Okay berries! I have been all over the place with baby names this pregnancy. I just have a quick poll to take so please please please give me feedback!
[name_f]Malia[/name_f] - The American meaning to this seems to be bitter/sea of bitterness, etc. I absolutely hate this meaning and it turns me off from the name. However, in Swahili I have found it means “queen” and in Hawaiian I have found it means “calm/peaceful”. Would it be acceptable to go with the Hawaiian or Swahili meaning if I decide to name her this? Because I keep falling more in love with it.
Kalia (kah-lee-ah) - First of all, how does everyone see Kalia when it’s written? I have a feeling someone will eventually call her [name_f]Kayla[/name_f] and no offense to any [name_f]Kayla[/name_f]'s out there but the name was ruined for me so I’m hoping more times than not people can pronounce it correctly.
Last but not least, out of [name_f]Malia[/name_f] and Kalia, which name do you prefer?
As to [name_f]Malia[/name_f]'s meaning, I don’t understand what you mean by which meaning you’d “go with” if you used it. I haven’t researched [name_f]Malia[/name_f] a lot (a quick look at this site’s listing has the “bitter” meaning because it’s a variant of [name_f]Mary[/name_f]), but if all of the meanings you mention exist, they all exist. I guess I don’t understand how you would “go with” one meaning if there’s more than one - like in what way would you be promoting one meaning over another? Regardless, because of [name_f]Malia[/name_f] [name_m]Obama[/name_m] I think it’s a familiar enough name (at least in the US) that I highly doubt anyone would ask what it means.
As to Kalia, I do imagine it would be mistaken for [name_f]Kaila[/name_f], [name_f]Kaia[/name_f], [name_f]Kallie[/name_f], or even [name_f]Kaylie[/name_f] a lot of the time. Without seeing the pronunciation you listed, I wasn’t sure if it rhymed with [name_f]Malia[/name_f] (ka-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-uh) or [name_f]Talia[/name_f] ([name_m]KAL[/name_m]-ya or [name_m]KAL[/name_m]-ee-uh). A quick Google search didn’t reveal anything as to the name’s origin.
Out of [name_f]Malia[/name_f] and Kalia, I vastly prefer [name_f]Malia[/name_f]. I find it prettier (smoother, kind of, and I think it has a quiet strength), and I think it would be easier to live with - people would be more likely to recognize it and spell and pronounce it correctly.
[name_f]Malia[/name_f] is OK but I prefer [name_f]Mali[/name_f].
The Hawaiian spelling for the pronunciation you want is [name_f]Kalea[/name_f]. Kalia could easily be mistaken for [name_f]Kaila[/name_f]
Between [name_f]Malia[/name_f] & Kalia, I prefer [name_f]Malia[/name_f]. Between [name_f]Malia[/name_f] & [name_f]Kalea[/name_f], I prefer [name_f]Kalea[/name_f]
I like [name_f]Malia[/name_f] best; it’s pretty. I like it both by itself and as a nn for [name_f]Amalia[/name_f]/[name_f]Amalie[/name_f]. Kalia is nice, too, but I agree that it would get mistaken for [name_f]Kaila[/name_f] fairly often.
[name_f]Malia[/name_f] by far! I am of Hawaiian descent so I automatically think of the hawaiian origin rather than the english(if this matters to you at all haha). [name_f]Malia[/name_f] is very pretty sounding and familiar enough that most people would pronounce it correctly.
Kalia is a name I have never heard of and it looks kinda familiar ([name_f]Kailey[/name_f], [name_f]Kaila[/name_f], [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f], [name_f]Kayla[/name_f], [name_f]Kallie[/name_f]) and and first glance it I would pronounce it rhyming with [name_f]Malia[/name_f] (muh-lee-uh) so it would be (kuh-lee-uh). This name would definitley be mistaken for other names and would not be said correctly all the time. If you spelled it [name_f]Kalea[/name_f] like a suggestion above, I would pronounce it (kuh-lay-uh) which I prefer to (kuh-lee-uh) or (kal-ee-uh).
Overall I would definitly go with [name_f]Malia[/name_f]!
I guess it was a silly question to ask in the first place…but long story short, the meaning of my name fits me very well and so does my oldest daughers. If I end up naming this one [name_f]Malia[/name_f], which at this point I’m pretty sure that I am, when we talk about her name/what it means…I’m not going to just flat out tell her that her name means bitter and explain it to her. I’ll tell her it’s Hawaiian and that it means calm/peaceful and another meaning is beautiful I just read. I just have issues with name meanings and it bugs me that bitter is in like every [name_f]Mar[/name_f]- name. I guess my question was really asking for opinions on telling her that her name means the Hawaiian meaning instead of American.
Thank you for this! Out of curiosity, what meaning/origin do you think of? I’m probably most definitely going to name her [name_f]Malia[/name_f] because I keep getting that Kalia reminds people of Kaluha and then with the [name_f]Kayla[/name_f] miss-pronounciations…definitely better off with [name_f]Malia[/name_f]!
I find [name_f]Malia[/name_f] so much prettier, even though they rhyme.
The “bitter” thing for [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-based names is kind of an oversimplification that a lot of name websites and books give, but it’s really just a guess. There’s a pretty good explanation here: Meaning, origin and history of the name Mary - Behind the Name
Keep in mind also, it’s not “bitter” as in a bitter person, and these are name origins or derivations, not really meanings. I would not let one of many potential name origins keep you from this pretty name!
Ahh, OK, I get it now. I’d say sure, go with the Hawaiian meaning, but know that one day she’ll be able to read and may stumble upon the “bitter” meaning too. (And as a serious lover of [name_f]Maria[/name_f], the “bitter” meaning has been bumming me out for years. I feel ya. )
Someone up there said it doens’t mean like a “bitter” person so that makes it better. And ugh, right! But there are so many Marias and other names that mean the same thing so maybe we shouldn’t beat ourselves up too bad about it!
Kalia you do not say Kuh [name_u]Lee[/name_u] ah. Sorry but that is not how you say it. It is [name_f]Kayla[/name_f]. Period. Growing up with that name I been missed called all the time the name comes from [name_m]Hawaii[/name_m] and that’s how it is said. Please don not give your child my name Kalia if you can not say it right. Sorry if it comes out harsh but that’s how I feel about it. Second thanks for not saying [name_f]Kaila[/name_f] like many people do. That name is also not correct. In my opinion about kaila is a person miss spelling the word. Please do not use the name if you are not going to say it right. It’s irritating. So I vote malia.
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