Yahya or Eesa?

I knew a sweet Yahya and it's a super name, but I've never heard Eesa and I love it.

Like both but prefer Yahya. Sounds strong and honest. Eesa is a little softer to my ears, still pretty though.

Aaliyah1 we took about 12 hours maybe 24 to decided what to call DS. We had three names for boys (only one if he had been a girl). As soon as I met DS one name wasn't right and then we just spent some time with him until we settled on his name. It's Arabic and not that common in Arabic or English and people really do try to learn it.

I like Yahya better I love the way it sounds

Eesa is lovely. Yahya reminds me of ya-ya which is a Spanish term of endearment for grandmother (ya-yo is grandfather).

When I hear a name once I don't mispronounce it, that's just lazy and rude.

Both names are easy to pronounce correctly Yahya is pronounced with the h sound and Eesa is pronounced how it's spelled.

I like Yahya as it's less popular than Eesa but both are lovely and I went to school with boys with those names they were in different years to me.

If I ever have sons I'll call one Yahya (clearly the UK will benefit from more Yahya's, to eliminate this fear and derision of a foreign name!).

In the Quran it is written that no man was called Yahya before the son of Zachariya.

For what it's worth I have a blatantly non English name but it's pronounced exactly as it's spelled, which is what I say whenever asked. Only once in my life I was told by a rude man he'd call me something else as it was difficult to pronounce I told him sure go ahead I'll call you Fred as I don't much like yours either. My name is very easy to pronounce as are both Yahya and Eesa.

I think.both names are lovely. Go with your heart op.

Reflecting on a comment upthread, depending where you are in the UK, these names are mainstream. In DD's class, about 50% of the class have Muslim/Arabic names and a third have Sikh/Punjabi names and everyone copes quite happily with it.

Sootikin - I do like the Sufjan spelling too, but considering some of the reactions on here to names which aren't apparently instantly phonetically clear, I thought I'd play it safe .

I am a frequent lurker on baby name threads. If I see a name I am unsure how to pronounce due to unfamiliarity, I read until someone explains how it's pronounced. It wouldn't occur to me to dislike a name because of my own ignorance, hence why I find "scrabble" comments baffling.

Working - Interesting point about the differing reaction to French names. I think like so many things on MN it boils down to perceptions of class. French names are somehow "classic" and "aspirational", whereas Irish, Welsh and Arabic names don't seem to have quite the same cachet round these parts...

I know a wonderful Yahya so I associate the name with him. Eesa would probably work better throughout most of the UK though I guess it is more similar to many more en masse familiar names. Both are nice.

Agree that many of these responses are rude. Thousands of people give their children names that are from their own culture rather than the culture of the country they happen to live in - so what? Britain doesn't even have just one culture any more anyway. I don't think a name should be required to be easily recognisable or pronouncable in English - people will learn.

I've personally never come across either name and, on reading them, assumed them to be female names. But that wouldn't matter. Once I met the child I'd know he was a boy, end of problem.

I like both but like Eesa better.

The first response on this thread is rude.

As already stated upthread, i love the name Eesa and also prefer the spelling as Isa, but would probably go with Eesa in the end.

I really like Eesa. :)

Eesa has a lovely sound.

Eyes a has a nicer sound, yahya really won't work in the uk. Eesa does look a little strange to English eyes with the double E but that's not really a problem.

Eesa looks easier to pronounce - but I'm sure I could get to grips with Yahya once you'd told me how it was pronounced. Having a very difficult to pronounce surname I know it's a PITA to go through your whole life having to explain how it's pronounced, which is why we gave the DCs very 'easy' names - so maybe worth thinking about?

My pronunciation is quite eastenders. I get the name is soft ee-sa. Rather than ee-za. Then it just sounds whispered.

It's a nice name still. Still prefer to the other.

Minnie, how do you pronounce 'easy', and how do you pronounce 'seaside'? It's the second one.

Still sounds like e's are good to me I'm afraid. Might be the accent I've got.

But MINNIE it's not pronounced EeZa it's pronounced EeSa.

Both names are a wonderful names of prophets I like both of them.

Honestly? Made me sing eesa good eesa good ebeneezer good! But is better of the two. Agree yahya will end up yah yah. Yuk.

It just never seems to happen with French names...

... unless OP wants an HONEST reaction to her suggestions. God forbid any of us should give an HONEST opinion when asked for it. How rude, eh?!

I'm not agitated, no need to tell me to calm down. More fool you if you went with what others thought, Clodagh is a 'normal' name. Like it or not, the reactions to Muslim, Irish and to a lesser extent Welsh names on MN tend to be pretty insular and often quite rude. We live in a multicultural society in a global economy and people who don't take the time and make the effort to learn how to pronounce names are generally letting themselves down.

OP said she didn't want an Anglo Muslim name so while saying 'I prefer Yahya' or 'I find Eesa easier to say' is fine, describing it as a toddler word or scrabble tiles thrown up in the air is unnecessary.