If you're not Scottish, what do you think of...

I think it's lovely but she'll probably have to spell it every time she gives her name, or get used to repeating herself. Which is fine really. DH has a name a bit like this and doesn't seem to get annoyed. He gets called all sorts of things. There are people we've known for 20 years who still spell his name wrong.

I think it's pretty.

Ahh Weegie - was going to say that - if they did Gaelic it would be easier - but OP is in England - so no Gaelic phonics involved ...

But the OP's child will be living in England. Not that I think the phonics thing is a huge issue one way or the other when it comes to names.

unlucky my dc are bilingual English/Gaelic and their phonics make Eilidh very easily.

English phonics aren't the only ones!

I only know it from the athlete who did well at the Commonwealth games. Although commentators seem to pronounce it with an s on the end?

With the likely surname spelling issues I would go with something simpler. We have a very common surname but with a slight spelling twist and it is a pain in the backside having to launch into spelling it for every phone call etc.

if it's pronounced AyLee then to me (Londoner) you sound like a Cockney saying "Hayley". Looks nicer than it sounds.

I don't think the whole spelling/pronounciation thing need be an issue, I was at school with a Siobhan and no-one had any problem with it.

I know that seems like an obscure concern but I used to work with children with special needs
The dyslexic child I worked with really struggled to learn with phonics (and would have done anyway). Worse he had a tricky name (phonically)...I always thought it wasn't helping!

I live in England and knew one (not Scottish) when I was younger. I was about 7 when I met her (at brownies!) so heard it said before I saw it written down, and therefore there were no issues at all.

I knew a girl called Eilidh when I was at uni - I thought it was a really ugly name back then when baby names were nowhere near any of my thoughts/priorities.

Now I think it is a very pretty name both to look at when it's written and also to say - I think it is rather ethereal and fairy-like.

I'm Scottish by the way but agree some may struggle with the pronunciation but that's their problem.

My maiden surname and my married surname both require spelling and correction of the pronunciation but it's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

I got it mixed up with the Irish name Eilish and would have pronounced it like that. I think it is pretty, but would be quite hard to pronounce/spell for people who aren't familiar with Scottish names.

frumpy but i've heard worse!

My dd is Eilidh. She told a beefeater at London Tower at the weekend and he started shouting "She's Scottish!"

Someone on ds's birth club who was English used this name as she loved it and knew how annoyed her MIL would be with the spelling and pronounciation. I find England really struggle with her name until she says Hayley without the H.

If I ever have a girl she's going to be Eilidh. But I'm Scottish so not who you're asking for on this thread.

Scottish, living in England with a DD called Eilidh, she was born in Scotland and for the first 18months there was no problem. Now, we do get a few folk who are still unable to spell it but most people can now say her name. I do make a point of using her name often when we first meet people.

The best bit is when the library do an automated call - its always eyelid

DD seems to like her name as she thinks its special although she did go through a stage of wanting to be called Mia like all her friends

Hard for a DC to learn how to spell it and learn phonics ...
I wouldn't do it!

But if it's someone's name then you just learn to spell it, simple as that. Maybe it's different being Scottish but I know a Niamh, a Mhairi ("Varry"), a Rhuaridh... you just learn to spell it as well as pronounce it. I knew someone called Rhuri and it just looked like he couldn't spell his name.

I'm Scottish, so fine with it. I do have a friend with a DD called Ailie, that might work?

English living in Scotland - know a DC /friend of DD with that name ...wouldn't have know how to pronounce it if I'd seen it written down, struggled (and still do) with spelling it ...
Same roots as Ceilidh (Event with Scottish dancing) - when people at work were talking about whether I was going to the kayli said I hadn't heard about it - told there were posters up everywhere and then I realised that's how you said it/that's what it was advertising...
And also I know someone - a teacher, Scottish born and bred, with Scottish parents - who struggles spelling Ceilidh...
Hard for a DC to learn how to spell it and learn phonics ...
I wouldn't do it!

I love the name Eilidh (I'm Scottish, so not your target audience!) but there seems to be loads now so I went off it a little. It's very pretty, it would cause some spelling confusion when it came to Christmas card time but it's easy to pronounce after being told once or twice.

I have an Eilidh but live in Scotland. It took my English rellies some time to get right my poor gm never did work out how to spell it. I resorted to telling them to say "Hayley" without the "h". Even here we get some very odd spellings, usually involving a "g". DD doesn't seem to mind though, and she's the only one in her year with the name (despite there being duplicates of what would be considered more "individual" names ) Our surname has multiple spellings too, but it's never been an issue. The one thing I did make sure of was that she had a more universally known middle name, which she could use if she preferred. If you like the name, then go for it. just don't expect to be able to buy any personalised tat from gift shops

I would have no idea how to pronounce that (my first thoughts were along the eyelid line). Or how to spell it, if I'd only heard it and not seen it written down.

I'd only know how to pronounce it because of knowing the word ceilidh, and only then presuming I deduced rightly. But it is quite lovely. Planning to move to Scotland in the future maybe?

I only know how to pronounce it because I live in Scotland as I had never come across it until then. It's a lovely name.

I think people would get used to it but there is always the odd person who looks at a name written down and pronounces it in the most illogical way that you never thought possible! I have a Welsh name and I have had some corkers

I like it, I think it's pretty when you look at it written down (I used to know an eilidh in Dublin!) BUT... i would be concerned people would think it was Hayley (and Londoners tend to drop their H's, don't they?!)

I wouldn't if you've got a difficult to spell surname.

I have a common name that has many common spellings and it drives me nuts always having to spell my first name, not to mention some teachers saying it wrong even though my name is said how it looks, I just have a less common spelling.

Luckily my last name is easy to spell so its not so bad. If I had to spell my first name and a double barrelled surname I'd hate it and would have probably changed my name.

I really wanted an Irish name for my dd but as we live in England I didn't use it as I knew it would be a pita having to constantly spell it and tell everyone how its pronounced.