I’ve always really loved [name_f]Alicia[/name_f], I find her so elegant and timeless and it is a name that I hope to use in the future if I get a chance to. I’ve always pronounced it as “ah-LISS-ee-ah,” but recently I’ve heard it pronounced as “aleesha.” I did a bit of research and it seems that the “aleesha” pronunciation is much more common, but I do not like it at all.
I’d love to hear what you think! How would you instinctively pronounce it? Is it useable or would the pronunciation constantly need explained?
I’ve only heard it uh-LEESH-uh in real life, and that’s how I would pronounce it. In an area with a larger Spanish speaking population, I could see uh-LEE-see-uh as well. Perhaps with a distinctly Spanish surname, I’d default to that, but then again I went to middle school with a girl named [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] [common Spanish surname] and she pronounced it uh-LEESH-uh so perhaps it wouldn’t matter.
I’ve never heard uh-LISS-ee-uh for this name and it would not be intuitive to me, I’m afraid.
I’ve never heard it pronounced ‘ah-LISS-ee-ah’, but I really like that! The ‘Lic’ in [name_f]Felicity[/name_f] is said that way so it makes sense to me! However, I do think people will instinctively say it either ‘aleesha’ or ‘ah-LEE-see-ah’, and it would constantly need correcting. Personally, I wouldn’t let that stop me from using it. If you love it, people will learn.
[name_f]Aleesha[/name_f] or Ah-LEE-see-uh. [name_f]My[/name_f] gut would be to go with the first unless they clarify or, as someone else said, if they had a distinctly Spanish surname, I would at least mentally recognize it may be the second.
The way you want it is pretty but I think it would wind up being another player in the “is it this or this” confusion already stemming from [name_f]Alicia[/name_f].
The [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] I know pronounces it the way you do! I don’t think she’s had much issue with it. To me it’s an intuitive pronunciation since there are so many other versions of [name_f]Aleesha[/name_f], [name_f]Alysha[/name_f] etc.
I’m in the US and in my experience, [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] is almost always “ah-lee-sha”. But, I have known of one a-lee-see-a who had that spelling.
I would suggest an alternate spelling to get the pronunciation you prefer. I have a friend who has that middle name and spells it [name_f]Alyssia[/name_f]. I have also seen [name_f]Alecia[/name_f].
I’m a Latina, and my entire family would pronounce this name as “Ah-LEE-see-ah”, it’s pretty close to how you like it I think! I’m not a fan of the [name_f]Alisha[/name_f] pronunciation either.
It’s one of those names like [name_f]Eva[/name_f], [name_f]Rosaline[/name_f], or [name_f]Talia[/name_f], where you might need to explain a few times, but once people know you, they should grow accustomed to it.
I would pronounce it the same as you. It might have a lot to do with where you are. [name_f]Alesha[/name_f] is a name in its own right, to my mind, and I see [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] as a frillier variant of [name_f]Alice[/name_f], hence the a-LISS-ee-a pronunciation. But it doesn’t matter how you and I pronounce it if the vast majority pronounce it the other way, so if you really dislike that I’d think again.
I am a European and I’d pronounce it as Ah-LEE-see-ah intuitively and this is the pronunciation that I also prefer.
I know that the Swedish actress [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] Vikander had the same problem, her name would be pronounced Ah-LEE-see-ah in [name_u]Sweden[/name_u] but she gets called “aleesha” in the US all the time
Personally it wouldn’t stop me from using this name as the pronunciation can always be corrected
[name_f]My[/name_f] instinctive pronunciation is ah-liss-ee-uh since the first one I met used that pronunciation and then the second I encountered was in a book with the ‘ah-liss-ee-uh’ pn too! Then, I met two Ah-leesh-uhs so now I never know!
I think both pronunciations are legitimate and tbh, it’s one, on reading, that I would probably just ask
I instinctively pronounce it uh-LEE-shuh (southeastern US here!). I’ve heard the uh-LIH-see-uh pronunciation too, and I do prefer that one but it doesn’t come as naturally to me
I wouldn’t be sure. I first encountered it as ah-LISS-ee-uh, but have since heard ah-LEE-sha more frequently. So my instinct is still the first (and I prefer it), but I’d feel the need to check.
I say it Uh-leesh-uh and I think that might be the more common version in the US but I think uh-lee-see-uh might be more common in parts of Europe? So depending on where you are the peonunciation might need correcting.
