See the results of this poll: Do you prefer pn Elisa or Elise like
Respondents: 79 (This poll is closed)
- eh-LY-suh : 5 (6%)
- eh-LEE-suh : 5 (6%)
- eh-LEES: 69 (87%)
My grandmother’s name was [name]Martha[/name] [name]Elise[/name], named after HER grandmother, [name]Agathe[/name] [name]Elise[/name], who came from Germany. In [name]German[/name], the ending letter E is pronounced like an A (“uh”), so my grandmother’s middle name was pronounced eh-[name]LEE[/name]-suh. A cousin of mine gave her daughter the middle name [name]Elise[/name] after our grandmother and pronounces it “eh-lees.” I tend to forget that my grandmother used the pronunciation “eh-[name]LEE[/name]-suh,” and so (based on the spelling) I tend to think of it as “eh-LEES.” I considered naming a second daughter [name]Susanna[/name] [name]Elise[/name], and would have chosen the same spelling my grandmother used, but I would use the pronunciation “eh-LEES” because it is the only pronunciation for [name]Elise[/name] that makes sense to me in English.
I say:
[name]Elise[/name] eh-LEES
[name]Elisa[/name] eh-LEES-ah
[name]Eliza[/name] eh-[name]LY[/name]-zah
The only way I have ever heard [name]Elise[/name] pronounced is eh-leese in [name]America[/name]. This is the most common way because of Beethoven’s popular piano piece: Fur [name]Elise[/name]. I played piano for 9 years and I have never heard anyone pronounce it any other way. I even knew a girl named [name]Elise[/name] and she pronounced it eh-leese as well. That is the most accurate pronunciation in [name]America[/name].
I believe in Germany, they say eh-lees-uh. I only took [name]German[/name] for 3 years, so this is just what I am remembering… I could be wrong.
However, if you want a different pn, why not just spell it differently? I don’t think [name]Elise[/name] is ever pronounced eh-ly-suh, so you’ll have to spell it the most noticeable way: [name]Eliza[/name]
I think catloverd is right about the pronunciation of [name]Elise[/name] in Germany (and elsewhere in Europe?) being more like eh-lees-uh.
Here’s a [name]German[/name] pronunciation: Für Elise pronunciation: How to pronounce Für Elise in German
I say [name]Elise[/name] as eh-LEES, but I say [name]Elisa[/name] as eh-LEES-ah, so I was a bit confused for the poll. I love all three–[name]Elise[/name], [name]Elisa[/name], and [name]Eliza[/name]–but [name]Eliza[/name] would probably get my vote. I’ve adored it for years and I still love it completely. It’s just so spunky and fun and sweet.
I love [name]Elise[/name] but I’ve always pronounced it EE-lees
I like [name]Elise[/name] and [name]Eliza[/name] “EE-ly-zuh”
The way Americans say it is the French pronunciation of the name. Being both American and French, that’s certainly how I would say it. I could understand it being a cultural choice, but I think it would be a pain correcting people here because they’ll be used to saying it the same way.
Unless, I suppose, you went with [name]Elisa[/name].
I think [name]Elise[/name] is my favourite by far. Beautiful! While the European pronunciation is lovely as well, I think spelling it [name]Elisa[/name] would make life easier in the long run.
To me, these are three different names.
[name]Elise[/name]= Eh-LEES
[name]Elisa[/name]= Eh-[name]LEE[/name]-suh
[name]Eliza[/name]= Eh-[name]LY[/name]-suh
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Eliza[/name]! it is my favorite girl name : ) [name]Elise[/name] is my second favorite, such a sweet name! All three are very pretty. Good [name]Luck[/name]!
TNX for reply.
[name]Just[/name] wanted to add that to Dutch/[name]German[/name] ppl, the pronunciations of [name]Elise[/name] (Ay-lee-suh) and [name]Elisa[/name] (Ay-lee-sa) are very different as well…