One of my very dear friends name is [name_f]Breanna[/name_f]. She went on a vacation to [name_m]Hawaii[/name_m] and found that her name translated into Hawaiian is Paleanna (pronounced Pa-lay-nuh). What does everyone think of this name? Any ideas for good middle names?
I thought it would be pronounced pay-lee-anna. It’s not quite my style, but I’d suggest spelling it Pelèna to get the pronunciation she desires.
not a fan… my first thought is that it would have been pronounced pahl-lee-ah-na (almost like pollyanna). no offense intended, but it also registers (at first glance) as Pale-[name_f]Anna[/name_f].
Well, it looks like Pale [name_f]Anna[/name_f]. Not good if she’s fair skinned lol.
Are you sure this isn’t pronounce pah-lay-ahn-ah? [name_m]Just[/name_m] curious because e’s would be pronounced as -ay, but then there’s that center a, which should be -ah. I’m no expert, so I could be completely wrong, but I did live in [name_m]HI[/name_m] for a few years so had to learn the vowels and such to be able to navigate. All the road names are Hawaiian names!
I read Pale [name_f]Anna[/name_f] too, and then thought maybe it was [name_u]Palin[/name_u]-a (as in [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] [name_u]Palin[/name_u]) before I read the pronunciation you listed. I think it’d be a nightmare to get non-Hawaiians to pronounce, even though it does sound pretty. Personally, I’d rather go with the rhyming [name_f]Elena[/name_f].
it reminds me of the Paleo Diet!
This was my first reaction as well.
Hahaha…. my second thought was also the Paleo Diet.
I think that unless you are visibly of polynesian heritage, I think this name would be difficult. It’s pronunciation would be difficult to most Americans and English considering the spelling and I fear most will just assume the parents were eccentric instead of asking after the correct pronunciation and history of the name. I’m afraid this name would get lumped in with the trynde trend instead of the international name crowd.
I agree with this poster. I disagree with SarahMezz. I think it would be equally ironic for people of any complexion.
I see Pale [name_f]Anna[/name_f]. It also makes me think of [name_f]Pollyanna[/name_f] which means a wide-eyed innocent type. The pronunciation isn’t intuitive for me. I am not a great fan of this one, but I think [name_f]Paloma[/name_f] is nice, feels more sophisticated, familiar, but not over-used.