Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

What are your thoughts on Lorea?

47 replies

Maitea · 12/07/2017 15:33

Dear All,

DH is British and I'm Basque/Spanish and we both want a Basque name for our daughter. We live in England, so nothing too complicated though.. our preference is also that the name means something in Basque, which is tricky as so many girl names are different names for Virgin Mary or place names!

So the list was quite short to begin with! LOREA means flower in Basque and it is pronounced Law-reh-ah.

Would like to know how it sounds to you, if you find it too strange, or think she could be teased in school for it! Also what NN would you assign to it? I guess the obvious one is Lori or maybe also Lottie?

Thanks in advanced!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
Morecoffeeurgently · 12/07/2017 15:47

I love the meaning but the name instantly makes me think of L'Oreal Blush
Is it a definite?
If not other possible flower names I found are:
Arrosa
Jakinda
Ximenia

SarahJonesS · 12/07/2017 15:51

You'll probably find that Brits will initially pronounce it as Lorry-ah

I also think people might pronounce it as L'Oreal because it looks similar and familiar

MikeUniformMike · 12/07/2017 15:55

It's very pretty. I think you'll get Lorry-a or Lor-ya but one you say it is Law-re-ah it should be fine. Be prepared for the odd "beecause I'm worth it".

Original poster
Maitea · 12/07/2017 15:56

None had mentioned it when I said it, but this connection is also in my mind! So diffixult.. one of my favourites was Alaia (happiness) and then I realised to English people it can sound "a liar". Or another I loved was Sua (fire) but my husband pointed out it sounds like "sewer"..boy this is hard..

We also have L'Oréal in Spain and none seems to reject the name there for that reason.. but it makes me wonder too..

Thanks for your suggestions! But they sound very strange to my Basque ears! Very unusual names..haha

OP posts:
FuckleberryDunne · 12/07/2017 15:56

The "rea" at the end makes the name sound like a disease to me. Diarrhea, gonorrhea etc.

ilivebythesea · 12/07/2017 15:57

Hi there

It is beautiful, but I think it'll be pronounced Loria (like Gloria) here. Can you anglicise (sp?) the spelling it a bit to Laurayah?

It sounds lovely, not at all strange and I like the meaning too. Wouldn't think she'd be teased with such a gorgeous name! NN I think would be Lori or Lauri?

Hope this helps!

Original poster
Maitea · 12/07/2017 15:57

Hahaha @mikeuniformike is the "because I'm worth it" that I'm a bit worried...

OP posts:
Original poster
Maitea · 12/07/2017 16:00

Thank you! So far we have ruled out anglisizing spelling .. but might be a consideration..

OP posts:
bridgetreilly · 12/07/2017 16:07

Alaia is lovely.

Lorea sounds like a drug or a disease to me, sorry.

MargotLovedTom1 · 12/07/2017 16:09

Don't spell it Laurayah - that looks all kinds of wrong!

LadyGagarden · 12/07/2017 16:14

I have a Spanish family member called Lizetta which I always thought was nice. I came across a Lorelei a few years ago which I also liked. Not sure if that helps?!

Loopytiles · 12/07/2017 16:15

Sounds too much like L'Oreal.

Illnesses and lochea come to mind too!

Loopytiles · 12/07/2017 16:15

Grin Laurayah!

Morecoffeeurgently · 12/07/2017 16:31

Is Alaia always pronounced A-liya? Or can it be A-leeya? I know quite a few Aliyahs who say it as Aleeya?

Original poster
Maitea · 12/07/2017 16:34

The Basque name Alaia is pronounced Ah-lah-ee-ah but I don't know about Ali yah!

OP posts:
17caterpillars1mouse · 12/07/2017 16:43

I like it. I had no idea how to pronounce it though I'm afraid. It doesn't look or sound too out there though

FrancisCrawford · 13/07/2017 12:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ceebs85 · 14/07/2017 00:14

I love it and fwiw I would have pronounced it correctly despite having never seen it before. L'oreal isn't a bad connection anyway is it? I say go for it

SuperBeagle · 14/07/2017 03:01

I don't like Lorea.

What about Naia? It's a Basque name and means "wave".

raviolidreaming · 15/07/2017 23:57

I would have pronounced it correctly despite having never seen it before

Same.

Sorry, ilivebythesea, but Laurayah is ridiculous!

TurquoiseOwl · 16/07/2017 03:30

I'd also have pronounced it correctly! I think it's nice!

ilivebythesea · 16/07/2017 06:44

Why is Laurayah ridiculous??? I have a colleague called it and it's also used in the USA.

It might sound odd if you say it Laura-YAH, but why on earth would you??? It's pronounced as the OP wanted Laur-ay-ah!!! I bit my tongue when I saw others laugh at it, but honestly, to say it's ridiculous when it's you mis-pronouncing it...

BTW, my friend lives and works in a 'posh' area of London and she's never been called Laura-YAH. She nearly wet herself when I told her.

So, is it To-YAH Willcox then? And Alayah with various spellings is v popular at the moment, so Alay-YAH?

Goodness me!

FrancisCrawford · 16/07/2017 06:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

EverythingEverywhere1234 · 16/07/2017 07:13

I don't love it but it's nice enough and the (correct) pronunciation is pretty, although I think she'd have to correct most people the first time they say it.
Please, please don't use Laurayah, everyone will say Laura-Yah and it just looks convoluted written down!

MerryMarigold · 16/07/2017 07:23

I instantly thought of Loreal seeing it written down, but if I heard the name before I saw it, it wouldn't have connection as everyone says Lor ee al. (Not ay in the middle).

I love Alaia but wouldn't think of the liar connotation. I'm sure I've seen it auth 2 did on the i. Likewise Naia.

What's wrong with a place name? Try it out.