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Baby names

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

Original poster

Eila

62 replies

samsam1986 · 15/02/2018 12:49

Hi everyone! My first post on the site - but I've been reading lots of very useful info for a while now.

So, my girlfriend & I are expecting our first child this Summer, and if it's a girl, we're thinking about calling her Eila (pronounced I-La, just like Isla). The reason behind it is that I wanted to honour my late grandmother who was called Eileen, and whilst Eila isn't necessarily an official shortened version of Eileen, the pronunciation is similar, and it's also a little bit quirky, a bit different.

I just wanted to get some other peoples opinions on the name, as we can't really ask friends & family as we'd like it to be a surprise.

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Original poster
samsam1986 · 15/02/2018 13:33

One of the main reasons we're not wanting the more well known spelling, 'Isla', is that it's pretty common at the moment. Eila is a name in it's own right though, we've not made the spelling up to suit as such :), and we like that it's quite uncommon.

Would she be correcting people? Yeh, probably for new people she meets at first. It's a fair point.

We could of course use Eileen as a middle name, we've thought of that too, might be easier.

OP posts:
harrietm87 · 15/02/2018 13:28

I think either go for Isla or use Eileen as a middle name. Eila written down could be ee-la, ay-la, eye-la or be misread as Ella, and anyone who hears it before seeing it would think it was spelled Isla. Not worth the hassle I don't think, especially as it's not a standard alternative. People will think you were just trying to be unique.

Foggymist · 15/02/2018 13:17

You and she will spend her life saying it as you've written there, "Eila, pronounced I-la", or correcting pronunciations or spelling. Just give her Eileen as middle name?

QuitMoaning · 15/02/2018 13:11

Is your name Sam? (Your user name suggests it is).

If so then be careful of the pronounciation of your daughters name as your girlfriend, and others, could refer to you and your daughter and it could sound like “Sam and Ella”.

My son is called Sam and I had to rule out Ella as a sibling name, which made me want it more....

walkingdowntheboulevard · 15/02/2018 13:11

She will spend her life correcting peoples spelling and pronunciation of her name. If you call her Isla it's still sounds like Eileen but is spelt the standard way.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 15/02/2018 13:08

You could take some of the letters from Eileen to create a name? Ellen? Nellie? Elaine? Eleanor?

scrappysquirrel · 15/02/2018 13:07

It's a nice idea to try and incorporate a loved one's name, but I think you'll be forever correcting people. I can imagine anything from party invites to her passing on her email in a professional setting having to say "no, it's pronounced Isla but spelt Eila" and then still getting an email with Hi Isla... Grin

Have you thought of picking a different first name and using Eileen as a middle name. Or Eila as a middle name? It does look pretty written down.

Unihorn · 15/02/2018 13:03

In Wales it would probably be pronounced Ay-la. I like it though, you'd just have to be prepared to correct people possibly.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 15/02/2018 13:02

The "ei" blend is often pronounced "ay" as in vein, neighbour, weigh so I agree there would be confusion over pronunciation simply because it's an unusual name.
I first glanced at Eila written down and assumed it said Ella but maybe I need glasses!

It's lovely that you want a name in tribute to your grandmother though.

ConfusedLivingDoll · 15/02/2018 12:59

It's an old-fashioned Finnish name pronounced "Eyla".

Original poster
samsam1986 · 15/02/2018 12:56

Yeh, I thought some people might read it as "ee-la", although the "ei" should be read I suppose as "eye", like in Eileen.

Difficult this naming malarkey :)

OP posts:
bluecashmere · 15/02/2018 12:53

I would read that as ee-la.