Eila

I pronounced it eye-la. I think it's nice!

Hmm yes maybe there was a bit lost in translation then with the spelling @abiirthdaycake, I remember us all getting confused between I, E and A. Vomit is probably the only Icelandic word I can say then. There's some craaaaaazy long place names there. One of our favourite games was driving around and trying to read them. The sat nav gave it a good go too.

I would pronounce it ayla as well. To me it’s like you forgot the L from Leila!

When I saw it written down I instinctively pronounced it the way you want it. But even if I hadn't, people are being a bit weird: it's a perfectly understandable pronunciation from the spelling and a perfectly reasonable spelling of the pronunciation. Use it if you like it.

Eila is lovely.

Gimble One way of saying vomit in Icelandic is æla which is indeed pronounced like Isla :) the actual spelling Isla shouldn't have been weird to your friend though since in Icelandic, Iceland is called Ísland

A family member of mine is called Eila (she is under 10) and i think it's lovely - never has any issues with the pronunciation or spelling, occasionally have to spell it but I think most people do at some point with all the names in the world and different ways of spelling them

I like it and would instinctively pronounce it the same as Isla.

I know an 80 year old woman called Eila, pronounced Ee-lah.
I like the name.

I like it. It looks and sounds pretty and it's a nice acknowledgement.

I wonder whether the 'but she'll be forever having to correct people!' hand-wringing is quite geographically split, maybe? I'm willing to believe that in some rural or suburban areas where all children are currently called Harry or Oliver or Emily or Olivia (or Isla...), this really is a problem. In the (fairly deprived, very multicultural) corner of London I grew up in and am raising my child in, and in the many circles I've worked in (latterly very very conventional middle class ones), it's really normal for names to be unusual, and new to people, and often requiring attention be paid to both pronunciation and spelling. Really normal. Kids accept it, teachers accept it, colleagues accept it. People are mostly keen to be polite, and being polite means taking care to use and spell someone's name correctly and not gratuitously insult it.

My own name is unusual, 'real', spelt as it's pronounced but still frequently needs double checking. It really doesn't bother me now and never has done.

How about Eilish? Or Eilis, the Irish original?

I think it does mean to vomit in Icelandic - æla is the word Google Translate comes up with, which must sound the same-ish as Isla.

Yeah that's what I was thinking too @ConfusedLivingDoll. Sorry OP for derailing. Eila is pretty and whilst telling everyone 'it's pronounced X' will be tedious at first soon everyone she knows will know how it's said so having to explain it will become less often. I have an unusual name which is pronounced how it's spelt but people still say it wrong and I have to correct them if I can be arsed.

Not Icelandic, but it could be slang...?

Hmm.. just google translated it.. maybe she was having me on.. I always have been gullible. Any Icelandic people on here that can shed some light?

I went to Iceland last year and stayed with a family via air bnb. We were talking with her about my DN who is called Isla and she couldn't believe that that was her name and how it was spelt. Turns out in Icelandic Isla means vomit. Weird thing is she had this (really cute) bulldog who, about 20 mins later, Isla'd all over the floor.

" So you will have the issues of having a common name-there could be several in class/work, known by Eila surname, or a descriptor, or nickname."

This. Pretty name in itself, but it's awkward to spell and there are a dozen common names starting with E with an L in there OR starting with an "eye" sound at the moment (Elsie, Ella, Ellie, Isla etc.).

I would use Eileen as a middle name.

I think it's really pretty and I love names and am pretty good with pronunciation so I read it as 'Isla'

It's only because of Isle/island that we can pronounce Isla but it's still a weird spelling right? 'Is-la'

So surely people that know your daughter will get used to the spelling very fast! When you think about it, Eila is more phonetically correct.

I really wouldn't worry about the pronunciation/misspellings.. Names like that are always a good ice breaker!

I think it's nice. I'd pronounce it Ay-la on first glance. I think the Ay-la pronunciation distinguishes it from Isla and.makes it a very different name, so I'd go for that.

It looks pretty written down, but I would wonder if you hadn't known how to spell Isla...

I like it. I don’t think it’s a big deal that people may misspell it. It’s no different to Katy (no-with a Y) or Hanna (no-without the H) or Clare (No-without the I) I doubt many of them have lost sleep over it. I have to spell out my first name and surname every time I tell someone new, it’s never bothered me.

Many many brits will pronounce it Ay-la which I think is quite pretty, but pronouncing it like Isla would be constantly annoying for her.

Leena or Alina as alternatives.

Isla is so common that your DD would constantly be correcting people. No it's like Isla.....

I think it's nice but the thread title looks like Ella to me.