Pronunciations of these names?

General Name Discussion
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[name]Hi[/name] everyone,

As I look around nameberry and think of names that I would consider, I come across many whose pronunciation is questionable. My mother has always said that she wishes she had a name that people knew how to pronounce right away when looking at it and how to spell it. [name]Just[/name] for curiosity’s sake, how do/would you pronounce these names? Are there multiple ways to pronounce them?

[name]Helena[/name] (hel-EE-na or HEL-uh-nuh or hel-A-nuh [“A” as in ‘ache’]? or something else?)

[name]Nevaeh[/name] (I’ve seen this EVERYWHERE on nameberry, but have NO idea how to pronounce it)

[name]Lucia[/name] (LOO-sha or loo-SEE-uh or loo-CHEE-uh? It may depend on your geography/culture…)

Ayda (I like the name “[name]Ida[/name]” but I consider this a more modern spelling. [name]Do[/name] you automatically see “[name]Ida[/name]” when you see this?)

[name]Elias[/name] (eh-[name]LEE[/name]-us or eh-LYE-us or ee-LYE-us?)

[name]Bea[/name] (I always assumed that this was [name]BEE[/name]-uh until I saw someone post that it is simply [name]BEE[/name]. I do prefer [name]BEE[/name]-uh)

[name]Thea[/name] (I saw a post not too long ago about this one. I see it as THEE-uh or [name]THAY[/name]-uh, a feminine form of [name]Theo[/name] [THEE-oh])

[name]Isla[/name] (I see this name everywhere on nameberry, too, and the consensus seems to be EYE-luh, but I speak Spanish as a second language and can’t see it as anything but EES-luh)

What other names trip you up when you see them?

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[name]Helena[/name]: I pronounce it HEL-uh-nuh, but I believe any of your three would be considered acceptable. I think most people would say HEL-uh-nuh on first glance, as in Bonham [name]Carter[/name].

[name]Nevaeh[/name]: Blech, but the proper pronunciation would be nuh-VAY-uh.

[name]Lucia[/name]: Again, any of the three are acceptable. The English LOO-sha or Spanish loo-SEE-uh are the most intuitive to me, where the Italian loo-CHEE-uh takes some work to remember.

Ayda: I definitely don’t see [name]Ida[/name]. I would say [name]Ada[/name]. I prefer either of those two over Ayda, which looks made up.

[name]Elias[/name]: ee-LYE-us.

[name]Bea[/name]: [name]BEE[/name].

[name]Thea[/name]: I’d pronounce it THEE-uh at first glance, but I could see [name]THAY[/name]-uh as well.

[name]Isla[/name]: Since it’s Scottish in origin, the proper pronunciation is EYE-luh, like island. I understand the desire to say EES-luh though, and I now have [name]Madonna[/name]'s La [name]Isla[/name] [name]Bonita[/name] stuck in my head!

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[name]Helena[/name] - I say HEH-len-ah. The other two are legitimate, though.

[name]Nevaeh[/name] - I think this is supposed to be neh-VAY-uh. I always thought it was just neh-VAY, though. Either way, I can’t stand it, haha. I am surprised you see it everywhere on Nameberry because most of us can’t stand it, lol.

[name]Lucia[/name] - I say LOO-shuh but I guess it depends on the culture. loo-SEE-ah is Spanish and loo-CHEE-ah is Italian.

Ayda - never seen this before. I absolutely would not have gotten to [name]Ida[/name] (EYE-dah) from Ayda (which I say as AY-dah).

[name]Elias[/name] - I go back and forth between ee-LYE-as and ah-LYE-as. When I say it in a combo (like [name]Caleb[/name] [name]Elias[/name] [name]Joseph[/name]), it’s usually ah-LYE-as for me, but when I see it by itself, I usually say ee-LYE-as… not sure why, lol. I do sort of like the Spanish eh-[name]LEE[/name]-as, though! Except that’s probably due to the fact that I have a strange sort of interest in other languages and accents, haha.

[name]Bea[/name] - just like [name]Bee[/name]. I think that’s the universal expectation, unless you’re in Spanish culture, and then it would be [name]BAY[/name]-ah, I would think. (As would [name]Bella[/name]…) I’ve never really heard [name]Bee[/name]-ah although I suppose it would make sense, especially given [name]Beatrix[/name]'s and [name]Beatrice[/name]'s pronunciations.

[name]Thea[/name] - I go between THEE-ah and [name]THAY[/name]-ah, but I’ve heard [name]TAY[/name]-ah, too.

[name]Isla[/name] - yep, I think most go to the Gaelic EYE-lah. I recently finished my fourth Spanish course, though, so I can see the instinct to say EES-lah, which I think is just as pretty, actually. I think EYE-lah would be more acceptable and easier to deal with.

I don’t have most that I have problems with… there is [name]Ayla[/name], which I never know if people want it AY-lah or EYE-lah, since both are acceptable. I don’t know which is more acceptable, though, haha. I absolutely love [name]Eilidh[/name], which trips 95% of non name nerds up, though (it’s AY-lee).

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For the record, on the Ayda topic, my name is [name]Aida[/name], and it’s pronounced [name]Ida[/name]. I always get the mispronunciation of AY da (ay as in hay) or ah EE dah. I imagine the same issue barring the last pronunciation for Ayda.

[name]Elias[/name] has always been eh LYE us. I’ve never heard it pronounced eh [name]LEE[/name] us.

Everyone else seems to have the rest on lock. lol

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[name]Ash[/name]: I’ve never heard of [name]Eilidh[/name] before! I’m sure American school teachers would butcher that pretty well. Also, what you were saying regarding [name]Bea[/name]/[name]Beatrice[/name], that’s what I was thinking! If you take the “-trice/-trix” off the end, you’re left with [name]BEE[/name]-uh.

[name]Aida[/name]/taterz: I know someone named [name]Aida[/name] who pronounces is like you. Her family speaks Spanish and I suspect that influences the pronunciation. I will admit, that before I met her I would always think ah-EE-dah when I saw “[name]Aida[/name].”

And for the record, Navaeh is not a name I would use–I just didn’t know how it was pronounced! When I see it on nameberry, it is usually in the midst of “what a terrible name” discussions.

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Helena- All 3 are correct, as far as I know. I tend to say, “HELL-uh-nuh” (or like Helen + an A at the end)

Nevaeh- Don’t know, don’t care, but I read it in my head as “nuh-VAY-a”

Lucia- This is my name, but I go by Lucy much more often than not. I’m Canadian and my name started off “LU-sha”, but then I moved to Spain (and now live in the Basque Country) so I use “lu-THEE-a” here. I’m not opposed to any of the pronunciations, though. I like that Lucia is a name that travels well.

Ayda- I read this as “AY-da” instinctively, but I can see how one gets “EYE-da” from it without a problem.

Elias- depending on where I am, “uh-LYE-iss”, or “eh-LEE-ahs”

Bea- I say “BEH-a” first, then Bee… I don’t think “BEE-a” would come to mind without someone telling me.

Thea- “TEH-ah” (pretty much like TAY-a)

Isla- I know it’s a Scottish name, so it’s EYE-la. I don’t know any Spanish people names Isla (apparently there are only 24 Islas in Spain), so it doesn’t occur to me that it’d be pronounced like EES-la.

Disclaimer: I speak English, French & Spanish, live in a Basque-speaking area and used to live in a Catalan-speaking area, so my pronunciations really depend on location, as well as personal preferences, no necessarily which one is English.

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[name]Helena[/name] - I say HEL-en-uh, but huh-[name]LAY[/name]-nah is also correct (Spanish pr)

[name]Nevaeh[/name] - nuh-vay-ah. Though the way it’s spelled, I feel it SHOULD be nuh-vah-ay.

[name]Lucia[/name] - I say loo-sha, but I believe loo-see-ah is also correct. It does depend a lot on where you are.

Ayda - I say ay-duh, just like it’s spelled. I would never get eye-dah out of this.

[name]Elias[/name] - I would say ee-lie-us but I’m not 100% sure on it as I don’t know anyone with this name.

[name]Bea[/name] - [name]Just[/name] bee. I’ve never heard it being pronounced bee-uh.

[name]Thea[/name] - I would say thee-ah, like the ending of [name]Dorthea[/name].

[name]Isla[/name] - eye-la. I’ve never heard of it being pronounced any other way as a name, though ees-la is the pronunciation for island in Spanish, which has been mentioned. So I guess maybe if you’re in a heavy Spanish speaking area, it may be pronounced this way.

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[name]Helena[/name] -hel-A-nuh

[name]Nevaeh[/name] - I’ve only heard it pronounced neh-vay-ah, but as it’s a made up name, I’m pretty sure anything goes

[name]Lucia[/name] -loo-CHEE-uh - I’m Welsh, live in the UK and have only heard the Italian pronounciation of it, so I pronounce it as such.

Ayda - I see Ay-da rather than [name]Ida[/name]

[name]Elias[/name] - Eh-lee-us

[name]Bea[/name] - I’d say [name]Bee[/name]-ah, because of the way [name]Beatrice[/name] is pronounced in the UK

[name]Thea[/name] - I’ve always thought it was thee-ah

[name]Isla[/name] -ey-lah, like the Scottish place name

Can’t think of any names that trip me up off the top of my head, but I’m sure there are a fair few!

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[name]Helena[/name]- Hell-A-[name]Nuh[/name] (your 3rd prn.)

[name]Nevaeh[/name]- [name]Nev[/name]-A-Uh

[name]Lucia[/name]- [name]Lou[/name]-CHEE-Uh (your 3rd prn.)

Ayda- A-Duh

[name]Elias[/name]- E-Lye-Us (your 2nd prn.)

[name]Bea[/name]-[name]Bee[/name]-A

[name]Thea[/name]-Thee-Uh

[name]Isla[/name]-Ised to say EES-Luh, but looked it up on NB and now I say Eye-Luh

I’m American BTW

[name]Honora[/name] and [name]Lilianna[/name] confuse me on prn.

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[name]Helena[/name] – I’ve used all 3 pronunciations! Upon seeing it though, I think ‘Hel-[name]Lay[/name]-[name]Nuh[/name]’.

[name]Nevaeh[/name] – I say Neh-vay-uh.

[name]Lucia[/name] – I’ve never thought of LOO-SHA; I say LOO-See-ah or LOO-CHEE-[name]AH[/name].

Ayda – I automatically see ‘[name]Ada[/name]’ when I see this.

[name]Elias[/name] (eh-[name]LEE[/name]-us or eh-LYE-us or ee-LYE-us?): even knew a guy who pronounced it like ‘ALIAS’. Me? Eh-Lye-Uhs.

[name]Bea[/name] : [name]Bee[/name]. I had a Great Auntie [name]Bea[/name] growing up!

[name]Thea[/name]: Reaction = THee-ah.

[name]Isla[/name] : Always Eye-Luh.

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[name]Helena[/name] - Hell-ay-nuh (your last pronunciation). I think Hell-ee-nuh is pretty too. I find the Hell-uh-nuh pronunciation to be unattractive.

[name]Nevaeh[/name] - Neh-vay-uh.

[name]Lucia[/name] - I hear Loo-see-uh the most, but I [name]LOVE[/name] the Loo-shuh pronunciation!! I know a British girl who says her name this way.

Ayda - I would say A-duh rather than [name]Ida[/name].

[name]Elias[/name] - It’s said Eh-LIE-us, this is my guy’s name. :slight_smile:

[name]Bea[/name] - I say [name]Bee[/name]-uh, as in a nickname for [name]Beatrice[/name]/[name]Beatrix[/name]. If it were “bee”, I would spell it [name]Bee[/name].

[name]Thea[/name] - I’ve seen most pronunciations as Thee-uh (also know a girl named [name]Thea[/name] who says it like this), but I’ve seen [name]Thay[/name]-uh as an alternative.

[name]Isla[/name] - Eye-luh.

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I also wanted to add that I have seen [name]Lucia[/name] as a last name now that I think of it and it’s pronounced loo-chee-ah. I strongly dislike that pronunciation, but the person with this last name coaches my least favorite hockey team so maybe I’m biased :wink:

A thought on [name]Bea[/name] - I think I get the pronunciation from [name]Bea[/name] [name]Arthur[/name]. Isn’t that how she spells it? Behind The Name only lists the “bee” pronunciation. Meaning, origin and history of the name Bea - Behind the Name. I looked at the comments and it looks like people do say bee-ah or bay-ah, but it is not listed as an “accepted” pronunciation. Also, those pronunciations are in non-English speaking countries, and the name is English. Not to say it can’t be pronounced any other way, but the “correct” pronunciation is bee.

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[i]I’m from Australia, if you’re interested in the pronunciation with different accents. :slight_smile:

[name]Helena[/name] - I pronounce this hel-EE-na.
[name]Nevaeh[/name] - neh-vay-ah.
[name]Lucia[/name] - loo-SEE-ah or loo-[name]CHAY[/name]-ah, depending on the person.
Ayda - my first reaction is to pronounce it like [name]Ada[/name].
[name]Elias[/name] - eh-LYE-us.
[name]Bea[/name] - [name]BEE[/name] or [name]BEE[/name]-uh, depending on the person.
[name]Thea[/name] - THEE-uh or [name]THAY[/name]-uh, depending once again. But mostly THEE-uh.
[name]Isla[/name] - Always eye-luh. I know a mother who named her daughter [name]Isla[/name], but didn’t want people to say IZ-la, so she spelt it Ihyla instead. Horrible, if you ask me.[/i]

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I always thought [name]Bea[/name] was bee-uh…now I feel kind of silly