So we’re trying to come up with a name for our little girl who is due in [name_u]November[/name_u]. I have been using Elysian as a username for years because I think it’s really pretty and it looks beautiful even on paper, and now I’m wondering if it could work as a baby name. Buuuut… I’m wondering if I’ve been pronouncing it wrong all this time? I’ve always thought it was “Eh-lee-shun” but I’m wondering now if the -sian is really more if a “see-an” sound (“Eh-lee-see-an”), or even a combination of both, making it more of a “sin” sound (“Eh-lee-sin”)? Would the E be more of a long “Eee” sound, a shorter “Eh”?
Anyway… Questions!
. [name_m]How[/name_m] would you pronounce it if you saw it on an attendance sheet? Would it trip you up?
. Is it too weird/out there to use as a baby name?
. Would she constantly be correcting people/telling her how to spell or pronounce her name? I’m assuming the answer to this is yes. :?
I don’t want to name her anything super weird. Our son’s name is [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m], and I’m also not crazy about repeating the middle-of-the-name Y because it seems like everyone is replacing random vowels in their kids’ names with Ys lately, but at least they’re “supposed” to be in both [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m] and Elysian.
So far, this is our list of maybe names, in no particular order:
. [name_f]Thea[/name_f]
. [name_f]Freya[/name_f]
. [name_f]Abigail[/name_f]
. [name_f]Elena[/name_f]
. Astoria
I would pronounce it: Eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-sjee-ehn
Names I don’t know how it is supposed to be pronounced always make me pause. I’m not sure it would ‘trip me up’ unless my above pronunciation is wrong.
Not any weirder than a whole slew of word names in use right now. It actually sounds nicer and doesn’t jar me as much as a lot of other names people like these days.
I’m not so sure. If people identify that it is the same as the word relating to [name_f]Heaven[/name_f], I don’t think it will be a problem. You have spelled it the same way, so there is no issue of having to correct by saying “Like Elysian but with an ‘i’”. Then again, for those who do not have this word in their vocabulary, it might take a spelling lesson or pronunciation lesson, but it’s not that hard to grasp, imo.
The rest of your names are great. I think any would work well with [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m].
I’d pronounce it eh-lih-see-un.
It’s quite nice and i think with names like [name_u]Haven[/name_u], Harbour, [name_f]Elowen[/name_f] etc, i think it could work. She probably would be correcting people however.
It is very unusual and different in style to [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m] -not sure if that bothers you.
Looking at your other names, I really like [name_f]Thea[/name_f], [name_f]Elena[/name_f] and [name_f]Astoria[/name_f]!
[name_f]Thea[/name_f] Elysian would make a great combo as would [name_f]Freya[/name_f] Elysian, Elysian [name_f]Abigial[/name_f] and Elysian [name_f]Freya[/name_f].
A couple of other names that sprung to mind for you are [name_f]Elara[/name_f], [name_f]Elora[/name_f], [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_f]Nova[/name_f], [name_f]Nola[/name_f], [name_f]Adeline[/name_f] and [name_f]Estelle[/name_f]
Thank you for your responses! I’m still on the fence. It seems like I’ve been pronouncing it wrong all along, and I kind of like the way I’ve been saying it better than how it should really be pronounced. Haha. I wouldn’t want her always correcting people when they’re actually saying it the right way…
We’re going to use a family name as a middle, but we’re going to wait until we have a first name nailed down to choose the middle.
I love [name_f]Elara[/name_f] and [name_f]Nova[/name_f], but Hubs already vetoed.
Eh-lee-see-an would be my pronunciation, as it’s the closest to Elysium, which I would assume this name is derived from. I think its usable, but would be annoying.
I would say it like eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-zhan, with the “zh” sounding like the s in “measure”. But I’d say [name_f]Elysia[/name_f] like eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-see-uh so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-see-an. I would guess she’d probably be constantly correcting people but then again, my name is [name_u]Abby[/name_u] and I’m constantly correcting people on its spelling. I prefer [name_f]Elysia[/name_f] but I think Elysian is pretty as well.
I would pronounce it like you: Ih-lee-zhun, three syllables. Based on the other responses to this already, she may be spending a lot of time correcting people. If you love it, it may be best to hide it from constant pronunciation errors as a middle.
Also, I wouldn’t get too hung up on the internal y thing; as you said, you aren’t replacing another letter with a y just cause. It’s there because it’s supposed to be.
A few other Greek-inspired names that are worth considering: [name_f]Agatha[/name_f], [name_f]Antigone[/name_f], [name_f]Calliope[/name_f], [name_f]Cosima[/name_f], [name_f]Cressida[/name_f], [name_f]Ilona[/name_f]
I would say “eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-zhun,” and that’s the only way I’ve heard it pronounced. I like it, it’s definitely out of the box. Would it trip me up during roll call? I might pause to appreciate it, but it wouldn’t be in a negative way.
I would be surprised if I found out that her brother was [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m]. Not that it really matters, but I can see [name_f]Thea[/name_f] or [name_f]Freya[/name_f] much more easily. [name_f]Thea[/name_f] is my favorite!
This. Elysium is Latin and is pronounced eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-see-um. There’s no shin sound in Latin, you pretty much pronounce everything literally as you see it
I’d say eh-lee-zhun. Although I do know someone called [name_f]Elysia[/name_f] who pronounces it like [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] (uh-liss-ee-uh).
I would probably falter a minute if I saw it on an attendance sheet, and I think she would be constantly correcting people on how to say it. It’s a little out there, especially in comparison to your son’s name and other top choices. I’d assume Elysian was a boy, too.
I think any of your other choices would be great! [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] are my favourites with [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m].
eh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-see-an, like Elysium. I prefer [name_f]Elysia[/name_f], I think this name would be hard to wear based on the pronunciation issues and having to explain how to say/spell it. Have you considered [name_f]Elysia[/name_f]? [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m] and [name_f]Elysia[/name_f] go together well!
Thank you!