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Baby names

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

Original poster

Girl name - some help please!

31 replies

Eleonorex · 30/01/2021 21:37

Hi! I am not British and my husband not British - very mixed heritage so complicated to explain and quite irrelevant, but I need to mention this because I might not like classic British names. However, I would like to use a name that doesn't sound weird in English, as we live here and I wouldn't want my baby girl to be teased at school.

So, after eliminating many names (!!!!) for various reasons, we are quite keen on Leela.

Could you please tell me how this sounds in English and what a girl with this name would be like in people's mind, what would be the perception? I am quite curious to see what people think and of course you can be creative if you like, I would love to hear your thoughts! :-) :-)

Thank you!!!

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IamnotwhouthinkIam · 30/01/2021 23:54

Yes, "not distinguished" is a polite euphemism for a not particularly classy name (because Leela looks slightly Sci fi/Fantasy as mentioned and is also so similar to better known name Leila - so it looks a bit like a misspelling).

However when thinking about it further - Leela is a Sanskrit name isn't it? So if you have a "non- English" looking surname too, no one would think Leela was made up/invented (because they would assume instead that it was a name from another country so any usual biases wouldn't apply).

Lilibet is well known as a nn for Elizabeth (because it is famously the Queen's childhood nickname) so as a given name it would sound odd imo. Of the two, I'd stick with Leela.

Original poster
Eleonorex · 30/01/2021 23:07

When you say it is not distinguished, do you mean it doesn't sound very classy?
How about Lilibet? I know it is the nickname of the Queen, but I thought it was also a nice name in its own way.

OP posts:
IamnotwhouthinkIam · 30/01/2021 22:53

I agree with pp that Leela sounds a bit Sci -fi/Fantasy and not particularly distinguished (because it's not a more classic/traditional or historical name in this country), but it's there's nothing "wrong" with it as such - Leela has a pretty sound and doesn't seem teasable, so I'd go for it if you like it OP.

partyatthepalace · 30/01/2021 21:51

It’s ok. Not very distinguished but nothing to object to.

Enidblyton1 · 30/01/2021 21:51

Leela is a nice name, OP. There is no problem with pronunciation in English.
If you like it, go for it!

FenEel · 30/01/2021 21:46

I think it is pretty but it makes me think immediately a/ of the character in Futurama and b/ of the character in Dr Who - so two sci Fi characters. Whether that bothers you or not is up to you.