Pronunciation and Nick names for Aurelia

[CakeandRoses]

As those who have been helping me thru my name-pain on my 'frilly girls name' thread will know, my DH suddenly did a U-turn last week and said he was considering Aurelia (my fave girl's name) but I wasn't to nag and beg him mention it to him about it until he's had a chance to ponder it. Unbelievably, I've managed not to say a word about it but I plan to later today . Hopefully, my hopes won't be dashed!

Anyway, I thought I'd get myself all prepared in case it's a goer.

I've heard/read of at least three pronuncations of the name, it doesn't seem as though there's one correct version, as it appears to be pronounced differently in different countries. I can't decide whether I prefer:

Or-Rell-Ia (rel to rhyme with bell)

Or-Ray-Lia

Thoughts?

Also, I was initially struggling for nick names but depending on the pronunciation, some of these could be ok.

Aury
Aura
Rels
Ray/Raya
Lia

Thoughts?

Thank you (and wish me luck!)

[oopsandbabycoconut]

It was on our list but we have an A surname and would be too much of a mouthful

I have always pronounced it or-ree-lia we would have used the nn. Rory for her.

[littledawley]

I have only heard it as Or-ray-lee-a but that was in the film Love Actually! Gorgeous name.

[recireci]

Or-REE-lia

From your nicknames I like Lia best.

[CakeandRoses]

oopsandbabycoconut and recireci: just making sure I'm understanding you correctly, you are making a distinction between Ree and Rell, yes?

[oopsandbabycoconut]

Yes - ree as in reed rather than rell as in bell

[Esmee]

I pronounce it close to or-RAY-lia. It's really pretty!

[frakkinnuts]

Or-ree-lia

I like Rory or Lia as a nickname.

[recireci]

Yes, ree as in reed.

[taffetacat]

or RAY lia. Lovely name. My DH wouldn't let me consider it.

It doesn't fall naturally into a nickname. Neither does my DD's name. Her nickname is completely unconnected to her actual name. You may find this the case too.

[mumofeightplusfour]

lovely name but not sure on correct pronounciation
only possible problem may be be if your not sure how to say and from the different interpretations on this thread you/she will spend a life timecorrecting peoples pronounciation of it . just something to consider if you can live with that potential issue then its a great name

[zazen]

Oral would be her nickname in my city.

I like the name Felicia also, until I figured out what DD would be called..

[Peaceflower]

I know a girl called Aurelia, and it's pronounced

Or-ree-lia

No one seems to shorten it, but she's sometimes called by Ree-lia by close friends/family.

[meadowlarks]

I have a friend called Aurelia who pronounces it "Or-REE-lia", which I prefer anyway. She doesn't get called anything for short, but that's no bad thing.

[Biscuitbreaker]

I know one who pronounces it Or-Ray-Lee-A

That's would be my preference. I think Ray/Raya/Lia are very natural nicknames.

[mathanxiety]

Awe-REE-leah -- It's popular among Poles where I live.

(I think Aurelie (French) is much more likely to have an unattractive nn)

[ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave]

DD's best friend (so far as two-year-olds have best friends) is Aurelia. I have to admit that I have no idea how her parents pronounce it, but I have heard various other adults refer to her as

or-RAY-lee-ah
or-REE-lee-ah
ow-RAY-lee-ah
ow-REE-lee-ah

and DD calls her Wee-wah .

So it's probably not the name for you if you will get annoyed at other people pronouncing it otherwise than in the way you want, but it's a lovely name with any pronunciation.

[nicebumbum]

Aurelia is one of DD1's middle names, so no pronunciation issue really as it's not used on a daily basis, but we say the Anglicised version

Or-REE-lee-ah

However, in other countries it is often pronounced

ow-RAY-lee-ah
or
or-RAY-lee-ah

so it's up to you which you choose. It's beautiful, but PLEASE don't shorten it (we didn't use it as a first name because we didn't want people to ruin it by shortening it). It's perfectly possible!

[CakeandRoses]

Thank you everyone! It's suprised me how popular the ree pronunciation is as I seem to naturally say the rell or ray pronunciation.

I'm usually a pernickity thing but I think think I'll be ok about others pronouncing it differently as I don't feel there's a right or wrong way and I think they all sound pretty. Hopefully she's feel the same! I have the same problem with my name and it doesn't really bother me - people only get it wrong once.

nicebumbum - I'm just being realistic about the nickname. Although I wouldn't plan to use a shortened version all of the time, it's likely we sometimes will - or others will even if we don't. Just want to make sure I'm ok with the possibilities.

Agree with taffetacat on nicknames - often they have nothing to do with the actual name anyway! We call our son all sorts of things and none of them have anything to do with his actual name!

P.S. Are there any dodgy connotations that I haven't spotted with calling a DD Aurelia when I already have a DS called Felix? I know MNetters are demons for spotting stuff like this!

[CakeandRoses]

DH says he's STILL considering the name and to leave it with him and not mention it for a few more days - but then sniggered that this was a good way of stopping me pestering him about names non-stop

Anyway, he did say that he automatically pronounces it Au Rell Ia, like I tend to. Does anyone know if someone with this pronunciation as opposed to Au Ray Lia or Au Ree Lia?

I don't want to choose the least common pronounciation as DD is sure to have to correct people loads with this name anyway!

[5DollarShake]

I don't know any, but think it's a very pretty name.

Would pronounce it Au-ray-lia. My personal opinion is that Au-ree-lia has a butchered, Anglicised tone to it, but that's just me and I don't have to live with the name.

[diddl]

Au-ray-lia

[JuliaJeanne]

My friend pronounces her name Au Rell Ia and has an Italian father, so I've always thought that that is the "authentic" pronunciation. She says that it's also the name of a major road in Rome!

[frakkinnuts]

I think if you live in Britain most people will automatically say Aw-REE-lia like O-Fee-lia.

FWIW here I would say it Awe-rel-Yia (with noticeable stress on the Ya and Awe-rel almost running into each other) and I much prefer the Italian Aw-Rell-ia but she'll be constantly called Aw-ree-lia anyway as that's the Anglicised pronounciation. Or possibly Or-ELL-ia. It's probably going to be mispronounced anyway.

[meaniebrown]

I'm american and would pronounce it or-rell-ee-uh. (It's a lovely name btw, hope you win over your dh). As far as tease worthy things about it, the only thing that comes to mind is areola. But there will always be something about anything you pick so I wouldn't worry too much.