve never heard the first one before, but found it on another baby names website… And I think the second one is the more traditional way to pronounce it, but we kind of like the third pronunciation. (The 3rd one is used in the song [name]Elias[/name] by Dispatch, which we also love!)
Is the third pronunciation too weird, or do you think it’d be fine? Obviously, teachers, etc. may have to be corrected (but it’s probably a name that people would mispronounce at some points anyway), and he could go by the nickname [name]Eli[/name] or [name]El[/name].
I think it’d be a bit difficult to not use the 2nd pronunciation. [name]Elias[/name] is a very old name and I think pretty well recognized by most people. It is indeed almost a top 100 name. To me, changing [name]Elias[/name] to the third pronunciation would be a bit like choosing to pronounce the name [name]Elijah[/name] as EH lee jah. It’d seem very strange to me. The pronunciation you really like though, does seem to be very close to [name]Elliott[/name], [name]Ellis[/name] is close too (which I believe are both also a variation of [name]Elijah[/name], just like [name]Elias[/name] is), which could be a cool name too.
I’ve always said eh-lee-us, which isn’t up there but kind of a mash-up of one and two. I guess they could all work if you wanted them too because the name isn’t popular. I think [name]Eli[/name] could only work as a nickname if you’re stretching out the ee at the [name]Elias[/name] like it is at the [name]Eli[/name].
I think the 3rd pronunciation is really nice! But I do think most people will pronounce it eh LYE uss, which he will probably spend his life correcting. I’d still use it though if you love it. Sounds like it may be a legitimate pronunciation anyway, which I’m sure other berries will confirm/dispute!
I’ve heard EH-lee-es or EH-lyas before, although the guys with that name were all from Afghanistan. I like that pronunciation, but agree that at first glance people will likely say Eh-LYE us.
I think it’s usually pronounced the second way, eh-LYE-us. It rhymes with [name]Tobias[/name]. I’m not sure how easy it would be to force a different pronunciation. If you try to use a different pronunciation, you’ll probably end up with some people using your pronunciation, and others using the traditional pronunciation.
Actually, when I first saw the name I pronounced it [name]EL[/name]-EE-ES, and I like that pronunciation the best! Now I pronounce it EH-LYE-US, though I’m not sure when that switch happened haha
eh-LYE-us is the only pronunciation I’ve ever heard. Like [name]Amias[/name].
Though I understand the variation–I’ve heard [name]Darius[/name] pronounced both duh-[name]RYE[/name]-us and DARE-ee-us.
Honestly, I think you can use either as long as you don’t let it be a huge hang-up. By this I mean–don’t get angry or irritated at people who pronounce it a different way–since neither is “right”.
It’s uncommon enough that people will likely follow your lead for pronunciation since it’s not like they’ll have 3 other friends who pronounce it a different way.
