Pronouncing vs. Spelling

[jurisane]

My husband likes the name Elena but he pronounces it Alanna. Whenever I see Elena on a page I want to pronounce it Ellena. I don't like names that are so ambiguous regarding spelling and pronunciations! The poor girl will be constantly correcting people.

A possible compromise could be Helen but I'm still holding out for Daisy.

Thoughts?

[Floggingmolly]

Elena is pronounced El-ay-na, isn't it? And Alanna is the Irish word for child; used as a term of endearment.

[wigglesrock]

Pronunciation was the reason I decided not to go with Elena for dd3, it was a front runner for a while. I pronounce it El en a .

[jurisane]

Sorry I was a bit confusing. He says it Ah-lay-na and I keep telling him that means the name starts with an A not an E. I think the whole thing is just too confusing and he should give up on it already.

That said, we've only just found out our baby is a girl and so spent the weekend "discussing" it.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I would agree with you - Elena is not pronounced with an Ah at the beginning. I do think Alanna is a lovely name - is there any chance he'd go for that?

[SylvaniansAtEase]

How on earth does he get an 'Ah' sound from 'El'?!

Don't do it, you and he and your poor DD will have a life of misery.