So very confused about this name.

General Name Discussion
1

In my local paper I encountered an article about a little girl named [name_f]Kaileah[/name_f], which I intuitively pronounced “[name_m]Ky[/name_m]-[name_u]LEE[/name_u]-ah.” This conclusion was helped along by the fact that her parents call her [name_f]LaLa[/name_f] and [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. I thought, “Oh, nifty!” and went to look it up.

It doesn’t appear to have an entry, but previous threads indicate that it’s actually just a creeatiff spelling for [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f]?! I did not get [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f] or [name_f]Kayleigh[/name_f] or [name_f]Kaylie[/name_f] or anything of the sort from [name_f]Kaileah[/name_f]. Am now feeling rather disillusioned.

2

You don’t know how it’s pronounced, since you haven’t met her. I can see how it’d be either way, but with a name so rare I wouldn’t make assumptions.

It appears to be used quite a bit in Australia.

My instincts say [name_u]Kay[/name_u]-lee-ah. For the pronunciation ky-lee-ah, I’d do [name_f]Kylia[/name_f].

I’m pretty sure [name_f]Kaileah[/name_f] is made up, or a respelling of either [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f] or Caelia.

3

I got [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f], but it was not the first pronunciation I tried and I could see it being [name_u]Kay[/name_u]-leah or [name_m]Ky[/name_m]-leah as well. This is why I hate creative spellings, tbh… it’s really frustrating for the kid to always have their name mispronounced/misspelled but also for anyone who has to try to figure out what the heck that name is!

4

I’d go with kay-lee-ah instinctively. I wouldn’t get [name_f]Kailey[/name_f] from that. If you wanted it pronounced like the ky in [name_u]Kyle[/name_u], I’d spell it [name_f]Kylia[/name_f]. I guess it’s pretty, but it sounds like the parents couldn’t agree on a little [name_f]Kayla[/name_f] or a little [name_f]Leah[/name_f] and combined them to make one name.

5

I guess that’s the root of my confusion. IS it in fact a rare name, or is it just a bizarre respelling of [name_f]Kayla[/name_f] or [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f]? Or is it just a smoosh of [name_f]Kayla[/name_f] and [name_f]Leah[/name_f] that someone came up with? I genuinely don’t know. (And then I found the following thread, or I would never have gotten [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f] from it, either.)

6

[name_m]Just[/name_m] thought, it might be a creative elaboration of [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f], perhaps?

7

Could be. In that case, though, nicknames [name_f]Leah[/name_f] and [name_f]LaLa[/name_f] seems like odd choices. I’m just thoroughly baffled.

8

Initially I said [name_u]Kay[/name_u]-leah. But I guess looking it at,I can see how it would be [name_f]Kaileah[/name_f].

9

When I saw it I pronounced it kay-lee-ah, I wouldnt get [name_f]Kaylee[/name_f]/[name_f]Kayleigh[/name_f]/[name_f]Kaylie[/name_f]/[name_f]Kailey[/name_f] or any of it’s other variant spellings from that one.

10

I think it’s a misspelling of Caelia.

11

I would have said kay-lee-ah but I could see how you could get kay-lee, ky-lee or ky-lee-ah from it. It’s so unusual I reckon you could pronounce it however you like if you want to use it :slight_smile:

12

Makes sense. :slight_smile: