See the results of this poll: Which is the best spelling?
Respondents: 84 (This poll is closed)
- Alia : 22 (26%)
- Aalia : 1 (1%)
- Aaliyah : 39 (46%)
- Aliyah : 14 (17%)
- Aliya: 8 (10%)
The traditional spelling is [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f]. It’s a real Arabic name, but it’s a very trendy name, too (for non-Arab people). I think any other spelling would be very tacky tbh.
I would go with [name_f]Alia[/name_f] as it’s the most straight forward, easiest to spell, and figure out the pronunciation of.
I like [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f], it’s the most intuitive spelling in my opinion. [name_f]Aalia[/name_f] is my least favorite.
[name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] or [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] imo. I get that you should use the [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] spelling, however, it has some tragic connections.
There was a very famous, young American singer named [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] (think of the 1990’s [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f] [name_m]Black[/name_m] with talent), who died in 2001 in a plane crash. She and the crew filming her music video were very eager to head back to the US from the Bahamas, where they were filming her final video, and the pilot ended up allowing the plane to attempt take off with 700lbs over the maximum allowed weight, and one extra passenger. All 9 passengers were killed, and it was a very upsetting, disturbing thing.
As it turned out, it was the pilot’s first ever official flying day - and he wasn’t properly registered to fly. It ended up having a messy court case that was dismissed due to NY state not classing it as ‘wrongful death’. I’m not sure how strong the connections still are, but I was about 5 or 6 when she died, and I remember my older cousins teaching me about her.
Here is her wikipedia page, directly to the part about her legacy. Aaliyah - Wikipedia
She’s the first thing I think of when I see the [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] spelling, so I personally steer away from it. I don’t see [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] as being tacky.
I had friends growing up named [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] and [name_f]Alia[/name_f], and those are my favorite. Most people my age can recognize [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] due to the singer, and [name_f]Alia[/name_f] is simple and straight-forward. [name_m]Both[/name_m] are “valid” spellings of names with similar meanings and origins, so I would go with one of those two. Depends on how many vowels you want!
[name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] or [name_f]Aliyah[/name_f] for me. I believe [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] is the Arabic spelling, and [name_f]Aliyah[/name_f] the Hebrew one? Either way, it’s a beautiful name. I personally prefer the slightly more streamlined [name_f]Aliyah[/name_f] spelling, but [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f]'s lovely, too. All the others seem incomplete or strange to me, even though the “iya” combination always seems trendy to a lot of people.
I prefer [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f], but like [name_u]Haley[/name_u], I also think of the singer who died in the plane crash. Not sure if that would bother you. It is a beautiful name, though. I have also seen [name_f]Aleah[/name_f], but some people might find that tacky as well. I’d go with the original spelling. 
The sound of the name is beautiful! I prefer [name_f]Alia[/name_f] because the beautiful sound is there and it would be the easiest for child, friends, teachers etc… to spell.
A warning with [name_f]Alia[/name_f]… when I see this name, I pronounce it differently that [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f]. With [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] I stress the “lee” section the most, with [name_f]Alia[/name_f] it sounds more like the male “[name_m]Al[/name_m]” with ia thrown on the end.
I would go with the most popular spelling as that would probably what your child would end up having to say “no, its not spelled that way”. [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] is the most popular.
I would stick with the traditional spelling [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f].
I chose [name_f]Aliyah[/name_f], but only because I have a cousin with the name. It was intuition. [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] is the most ‘correct’ name, but I don’t like the way it looks. It’s very trendy. I think to go with [name_f]Alia[/name_f] would get a lot of uh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-uh’s and prn/spelling issues. [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] or [name_f]Aliyah[/name_f] would be a good choice i[name_u]MO[/name_u].
I think [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] is the original name? But I’d use [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] as it’s the most common, I believe.
Of course the whole singer thing is tragic, but absolutely doesn’t affect the name. That feels like saying [name_u]Michael[/name_u] is out because [name_u]Michael[/name_u] [name_m]Jackson[/name_m]'s death was a tragedy to many. It’s nonsensical.
I agree, I think the Hebrew [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] may be the original name, or else the Hebrew [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] and Arabic [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] are both so old it it’s debatable. I’m also finding several other spellings as legitimate variations of both, (i.e. not just kre8tiv), such as [name_f]Alya[/name_f] Alya - Meaning of Alya, What does Alya mean?.
However, spelling [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] ranks #36 on the popularity charts so I would definitely go with that one.
The other spellings rank as follows:
[name_f]Alia[/name_f] #763
[name_f]Aalia[/name_f] - not in the Top 1000
[name_f]Aliyah[/name_f] #140
[name_f]Aliya[/name_f] #597
I would go with the simple spelling, [name_f]Alia[/name_f], because they all sound the same. It is easier to have a simple spelling that can make it easier on everyone. Take if from an [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] that had to correct people with [name_f]Ashleigh[/name_f] all through life. The pronunciation of A-lee-A is pretty simple. I don’t hear the “Yah” or “Y” sound in it when said. Unless you want that strong “Y” sound I’d go with [name_f]Alia[/name_f].
I prefer [name_f]Alia[/name_f]. It’s simple and elegant. The rest just look too complicated with double letters and y’s. I’m allergic with y’s :). I remember a beautiful [name_f]Queen[/name_f] of [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] named [name_f]Alia[/name_f].
I think [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] is really pretty. [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] has too many A’s and just looks wrong - too many letters - , [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] is simpler, stunning and gets the message across. I knew a girl named [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] so maybe that’s why I like this spelling.
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]: [name_u]Read[/name_u] through some other posts, how are you pronouncing the name? The [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] I know pronounced it uh-lee-uh. If that’s not how you’re pronouncing it, then maybe a different spelling would be better.
We just wondered if there were any other opinions here before we close. Thank you!
I would go with [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] (I have a friend with this spelling) or [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f].
Quick note. I know an [name_f]Alia[/name_f]. She is from Pakistan and it is firmly pronounced [name_m]Al[/name_m]-yuh, like the common pronunciation of the ending of [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] in the USA. She also gets “al-ee-uh” a bit from people she doesn’t know.
I would go with [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] or [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] (most common I think?) if “uh-lee-uh” is the desired prn.