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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Yahya or Eesa?

131 replies

Aaliyah1 · 04/01/2014 18:40

I need some help guys with the two above names. We are having a baby boy and like these two names. I wanted to know the opinion of non Muslims (Muslims too Wink) of what you think of them. I'm swaying towards one but my DH is swaying to another Hmm

Yahya is the Arabic for John and Eesa is Arabic for Jesus.

OP posts:
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Theas18 · 04/01/2014 20:18

Both names are fine neither stand out to me , interestingly DS (school 50% plus non white uk! lots of Muslims ) hasn't encountered anyone with either name. We know an eeshan though.

My favourite Muslim crossover name has to be Idris though. I know now he was king of Persia, but the lad himself is a big rugby player and jokes that he was clearly destined to play for wales lol

claretandamberforever · 04/01/2014 20:16

I really like both of them (I'm a non-muslim). I think I'm swayed towards Eesa, but I love the sound of Yahya.

DrSeuss · 04/01/2014 20:12

Some of the posters here should be ashamed of themselves!
Both are beautiful names. I slightly prefer Eesa for no particular reason although my absolute favourite Islamic name is Youssef, which is how my white, Christian son is addressed whenever he is in a Muslim country on holiday.

Beautiful names for a beautiful child, mA!

Lottiedoubtie · 04/01/2014 20:10

I was at school 20 years ago with a Yahya so it's been around in England for a while Hmm some of these responses are seriously rude.

To my ears OP Eesa sounds a lot nicer and I really like it.

I am biased about Yahya because he was a childhood bully - but in hindsight I suspect that that was bourne out of the bullying he also recieved, much of which was name based. I'd like to tell you that we live in more enlightened times, but this thread suggests otherwise. I believe 'my' Yahya went on to call himself 'John' at secondary school.

defuse · 04/01/2014 20:09

Love both names op, both on my shorlist too Smile
Eesa my favourite too. Smile
Congratulations Thanks

eurochick · 04/01/2014 20:08

I have quite a few muslim friends and colleagues and have never heard of either and thought they were both girls names... I think Eesa is probably the easier in an Anglophone country.

Original poster
Aaliyah1 · 04/01/2014 20:08

Also I don't mind the negative comments! I did ask for opinions Wink
I am looking at the names from a point of view were they are normal to me.

I wanted to see how other people see them, would pronounce then etc All points of view are welcome!

OP posts:
sonlypuppyfat · 04/01/2014 20:05

My DS is ieuan and that's Welsh for John.I think they are both lovely names.

Original poster
Aaliyah1 · 04/01/2014 20:04

I prefer Eesa (pronounced phonetically at ee-sa), so I'm kind of glad that the majority have voted for that! I have seen the spelling as Isa but there is a girls name which is spelt the same but pronounced I-sa so that could be confusing.

I like Yahya too but feel that it won't be pronounced properly. It's Yah-ya but feel people will say Ya Ya (as in yeah yeah iyswim). And is also associated with the footballer as other people have mentioned.

I'm looking for a name which had a Muslim identity but still works well in the UK. There are names such as Adam, Harris, Danyal etc which appear in both cultures q commonly but not really the route I'd want to go down.

Musa is a lovely name too as someone mentioned.

OP posts:
Notawordfromtheladybird · 04/01/2014 20:03

I like Yahya, but I prefer the more common (or at least in Egypt) spelling of Yehia. It's written how you pronouce it. Yahya, would make me say "ya" not "ye".

Passmethecrisps · 04/01/2014 20:02

I am a bit taken aback by some responses here. Mind you,OP did ask for opinions!

I prefer Eesa but I wouldn't think twice of either in the nicest possible sense. I don't worry about what names mean or whether that name specifically matches the cultural heritage of that child.

Sharaluck · 04/01/2014 20:00

I'm surprised people are unfamiliar with these names to be honest. I have met a couple of both.

I prefer Yahya :) (and I didn't know it was Arabic for john, so that is interesting).

Lullabyte · 04/01/2014 20:00

Grin bugsy

or eerie?

or eek? EEK!
(my favourite kid-friendly expression to use when trying to avoid the words 'oh, shit' or 'fuck' )

PollyCazaletWannabe · 04/01/2014 19:58

I rarely say this , but a lot of the posts on this thread are really quite rude. Why in earth does a name have to be 'English' for it to be acceptable?

OP, I prefer Eesa. It is easy to pronounce and sounds lovely. Good luck choosing!

StrangeGlue · 04/01/2014 19:57

Thanks, I didn't know if it was yah-ya or ya-hi-a.

I prefer eesa

Lullabyte · 04/01/2014 19:56

I like Eesa and I like how you're spelling it. Truly great name. That one gets my vote, OP I hope it's a vote for the one you want!

zinher · 04/01/2014 19:54

Eesa is pronounced with an S. How it's written is how it sounds

Yahya is pronounced yah- ya with an emphasis on the h in the middle

bugsyclaus · 04/01/2014 19:51

Really pirate? How about eel?

bugsyclaus · 04/01/2014 19:50

Non Muslim non football fan here. I prefer eesa, that may be because I've met an isa ( pron eesa) but never heard of yahya.

SootikinAndSweep · 04/01/2014 19:48

Bloody hell, the OP isn't asking for a name that is an English name! This thread is going the same way as the Irish 'has someone dropped a load of Scrabble letters' ones.

How is Yahya pronounced, OP? And is Eesa with an 's' sound or a 'z'?

PiratePanda · 04/01/2014 19:43

Eesa, but please spell it Isa. No other word in English starts with two E's. Except Eeyore Hmm

LadyIsabellasHollyWreath · 04/01/2014 19:42

Isa (pronounced Eesa) is the little boy who dies in a drone attack in Homeland. I think both names sound nice, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with them, but they do look odd to Anglophone eyes - a bit like a toddler sibling's mispronounciation as an earlier poster said. It's absolutely up to you whether you care about that and want to go a bit more international, or whether you love the names so much that you are happy to shrug off the odd double-take.

Lottystar · 04/01/2014 19:42

I really like Eesa too. I'm from a White Catholic background and it's a lovely name that's easy for anyone to pronounce. At the end of the day you just need to go with what you and your husband are happy with, Britain is a multicultural country and I think anything pretty much goes Smile

BillyBanter · 04/01/2014 19:36

Yahya is a bit more confusing wrt how to pronounce it. Eesa is nice. :)

redgate · 04/01/2014 19:35

Yahya is nice, but the first thing it made me think of was Toure - midfielder for Man City.

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