Thoughts on Soraya vs. Suraya vs. Zakiya?

Tossing these 3 names around in my head tonight and looking for input. I love names with hard consonants (K & Z), but love the meaning of [name_f]Soraya[/name_f]/[name_f]Suraya[/name_f] more. [name_m]Just[/name_m] not sure which one will fit our daughter. Thank you for any tips!

I think my favourite out of the three would have to be [name_f]Soraya[/name_f]. It’s unusual and solid, but still beautiful.
A few other suggestions: [name_f]Zara[/name_f]/[name_f]Zarah[/name_f], [name_u]Zola[/name_u], [name_f]Zinnia[/name_f], [name_f]Cassia[/name_f], [name_f]Calista[/name_f], [name_u]Kameron[/name_u]/[name_u]Cameron[/name_u]

I am leaning toward [name_f]Suraya[/name_f], Süreyya more. And I prefer the spelling Zekiye more than Zakiya.

My favourite is [name_f]Soraya[/name_f]! It’s such a gorgeous name, and i love the meaning too!!

If you’re looking for suggestions, I second PP’s suggestion of [name_f]Zara[/name_f]. I also like [name_f]Layla[/name_f]/[name_f]Laila[/name_f] and [name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f].

Thank you for the replies! I like [name_f]Soraya[/name_f] best (maybe because I hear it so often on the radio) :slight_smile: but I wonder if [name_f]Suraya[/name_f] (or Surayya) is more accurate. The original Arabic word is Thurayya, which means the Pleiades constellation, but of course Thurayya is kind of awful. ” I’m also trying to figure our nicknames for each… [name_f]Suri[/name_f] seems the most obvious one, but I’m anxious about the instant association with the celebrity kid [name_f]Suri[/name_f]. Maybe an alternate spelling could work, like Surri or Surry…?

And Zakiya is something new I stumbled across yesterday, which means “intelligent” (I am studiously avoiding any and all traditionally feminine names, most of which seem to mean “princess” or “flower” or “treasure,” etc.). The more I think about it, though, the less attached I am. It’s maybe a little too exotic.

I love [name_f]Zara[/name_f], but my instant association is the fast-fashion store, and I’m not sure I want her to have that following her around. [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] is another option, but it adds a bit too much breathiness when pronounced in Arabic. (We live in the US but have a lot of extended family in the Middle [name_f]East[/name_f].)

I like [name_f]Soraya[/name_f] best, as well. [name_f]Zahra[/name_f] is quite a pretty option - would the breathiness you mention be a dealbreaker? I am not Middle Eastern/have no Middle Eastern heritage, but through friends I’ve been exposed to the names [name_f]Amirah[/name_f], [name_f]Yasmin[/name_f], [name_f]Layla[/name_f]/[name_f]Laila[/name_f], [name_f]Aisha[/name_f], and [name_f]Nylah[/name_f]/[name_f]Nyla[/name_f], all of which are stunning [name_f]IMO[/name_f] if you’re looking for suggestions! :slight_smile:

Well, [name_f]Soraya[/name_f] means “jewel”, which is a nice meaning, but it reminds me of psoriasis. Not much a fan of any of them, but I think I prefer the [name_f]Suraya[/name_f] spelling.

[name_f]Soraya[/name_f] is gorgeous! I prefer it to the [name_f]Suraya[/name_f] spelling.

[name_f]Suraya[/name_f] is my favourite spelling, she feels the most mystical. I think [name_f]Suri[/name_f] is sweet too but if you’re worried about the celeb baby thing, maybe [name_f]Raya[/name_f]? Saya? Sura? Also this one is a bit random but it definitely would work - Shuri? It came to mind immediately for me because my cat’s name is [name_u]Shura[/name_u] and I nickname her both Shuri and [name_f]Suri[/name_f] so it works equally the other way round!

I actually kinda like Thurayya - maybe not usable as a first name but it’s pretty. Thaya is lovely, but then I like [name_f]Thea[/name_f] and [name_f]Thana[/name_f] too.

Some similar names you might like;
Zaraya / Zoraya
[name_f]Nayara[/name_f]
[name_u]Zuri[/name_u]
[name_f]Zahara[/name_f], [name_f]Zahira[/name_f]
[name_f]Zaira[/name_f]
[name_f]Senara[/name_f]
[name_f]Yara[/name_f]
[name_f]Khalila[/name_f]
Sakina

I never know if this is sore-ray-yuh or sore-rye-yuh, how are you pronouncing it. I know this is a dumb reason, but it always makes me think of psoriasis. I like Zakiya (it’s one of my best friends name spelled [name_f]Zakia[/name_f]). Maybe you might like some of the names in my sig? Since it seems like you want an arabic name.

Imara
Mardah
Kafia
Maysa
Kalila
Mariya
Maysan
Nadia
Nakia
Siham
Zina
Yara
Ziana
Safia

Thank you all for these lovely suggestions! The meaning of both [name_f]Soraya[/name_f] & [name_f]Suraya[/name_f] trace back to Thurayya, as I mentioned earlier, which I love because the Pleiades is a constellation of 7 “sister” stars and I am looking for a name with a feminist meaning–in my mind, the constellation is a reference to solidarity with one’s sisters, which I like. She will have Nordic middle names to go with other heritage, but another reason we like [name_f]Soraya[/name_f]/[name_f]Suraya[/name_f] is that it transfers well to Thai (last part of our family background). I love all the other non-Western names mentioned, but unfortunately know too many people with those names or they have undesirable meanings in some of our family’s languages!

One more related question… since we are leaning towards [name_f]Suraya[/name_f] right now, I’m considering keeping the spelling as close to the original Arabic as possible. This would mean Surayya (two Y’s). [name_m]How[/name_m] does that look/sound compared to [name_f]Suraya[/name_f]? I’m not too worried about it being too “exotic,” just more of how it looks aesthetically. Thank you!

I like the two Ys. I also think of psoriasis when I hear it, but that spelling helps.

Looking at nameberry’s Arabic list, I also like

[name_u]Amal[/name_u]
[name_f]Faizah[/name_f]
[name_f]Nazira[/name_f]
[name_f]Noor[/name_f]
[name_f]Ulima[/name_f]
[name_f]Zora[/name_f]

I would definitely go with [name_f]Soraya[/name_f] :slight_smile: