I’ve been thinking a lot about the name [name_f]Nola[/name_f] lately as an alternative to my personal favourite [name_f]Nora[/name_f]. I won’t be having children for several years at least, and with the amount [name_f]Nora[/name_f] is rising each year, I expect that I might find it too popular for my personal taste by the time I do have a baby. I’ve also met quite a few young kids or babies with the name [name_f]Nora[/name_f], so I’ve been discouraged.
Now this wouldn’t necessarily 100% rule it out, but when I came across [name_f]Nola[/name_f] a while back, I thought that it would be a very nice alternative, as it’s similar, and I like it equally as much. I like that it’s less common, but not weird. However, I didn’t know that [name_f]Nola[/name_f] was the word people use to refer to [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans (New Orleans, LA). So anyway I have a couple questions
I’m Canadian, and had never heard of this before now. Is this widespread knowledge, and do you think it would really be a problem, since I’m not actually from [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans or surrounding area?
What do you think of the spelling [name_f]Nolah[/name_f]? I usually hate spelling alterations, but this one doesn’t seem too outrageous to me. There’s [name_f]Norah[/name_f] and [name_f]Nora[/name_f], [name_f]Sara[/name_f] and [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], so I personally don’t see a problem, but I would really like your opinions on it.
[name_m]How[/name_m] do you personally pronounce [name_f]Nola[/name_f]? No-lah, or [name_m]Nole[/name_m]-ah?
[name_f]Nola[/name_f]/[name_f]Finola[/name_f] are Anglicized versions of the Irish names [name_f]Nuala[/name_f]/[name_f]Fionnuala[/name_f]/Fionnghuala (fin-OO-luh). I pronounce [name_f]Nola[/name_f] as “NO-luh” and I wouldn’t recommend adding an random “h” at the end.
Same pronunciation as mischa. No h - I tend to hate silent letters unless they’re really unavoidable because that’s the only real spelling, like [name_f]Hannah[/name_f].
I’m American, and only occasionally hear [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans referred to as [name_f]NoLA[/name_f]. That wouldn’t be somebody’s first thought, so don’t worry about it. I have a friend with a [name_f]Nola[/name_f], but it’s pretty unpopular.
I personally love it and think it’s a beautiful name for a spunky little miss. I wanted it on my list but my husband doesn’t like it.
I like [name_f]Nola[/name_f]. I would ditch the H- I’ve never seen it spelled that way, especially when I lived in [name_f]Ireland[/name_f], and I do think it makes it look a bit ‘yoonique’.
I’m also in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] and don’t think the [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans thing is a big deal. If you lived in [name_f]Louisiana[/name_f] it might be a bit odd, but I don’t think anybody here would really notice/care.
I do know of [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans being called [name_f]Nola[/name_f], but it’s not the first thing I think of when I hear it. I love the sound, much as I’ve always loved the sound of [name_f]Nolita[/name_f] (an area of NYC for those unfamiliar).
I would ditch the H, and especially as a Canadian, would not worry about the connection to NO.
I love the name and it is actually on my list. Part of the reason I liked it was because of the place name association, so I think the association was well known enough. Fair warning: due to the namesake it is the most common dog name in [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans and solely associated with dogs (google it). Anywhere else would be fine.
I think this is a great name! I’ve always preferred the more complete name of [name_f]Finola[/name_f], with nn potential for [name_f]Nola[/name_f]. I’m Canadian, so [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans never entered my mind.
I also love [name_f]Norah[/name_f]. It made our short list for baby #3, but we went with [name_f]Mira[/name_f]. It has the same phonetic appeal of [name_f]Norah[/name_f], with a bit more zest!
I like [name_f]Nora[/name_f]. [name_f]Norah[/name_f] is wrong. Similarly I can deal with [name_f]Nola[/name_f], but [name_f]Nolah[/name_f] doesn’t work for me.
[name_f]Sarah[/name_f]/[name_f]Hannah[/name_f]/[name_f]Deborah[/name_f] etc. have an etymology behind their h’s, it’s not just “word glitter” thrown in there. Extra h’s for no reason is right up there with y’s replacing other vowels as far as things that peeve me.
I like [name_f]Nora[/name_f] a lot more than I like [name_f]Nola[/name_f], though. If I wanted to spice up [name_f]Nora[/name_f] with something more exotic I would probably go with [name_f]Noa[/name_f].
[name_f]Nolah[/name_f] - name that would get lots of giggles if she ever went to Southeast [name_f]Asia[/name_f]/met a Southeast [name_f]Asian[/name_f]. There, it’s a widespread local crude way of saying no.
[name_f]Nola[/name_f] looks like [name_m]Nolan[/name_m] missing a letter. It also does sound like dog name.
For those reasons, it’s not my style! I do like [name_f]Nora[/name_f] a lot though, and I don’t think it will ever come close to [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f]-level popularity.
I’m from the US and did not know about the [name_m]New[/name_m] Orleans LA thing. [name_f]Nola[/name_f] is nice. I pronounce it as NO-luh and would not spell it with the final h. I do know one [name_f]Nola[/name_f], late 60s. She has a sister called [name_f]Lola[/name_f].