Name Halen for baby girl?

[marjanecarvalho]

Hello All,

I am struggling to find a name for my baby girl, my mother language is Portuguese from Brazil, my husband's is Spanish from south america and we live in UK. The name Halen has a family meaning for me, it is a name that my father really wanted for a baby for when he would become a grandfather, but he passed away 6 years ago, will never get to meet his grandchildren.

In Brazil Halen is not an usual name but I grew to like it because it is unique and I like the sound of it, as well that it is short and unisex.

In Portuguese we pronounce Hɑlen and not (Haylen), the A is well pronounced.
However through some research I found that most people think of Van Halen when they see the name Halen. Is this a bad thing? (considering they are an old band)

1. Can you please give me your honest opinion about the name Halen for a baby girl?

2. and I appreciate any suggestions too with the specifications: short name, not very popular or unique, that sounds good in Portuguese, Spanish and English - complicated I know!!!

My son's name is Gael which I feel meets the spec above :-)

Thank you all.

Marjane

People in this country will pronounce it Haylen. They just will. You'll spend your whole life correcting them. Either that or they'll assume it's Helen and the 'a' is a mistake. Personally, that would drive me insane.

I think if you live in the UK and your future is here in the UK you'll make all your lives easier if you pick a name that people here will recognise.

And yes, I thought Van Halen too. I suspect you'll get a lot of questions asking if you're a fan!

I'm no good at phonetic symbols.
How do you say it, as it's not Hay-len?

I would say that name as Haylen in English. In Portuguese I would say A-len. If you love it go for it. Unusual name both in the UK and Brazil. You could also put it as her second name.