Yahya or Eesa?

working9while5, calm down, the OP wanted the perspectives of other people. I get where she's coming from. To be Clodagh was a normal name, I ran it past an MN jury and posters said 'like the claddagh ring?'. I hadn't thought that people would think that. So that perspective of others was valuable. The OP isn't upset, she asked for opinions because she wanted them!

Sigh, fat thumbs...

????

I wasn't saying it needed to be English or look English or sound English. The whole point is that Isa is an Arabic name that can be transliterated any way you like into Roman script, and Isa looks better and is more obvious in pronunciation to Eesa. If you want to be precise, it's actually written

???

I'm fluent in two languages spoken predominantly by Muslims and written in Arabic script, and my DS has a Muslim name despite being C of E. But thanks for assuming I'm a xenophobe/racist/Islamophobe.

Hi,

I teach a Yahya, many English people pronounce the name as yaryar as they have difficulty in sounding out the H. I personally wouldn't go for this name as he will constantly be correcting people when he is older.
How about Amir / Musa / Adaam?

Ooh, I love Sufjan Stevens! And I like the 'j' spelling.

I read an Irish baby name thread recently and someone said "I'm sure no one would be so rude on a Muslim baby name thread"-it would appear that they would.

Op, I like Eesa best, although I do prefer the Isa spelling.

Not sure if you're looking for additional names, but I love Hamza and Sufyan too

I like the sound of Eesa best.

I think it is far easier to pronounce and spell than Yahya (for people who are not familiar with these names)

Notawordfromtehladybird, I like the Yehia spelling too.

I like them both.

Weirdly, Eesa is pronounced the same as Iosa (fada accent on the I, which is Irish for Jesus..

I wanted Eesa but my dh went for another prophetic name instead. Eesa is lovely, very easy to pronounce with the double ee spelling as Isa is pronounced as I-sa with the emphasis on the I.

People don't realise that Jesus is respected in Islam as a prophet rather than a son of God & that there is a chapter in the Qur'an named after Mary (Maryam).

I love Eesa - I'd pronounce it with a long flat [eh] sound but that's just because that's how it'd be pronounced in my native tongue. I like either pronunciation.

I have taught an Eisa pronounced Eesa and do prefer the Ei spelling. It's a really lovely name though.

I think Eesa is a lovely name.

Oh yes you're right mammma. Lovely name spelled like that, and a bit less feminine than the single s version, but the pronunciation is a bit ambiguous if you care about that.

I'm not keen on Yahya, i didn't know it was a first name actually, I know someone whose surname is yahya.

I really like Eesa. I'd never heard the name before even though I live in an area with a sizeable Muslim population. my DS started school this year and there are 4 in his year! So don't know if that puts you off as its obviously quite popular. Spelt various ways but I prefer Esa, it's simplest and looks nice.

The boy in Homeland was actually Issa, pronounced Eyesa, which I like too.

Eesa is my preference, it sounds strong.

I think Eesa is a beautiful name

I'm shocked at some of the posts on here, some sound like small-minded DM-reading Little Englanders

Jesus is a prophet in Islam, why would it be strange to name a child the Arabic version?

Eesa is great. In fact If I'd have known their was an Arabic equivalent of Jesus I would have gone for that for DS. I've always wanted the Spanish Jesus (HeyZuse) but it would be weird to have a Spanish name when neither of us are.

The only thing I would say is make sure it works with the surname. If you have an El or Al starting name I'd have a think about it.

Just to throw it in the mix Habbi is quite popular in Eqypt and I love that or the other one I like is Eltiyib.

I prefer Yahya personally but both are nice names.

There are some culturally closeted posters here by the looks of things. I wouldn't worry op, people posting say, Welsh names, get similar responses.

Prefer Eesa, Yahya sounds babyish.

Also love Ishmael, which works very well in both languages.

Given the frankly bizarre choices of some of the parents whose kids I teach, go with a name that reflects your culture. If people manage to learn Leeanne, Tekeila, Astra, Cheyenne and Fiery Britania, all of whom have been in my class, they can learn your choice of name too!

Ffs the ignorance is extreme here!

I prefer Eesa but if I'd had a Muslim lil boy I'd have been having a Muahawiyah so am possibly a bad judge. Also like Ali Shan, Subhaan, Saddique, Musa and Yusaf.

I grew up in Ireland in a town where EVERYONE was white Catholic and I can say all these names and many more having worked in a predominantly Asian area... funny that. Generally people who can't say these names really won't and are being a bit parochial/insular and often a little racist!

To my ears, the most westernized names are the ones you don't mispronounce...

Omar
Hussein
Tareq
Hassan

Or the ones where you can have an easy western nickname as a teenager.. Like Ashaar, nickname Ash.