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Baby names

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

Original poster

Aelia or Clelia - baby girl

53 replies

Doggylove · 12/02/2023 21:32

Which one do you prefer for a baby girl?

And which do you think would work better in the UK?

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Enko · 13/02/2023 07:24

I will go against the grain here and say that I like both names. Pretty and unusable imo. Of the 2 I have a preference for Aelia. Because I think Clelia will spend her life saying no its not Celia. However I do like both names.

toastofthetown · 12/02/2023 23:23

I prefer Aelia. I also like Cloelia and prefer it to Clelia.

GallantGus · 12/02/2023 23:00

There’s literally thousands of names out there… and you’ve narrowed it down to these? Confused

AreBearsCatholic · 12/02/2023 22:44

I like both and had heard of both before this thread. You will find some people who know the name.
I also like Thalia, pronounced to rhyme with Clelia.

Anoisagusaris · 12/02/2023 22:40

It’s Cle-lee-ah. I like it. There was a thread on here about rut it recently.

GlassBunion · 12/02/2023 22:31

Both will be mispronounced.

OneGoodThing · 12/02/2023 22:16

I'd also pronounce it EYE-lee-a, as a Latin name.

Toddlerteaplease · 12/02/2023 22:16

They both sound like Asthma inhalers.

rockpoolingtogether · 12/02/2023 22:13

Neither.

NotABeliever · 12/02/2023 22:10

Not a fan of either but I would prefer Clelia to Aelia

CastleTower · 12/02/2023 22:01

Most people who know Latin (or Roman history) would give Aelia three syllables - eye-lee-a. Is there a reason you're pronouncing the a and e separately?

I'm not a fan of Clelia. I think there are nicer Roman family names, even if you want a more obscure one.

Jellybean23 · 12/02/2023 22:01

I must be honest, neither sound attractive to me.

SnackyOnassis · 12/02/2023 21:58

Both seem like lovely names when pronounced by people who are familiar with them.
In the UK they'll be pronounced Ay-leeah or Eelia, and Clee-lia. Clelia has come up here before a couple of times and many people have said it sounds like a speech-impeded pronunciation of Celia (See-lia), and those were the most polite comments I can remember.
Sorry OP!

PurpleButterflyWings · 12/02/2023 21:54

They are both dreadful.

piedbeauty · 12/02/2023 21:54

Don't like either. People won't know how to pronounce them. And I don't like the sound of either of them.

Geamhradh · 12/02/2023 21:53

Every time the perfectly normal (and classic in Italy) name Clelia is mentioned, you get a slew of people saying it sounds like a female contraceptive.
It's a bit old-fashioned in fairness OP, not many in Italy who aren't grannies, but it's popularity has gone up slightly in the last few years.
It would be easier to pronounce in the UK than your other name, so in that basis, I'd go for Clelia.

Rauha · 12/02/2023 21:53

Aelia

Zosime · 12/02/2023 21:53

I think Celia would work better in the UK - more familiar, and a lot of people would probably read Clelia as Celia anyway.

RandomCatGenerator · 12/02/2023 21:52

Why not combine them to get the very beautiful name, Celia?

Mooloopoo · 12/02/2023 21:51

Clelia sounds like an STD - sorry

DillDanding · 12/02/2023 21:48

They are both awful and sound anatomical.

Wednesday6 · 12/02/2023 21:46

I have a friend called Ayelet and Aelia reminds me of this name

Wednesday6 · 12/02/2023 21:45

Aelia, Clelia sounds a bit like a name of an illness sorry this is just my personal take

jacult · 12/02/2023 21:44

I’d probably pronounce them Cleh-lee -ah and Aye-lee-ah. But, once that person told me exactly how to pronounce their name, then I’d pronounce it as they said. Both sound fine to me, which do you prefer?

Original poster
Doggylove · 12/02/2023 21:39

Thanks both!

Clelia should be pronounced as Clay-lia

Aelia should be pronounced as A-eh-lia (although I know this is challenging to be pronounced this way in the Uk due to the “ae” …)

On this basis, any preference please?

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