Continuing the discussion from Israela:
I named my daughter Israela. She was born in Dec. 2017. Her older brother’s name is Isaac, and I wanted them to have somewhat matching names. Isabella would have been a little closer to Isaac, but it was in the top 10 girl baby names at the time and seemed too common. Israela is a feminine form of Israel, which is an OT biblical name, like Isaac. I pronounce her name Iz-rah-eh-lah, rhyming with Isabella. I chose one ‘l’ instead of two, since in Spanish the double l becomes a y sound. We call her “'Ela” for short (pronounced like Ella in English). After her birth, I found out that I have Italian ancestry on my grandfather’s side, and in retrospect I might have spelled it with two L’s like Italian names, and so she could find her nickname correctly spelled on store bought keychains, etc… People do frequently have trouble pronouncing her name because it is not a common name, but I also get told often that it is a beautiful name. It’s historic and feminine.
My daughter’s middle name is Josanna (J pronounced in Spanish like an h), in case any one is wondering about a middle name to go with Israela. ( Iz-rah-eh-lah Ho-san-nah).
I am Christian and am proud for my children to have names that relate to the country of Israel, regardless of politics.