I just discovered the baby girl name Leviah: pronounced as Liy-VAYaa. What are your general thoughts on that name? We had been considering Liviana as a name with the nickname Liv/Livy/Libby, but I don’t love the meaning “blue, envious.” Leviah has a much better meaning “Lioness of the Lord” and could still work with those nicknames. It is a Hebrew name that is essentially the male version of Levi. My fear is that it is too out there and possibly sounds made up. In general, I like uncommon names, but I don’t want to stick my kid with a name that is difficult to live with or that would get them teased. Also, do you think that it would be too difficult to pronounce and would it fit with her big sister’s name Lorelai? Generally, which name do you Nameberries prefer Leviah or Liviana? Thanks in advance for your input.
I would not think to pronounce Leviah as liy-VAY-a. Maybe [name_u]LEE[/name_u]-vee-a or la-VEE-a or la-VIY-a. I think pronunciation would definitely be a issue. Also I think [name_f]Livy[/name_f] would work for either but I don’t see how you get [name_f]Libby[/name_f] from those.
I agree with kipperbo1 that Leviah pronounce liy-VAY-a is not intuitive. I would say ‘[name_m]Lev[/name_m]-aye-uh’. It also sounds too close to [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] for me. Liviana also sounds made up to me, like the parent wanted to call their kid [name_f]Liv[/name_f] but thought [name_f]Olivia[/name_f] was too common.
If you like [name_f]Libby[/name_f], why not [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]? Or [name_f]Liberty[/name_f].
I hate to double comment but I looked it up and it seems like it’s pronounced lee-VY-a. It’s ok if it’s pronounced like this. I agree with pp that it’s very similar to [name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] in sound though.
I prefer Liviana and think it is more wearable. I suspect Leviah would have significantly more than usual challenges with pronunciation and spelling.