Aurelia or Arya?

[afrikat]

My DH loves Aurelia but I think it may be a bit 'fancy' and difficult for a child to pronounce. I thought Arya could be an alternative.

Opinions? Or what else should we consider?

[OrangeLily]

Aurelia is beautiful

[afrikat]

Well we decided to test out a bunch of names at a family gathering last night - we wrote a list of about 20 names some of which we like and others as red herrings. Everyone had to say them so we can see what they sounded like with different accents and both Arya and Aurelia caused problems - people either didn't know how to pronounce them and those that tried all said them in a different way! So I think we have discounted both.

Eliza seems a surprise favourite tho :)

[Laquila]

Love Aurelia. Also love Aurora, which I'd consider for mine if it didn't clash a bit with our surname.

I don't dislike Arya but prefer the spelling Aria (and think the latter avoids people mispronouncing it as Are-ya, like they do in GoT!).

FWIW, I don't think of Aryan when I see the name Arya.

[diddl]

Oh that's sad, OP.

Eliza is nice.

Elise?

[forevergreek]

Aurelia Reminds me of orally I'm afraid!

aria/ ariana/ arielle/ ariella/ ariel/ aurora/ anya/ eliana/ elena/ Alina

[Amrapaali]

Arya is a lovely name if you live in India. It doesnt have any of the negative Nazi connotations, its just a historical name. Its a very common name for boys tho...

Same with the swastika. Its actually a religious symbol, designed to bring good luck. Until Adolf appropriated it. Pfft...

[chattychattyboomba]

We loved Aurelian (boy) or Aurelia for a girl. I decided it sounded wrong in an English accent but thought we could get away with Aureya. That way Ray could be a NN (my grandmother's name)...we ended up going with Ariana- although this was before the name became ridiculously popular due to game if thrones. There is an Arya in Dd's ballet class... It can be confusing as we both use 'Ari' as a NN... Hate that our unique name is now so popular

[miffybun73]

Aurelia is lovely.

I can only think of one way to pronounce it, but maybe I'm wrong.

Or-ray-lee-a ?

[chattychattyboomba]

Btw our Australian family and friends pronounce it 'ah ree ah na' which reeeeally irritates me. Sounds so twangy and...sorry...common
We prefer 'Aaarr reee aaarr nah' like GOT particularly because our last name has an 'a' that is a soft 'aarrr'

[Cookethenook]

Both are lovely. I knew an Aurelia at school and i don't think anyone ever made the connection to areola! She shortened it to 'Aureli' (Au-ray-lee).

I posted about the name Arya before we knew we were having a boy and had a lot of people saying it looked like the word aryan. It really didn't bother me in the slightest though as i don't see the connection, especially when you hear it, which most people will before they see the spelling. Also, all of the people i've asked about it in real life about the name have been a bit WTF at that connection and thought it was beautiful. It's about as tenuous as saying Harry looks like 'hairy'.

Imo, you're safe with both! (I might have to steal Arya though if they've got the sex of this little one wrong!)

[forgetmenots]

Eliza is lovely. I also love Elsa and Alice.

Arya = Aryan for me too. Aurelia and Aurelie are lovely names but some accents (including mine) struggle!

Ottillie?

[Bonsoir]

Aurelia is all right, but you need quite a personality to carry it off. Arya is a boy's name.

[tilder]

Eliza is a beautiful name. Classic, timeless but also quite unusual.