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Baby names

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Original poster

Lela?

32 replies

babyblabber · 13/01/2015 21:22

Thoughts? Is it a real name? Ever known one? Just came into my head. DH hates Lola and has put me off it a bit but maybe I've found a compromise...

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SandorClegane · 13/01/2015 21:24

It's the one eyed alien woman out of that cartoon isn't it? Futurama. Not horrible but that's what I think of although I think it was spelt leela

Artandco · 13/01/2015 21:25

Do you mean 'Layla'

EhricLovesTheBhrothers · 13/01/2015 21:25

Leila maybe?

Original poster
babyblabber · 13/01/2015 21:36

No not Layla/leila.

Lela as in lee-lah. Seems legit on some websites but have never heard of it so just wondering if anyone has. Never seen futurama

OP posts:
shakemysilliesout · 13/01/2015 21:43

In futurama leila is pronounced lee-lah. Lela looks made up.

Guyropes · 13/01/2015 21:45

Lela will get mispronounced as lella. Leela is a great name.

Artandco · 13/01/2015 21:46

I thought leila was 'lee-la'. Lela is 'lell-la' to me

nobutreally · 13/01/2015 21:48

Love Leila (& know a couple, one adult, one child) -I'm afraid Lela sounds made up (I'd be tempted to pronounce in Len-a (like the boys name, with an a!). Sorry!

How about Leda (pronounced Lead-a, I think). But bad things happened to her with a swan, so maybe not the best association (google it, if it's not a myth you know)

Allstoppedup · 13/01/2015 21:53

I'm watching Futurama as I post this and Leela is the one eyed alien/mutant- she is also a funny, clever, bad ass character so not a bad association in my eyes!

I really like it and am stealing it for my possible future daughter name list Grin

I would spell it Leela though, it just looks right and clears up any pronunciation confusion!

Hulababy · 13/01/2015 21:53

Never heard if Lela.

Leila is a nicer sounding name IMO.

Only1scoop · 13/01/2015 21:54

Awful sounds made up

seaoflove · 13/01/2015 21:58

The character in Futurama is spelled Leela.

Tbh, I wouldn't know whether to pronounce Lela as Leela or Layla. I'd probably go with Layla.

Icedfinger · 13/01/2015 22:15

I thought lee lah was spelt Lila?

whitechocolatestars · 13/01/2015 22:23

A quick read of this thread and I feel like I'm on fast forward into a conversation your dd could be having about her name if you pick Lela!

Fwiw I would have thought "lee-la"' was spelt Lila but there will be plenty of people who would think that was pronounced "lie-la".

Leila is pretty.

Lanaandmaria2014 · 13/01/2015 22:24

I love it as Leila is my middle name but there are lots of ways to spell it, Laila, Layla, haven't seen Lela before, I know the girl in Futurama is Leela.

Rhubarbgarden · 13/01/2015 22:51

There is also Laleh, a Turkish name meaning Tulip, which I think is quite pretty.

TheNewStatesman · 13/01/2015 22:55

I thought about this name but was put off by the spelling/pronunciation confusion it inevitably causes....

I would go with either Layla or Lila if I chose it. With Leila, nobody seems to know how to pronounce it.

AuntieStella · 13/01/2015 22:58

I think Lela would be pronounced Lel-la.

To get the pronunciation you want, I'd spell it Leela.

She was one of the memorable Doctor Who assistants (40 or so episodes in the Tom Baker era) and I think the association will be very strong in the over-40s plus Whovians of any age.

She was in it when it went out after the footie results in a Saturday, and her costume appeared to be a couple of chamois leathers, and that probably drew attention.

TeenageMutantNinjaTurtle · 14/01/2015 06:48

Leela is a proper name, not just a cartoon character. I know two little girls called Leela! probably wouldn't spell it Lela though....

Spindelina · 14/01/2015 13:43

There are a number of similar names, with sometimes overlapping spellings..

The name (of Indian origin?) prn "lee-lah" can be Leela or Lila
The name (of Arabic origin?) prn "lay-lah" can be Layla or Leila or Laila
The name (don't know the origin of this one) prn "lye-lah" can be Lila or Lyla

All of the above sometimes get an "h" added to the end, just to add to the confusion!

If you want the pronunciation "Lee-lah", then I'd go for the Leela spelling. I think it's the most common spelling for that pronunciation in the UK, and it's unambiguous in the sense that if you see it written down then it's pretty hard to pronounce it wrong.

skyeskyeskye · 14/01/2015 13:45

The girl I know with this name spells it Lila and pronounces it Lee-lah

I prefer Leila

meditrina · 14/01/2015 14:02

I'd pronounce Lila as Lie-la (like the chocolate bar)

Churchillian · 14/01/2015 14:07

Leila is not pronounced Lay-la it's prounounced Lee-la, like Sheila is pronounced shee-la. Layla is a different name of Russian origin.

Spindelina · 14/01/2015 15:33

Leila is not pronounced Lay-la it's prounounced Lee-la, like Sheila is pronounced shee-la. Layla is a different name of Russian origin.

Well, there you go. I would assume Leila was "lay" or "lie" - I've never come across "lee" spelled "Lei".

I guess part of the issue is that most of these names originate in languages which use non-latin scripts (hindi, arabic, russian), so there are different (and often overlapping) ways to transliterate.

My main point still stands though - if I were considering naming my child one of these names, I would choose how I wanted it to be pronounced, then pick the spelling most likely to lead to that pronunciation.

seaoflove · 14/01/2015 16:03

I've only ever come across Leila pronounced as Layla, like the "ei" sound in "veil", but there you go.