Thoughts please on [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] for a girl?
I’m also sure I’ve seen Ishmay somewhere before — does anyone else recognise it, and what do you think of it?
Which do you prefer?
I find [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] pretty masculine for my own taste, but at the same time the name has something catchy and I guess I could get used to it on a girl.
I think because [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] reminds me a lot to [name_m]Ismael[/name_m] (which I find super exotic and handsome)
Never heard Ishmay before, I only now [name_m]Ishmael[/name_m].
So I chose [name_f]Ismay[/name_f].
I like [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] but I’m not terribly fond of Ishmay.
I prefer [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] to Ishmay, although I do like the “Ish” sound. (I prefer [name_f]Ishbel[/name_f] to [name_f]Isabel[/name_f].)
I’d always been neutral about [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] but I’m really warming up to the name! The name is one of those that feels like it could tailor itself to fit any little girl’s personality well.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] love love [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] (I go back and forth on whether I like it better than [name_f]Esme[/name_f], but they’re both in my top 5ish names.) It has such an upbeat, springy feel, and I like the combination of familiar, easy to pronounce sounds but unusual name overall. I’m almost bitter that it’s only just now having a Moment here on the site since it feels like I’ve been singing its praises for ages! 
It doesn’t read as masculine at all to me—kinda feels like a smoosh of [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] and [name_f]Esme[/name_f] or [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] and [name_f]May[/name_f]. If I ever end up with an [name_f]Ismay[/name_f], I’ll probably use [name_f]Maisie[/name_f]/Maze as nns, but I don’t think it really needs a nickname.
Ishmay I’m less excited about. It feels like an extra step removed from familiarity, and that -sh sound drags it kind of into clunky, heavy territory [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. I’ve never seen it before, so I don’t really have context for it, but I prefer the similar [name_f]Ishbel[/name_f].
I knew an Imay once. She was very confident and I always admired her name. [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] reminds me of it and I love it. Another vote for that over Ishmay.
@geeknamezyo Thanks for the detailed response! I’ve been a longtime admirer of [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] as well, but I’m never quite sure whether it belongs on my first name list or not. It’s pretty unfamiliar to non-namenerds, but sounds a lot like popular (here in the UK) [name_f]Esme[/name_f], so I can just foresee the endless corrections now… I also love [name_f]Ishbel[/name_f], but have discounted it for its similarity to mega-popular [name_f]Isabel[/name_f]/[name_f]Isobel[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]/[name_f]Isabella[/name_f].
Thank you all for your comments. I’m with you, I think, on [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] over Ishmay. I’m a sucker for a soft “sh” sound, but I think it’s just an unnecessary complication here.
Any middle name ideas for [name_f]Ismay[/name_f], then? I tend to like something a little longer and stronger with short, soft-sounding first names, and possibly a little more familiar than very unusual [name_f]Ismay[/name_f]. Hmm… [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Helena[/name_f]? [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Paloma[/name_f]? Any similar ideas?
[name_f]Ismay[/name_f] is a very colourful, charismatic name, with an intriguing history. It is packed with potential to please modern parents, given the popularity of [name_f]Isabel[/name_f], [name_f]Esme[/name_f] and [name_f]May[/name_f].
Ishmay seems odd to me at first glance - I would like to know more about its etymology, as I doubt it’s a relative of [name_f]Ismay[/name_f]. I do love [name_f]Ishbel[/name_f], though.
As for middle names, something with a touch of romance to it such as [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f], or [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] would be lovely!
@kew Ooh, [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Magdalene[/name_f] and [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f] are stunning! Thank you.
[name_f]Magdalen[/name_f] is actually my alma mater and I’ve thought about using the name before, but the pronunciation issue trips me up. It’s so much prettier as “[name_f]MAG[/name_f]-dah-len”, but I feel wrong saying anything but “[name_f]MAUD[/name_f]-lin”, which isn’t the most auspicious sound for a name!
[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] and do not like Ishmay at all–clunky, masculine to me. I love [name_f]Esme[/name_f] as well, like others, but not the British pronunciation (i.e., don’t love [name_f]Esmee[/name_f]–like [name_f]Esmay[/name_f]) and am tipping toward [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] for that reason (helps avoid the confusion/correcting people to “[name_f]Esmay[/name_f]”). Also love that for a nickname [name_f]Ismay[/name_f] has “[name_f]May[/name_f]” right in it–what I’d choose for nn.
I like [name_f]Ismay[/name_f]. I do not recognize Ishmay, and I don’t really like it - the sound doesn’t seem to really flow [name_f]IMO[/name_f], it seems choppy