...to consider Elsy as a middle name?

[bonnielies0verthe0cean]

I would like to give my dd a middle name honouring my sister, as she has always been there for me and is my best friend.

Her name is Elizabeth, but our family have always called her Elsy. (Pronounced Elle-Zee). She goes by 'Beth' professionally, but I don't associate that name or Elizabeth with her.

I would love to give dd the middle name 'Elsy' - part of me thinks it's too nickname-y but the other half thinks it's a beautiful name and nobody knows what your middle name is anyway...

It would be paired with a normal first name:
Jessica Elsy
Olivia Elsy
Freya Elsy
Aurora Elsy
Charlotte Elsy.

Any opinions? (I'm prepared to be told it's awful)

Argh - posted too soon.

I would say that, if you want to use Elsy, pronounced Ellzee, you might be better off spelling it Elzy - otherwise people will assume it is an alternative spelling of Elsie.

I think its lovely op

It’s a middle name, so the fact that it will be mispronounced/misspelled is far less important. I think most people will assume it’s pronounced like Elsie, but as a middle name it’s not going to be something you encounter that often.

It’s a lovely reason to choose a middle name.

I'd consider 2 middle names- 1 starting with L and 1 starting with Z. (I realise that Z is zed in the UK but people know that it's Zee in other countries)

Etsy here too, which I also kind of like!

Clearly you need to spell it L-Zee so there is absolutely no doubt about pronunciation.

Don’t laugh, we’ve had kids in school with names spelled similarly.

If you are going to use Elzee then I would not have a first name ending in a or any other vowel for that matter. Try your list out loud, the easiest to say is Charlotte, where the last sound is a consonant.

I would also pronounce Elsy as Elsie. Just as Elly is pronounced the same as Ellie and Katy the same as Katie.

The easiest spelling is Elizabeth

If you spell it Elzie or Elzi it's more likely to be pronounced as you wish.

spell it Elzie if you want that pronunciation

I keep reading it as Elsie. Sorry.

I also think it will be confused with Elsa which is wildly popular at the minute.

Ellsy would be more likely to register in my brain as el-zy, for some reason. Would that work? But unfortunately it does also look a bit like a "younique" spelling of Elsie, too, and as Ellsy [elzy] it reads more as a nickname, like Natty for Natasha, than a standalone name.

Beginning to look like a bit and run.

She'll probably get back to the thread tomorrow!

Elzie is a real name!

Since 1880, a total of 2,888 boys & 9 girls were named Elzie in the USA.

I know this because it’s a name I wanted to give a character in my book. I think it’s lovely.

Thank you for the suggestions, everyone!

If we use it, it would have to be spelt Elsy, it just wouldn't be my sister's name if it was Elzy.

Then it will be pronounced Elsie.

Well, if you go ahead with it, teach her to explain that it's pronounced to rhyme with busy.

If it was spelt Ellsy I'd pronounce it as you want.

Well, if you go ahead with it, teach her to explain that it's pronounced to rhyme with busy

It doesn't rhyme with busy.
And when is she ever going to need to tell people how to pronounce her middle name?

Very pretty OP, and a lovely way to honour your sister.
People will probably pronounce it as Elsie, but you can just correct them. No reason to change the spelling if it holds a personal meaning.

I've spent my whole life having to explain my name to strangers, but I like my name, and the people that matter, the ones who know me, know how my name is spelt and how to pronounce it. Go ahead and give your dd the name you want, and spell it Elsy. People will soon catch on, then they'll start inwardly hearing 'Elzie', whenever they see 'Elsie' written!

Thing is it's not going to be your sisters name it's your daughters, I wanted to honour my aunt but used a different spelling because my daughter is her own person and deserves her own name

It doesn't rhyme with busy!

I suppose Elisabeth is still pronounced Elizabeth. So Elsy or indeed Elsie could be Elzie. Everyone would get it once told and you'd rarely have to pronounce a middle name anyway. Go for it if that's the middle name you love.