I came upon the name [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] (ee-sold in English) and I love it, especially as an alternative to the ever popular [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f]. It’s originally [name_m]French[/name_m] with a little “duh” sound at the end, to make it almost but not quite three syllables (google the pronunciation if curious). I’m wondering, would this name work in the US or not?
I think it is usable, but I would pronounce it properly - “ee-sold-duh”. It makes it more feminine and less harsh. “Ee-sold” doesn’t sound very appealing (at least to me) at all. There are a lot of name around now from different languages and with all kinds of pronunciations, so I should think that it would be alright… but you would have to gauge that specifically off the area you live in. So for me personally, in Australia, I know a lot of people would get confused by it and say it wrong, so I probably would choose something else.
I love [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] (I say “ee-sol-duh”)! So icy and magical! I think it’s usable. You might have some pronunciation issues but I don’t think that’s reason enough to not use the name.
I don’t think either pronounciation mentioned is appealing…
If I recall correctly, in the movie [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] & [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] it was just pronounced ee-ZOLD, which I like. I think it’s a lovely name.