So, I misunderstood the pronunciation of the Scottish name [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] as Eye-lee when it is actually Ay-lee. Now, I can’t get Eye-lee out of my head. I believe the Finnish name [name_f]Aili[/name_f] is pronounced similar to Eye-lee, but I know it would get mis-pronounced as Ay-lee all the time. (My name is [name_u]Haley[/name_u], so naming a kid what is essentially my name with the first letter cut off would be…strange).
Playing around with spellings, I fell in love with Isley. It evokes a nautical image for me, like an island. I know it would get mispronounced as Ice-ley, but better Ice-ley than Ay-lee in my book. I could also see Iley being the spelling, but I don’t like the way it looks on paper. I also don’t like the name [name_f]Isla[/name_f], unfortunately.
WDYT of Isley? Does it sound too made-up? Is the spelling too weird? Could Isley be a nickname for a longer name? (But what?)
I actually really like Isley! It doesn’t look overly made up to me. Makes me think of [name_f]Isla[/name_f] (which I love).
Names with this kind of spelling will always get mispronounced at some point, but I say leave it as ‘isley’. Dropping the S to make ‘iley’ looks incomplete and less like a name. Also, it looks like “ee-lee”.
Also, I don’t think it needs to be an NN. I think it could easily cut it as a FN.
I was going to suggest the spellings Islee or Isly, and you’ve already landed on Isley, which seems halfway between!
Some people want to know how a teacher who’s never heard of a name would guess at pronunciation - as a teacher, I can say the likely pronunciations are Ice-ley, Iss-ly and Iz-ly. That might be something worth factoring in? It’s not a name that would be difficult to pronounce once corrected though.
I think the spelling Isley is great!
As [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is known ([name_f]Isla[/name_f] [name_m]Fisher[/name_m]) I would actually pronounce it Eye-lee.
Isley is an actual surname, so you aren’t making it up Although the pronunciation, according to forvo, would be more like Eyez-lee, I don’t think that’s too far off and most people wouldn’t know that pronunciation anyways.
I really like Isley! I immediately said “eye -lee” so hope most people would understand it the same way.
But you may have to correct certain people, it happens.
One of my middle names is [name_f]Eileen[/name_f] which is really similar sounding if you loose the N. Not sure how you feel about the spelling Eilee (probably get called [name_f]Ellie[/name_f] a lot) and i much prefer your spelling of Isley. but something to consider.
I actually like it a lot! And like others have said, since [name_f]Isla[/name_f] is pronounced eye-la, i would automatically pronounce Isley as eye-lee
I’ve seen this misconception a lot lately–the name Isley is not a made up name. It is actually a very well-established surname derived from [name_f]England[/name_f]. It is pronounced eyes-lee, with the alternative spelling of Eisley.
Has no correlation to the name [name_f]Isla[/name_f].
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps to clear up the confusion.
I also knew a girl named Ily (pronounced Eye-lee). Her parents pointed out that her name was an abbreviation for I [name_u]Love[/name_u] You (the first letter of each word).
Isley would work, but [name_f]Aili[/name_f] would work just as well! I don’t think [name_f]Aili[/name_f] would get mispronounced any more than Isley or [name_f]Eilidh[/name_f] (at least in the US where I live)
Although the pronunciation, according to forvo, would be more like Eyez-lee, I don’t think that’s too far off and most people wouldn’t know that pronunciation anyways.