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Baby names

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

Original poster

Ilsa/Ilse

32 replies

ladycarlotta · 22/07/2018 20:36

DP suggested the name Ilsa the other day, like Ingrid Bergman's character in Casablanca, and I rather like it. However, I keep mis-spelling it Isla! Given that's the name of the moment rn, will poor Ilsa forever be mistaken for an Isla?

I wondered about using the alternate spelling Ilse, but I don't know if that's just too 'foreign'.

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sonnyboo · 24/07/2018 16:54

I think it should be Ang-el-a not Ang-gela

I can't hear any difference in your two versions ConfusedIt's pronounced Ang-eh-la.

Ohyesiam · 24/07/2018 15:47

I didn’t read it as Isla, and I really love it.

Original poster
ladycarlotta · 24/07/2018 15:45

@Wellysocksbox wow! that is a STORMING Ilse! All hail Ilse! I have a Clara who got up to similar WW2 hi-jinks - a name that is also on the shortlist.

@LucyFox Ailsa is lovely too. I'd even leave Elsa on the table, but idk if it's a bit overdone what with Queen Elsa.

OP posts:
MikeUniformMike · 24/07/2018 14:38

While we're on the subject of German names, is Angela in Germany pronounced without the ng-g sound. I think it should be Ang-el-anot Ang-gela. I know it isn't Anjela.
I'm asking any German readers, please.

MikeUniformMike · 24/07/2018 14:35

Probably. I am not a german although I know one or two. I can only go by what I hear, which isn't necessarily what they are saying.
Generally I would avoid names from a different language or culture.
A German name I like is Rudi, but it sounds quite different to Rudy in German.

sonnyboo · 24/07/2018 14:14

It is Ill-zuh.

No, that's a strange (ugly) anglicised version. It sounds much better in German imo.

LucyFox · 24/07/2018 13:39

Definitely Ilse rather than Ilsa which looks wrong - misspelling of Lisa or Isla
She will go through life with misspelling & mispronunciation
Have you considered Ailsa which is very similar but will be far less muddled?

TatianaLarina · 24/07/2018 13:23

I repeat the German s is not as hard as the English z.

German Sabine is not as soft as ss but nor is it quite as hard as the English z. I’d say it’s half way between s and z.

Ilse is a dim of Elizabeth - and like many of its other dims use s or z interchangably - Lisa/Liza, Elissa/Eliza, Elsie etc.

The name Ilse is used in languages other than German with a softer s.

midsomermurderess · 24/07/2018 13:04

What about Elke?

MikeUniformMike · 24/07/2018 12:45

No. The English s has a few different sounds.
The S in sarah to me sound different to the s in Isabel or the ss in Clarissa.
A friend called Sabine says that it is nearer Zabina than Sabeen

TatianaLarina · 24/07/2018 11:53

German is is not as hard as the English z.

MikeUniformMike · 24/07/2018 11:42

You're right Raines. It is Ill-zuh.

sonnyboo · 24/07/2018 08:07

I'm not sure it works so well in English. Definitely a German name pronounced Il-se.

Raines100 · 24/07/2018 07:08

I've only seen Ilse before, and it was pronounced with a z sound, not an s.

IsTheRainEverComingBack · 23/07/2018 23:35

Ilse is lovely but spell it Ilse not Ilsa, which is just wrong and not how it should be spelt.

TatianaLarina · 23/07/2018 23:30

Ilse.

MollyHuaCha · 23/07/2018 23:18

I like it a lot.

I used to know an Ilsa. She used to get annoyed by the number of people who thought her name should be pronounced Elsa.

I still like it a lot!

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 23/07/2018 23:00

It doesn't look right.

KitchenDancefloor · 23/07/2018 22:26

I don't see Ilsa as Isla - I see it as Lisa but with fat-fingered capitalisation.

Ilse would remove that problem.

AnElderlyLadyOfMediumHeight · 23/07/2018 22:20

Go with Ilse. You'll need to tell people about the pronunciation, but they'll get used to it.

This is one name German old lady chic seems to have left out, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with it (it's not my personal cup of tea, but then it doesn't need to be :) )

WellySocksBox · 23/07/2018 21:53

I have a Great Aunt Ilse who was the most incredible girl. In the 1930s she forced her elderly parents to leave Vienna just before it was too late. At the age of 16 she led them into Italy where she learned Italian and got a job. One day she was walking home and a truck load of German soldiers asked her if she wanted a lift. She brazened it out and spoke to them in Italian. If they'd discovered that she was a ) Austrian b) Jewish then that would have been the end of her. But no. She then took her parents to Switzerland when Italy became too dangerous and they found sanctuary in Portugal where she started her family. She also looked like a Hollywood starlet and at the age of 70 didn't have a line on her face.

All the best people are called Ilse Wink

daisypond · 23/07/2018 21:17

I like it. I think Ilsa is fine. It doesn't look like Isla to me! Or is Ilse the more traditional spelling?

Original poster
ladycarlotta · 23/07/2018 20:55

Phew, I was braced for a chorus of I HATE IT! Thanks guys for your replies. I agree it looks a bit too much like Isla - also I keep even accidentally typing it that way - but I will keep turning it over in my mind. I don't like that it's technically just a nn for Elizabeth - I don't love 'pet' names as proper names - but in English it's so much of a jump I don't think anyone would pick up on it.

OP posts:
MikeUniformMike · 23/07/2018 19:57

I like Inge but I suspect that schoolkids would have too much fun with it.

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 23/07/2018 19:55

Ha! I was just saying it to myself then Grin trying to work out how you would say it.

It looks a bit strange written down to me.