Do you like the name Alana, and how would you pronounce it?

[WhyTheHeckMe]

I'm 32 weeks pg with dc2.

Got a 2 year old DS called Theo. Loved his name because it wasnt too popular but not chavy either.

We don't know the sex but have a huge struggle with girls names. I have just suddenly tonight realised I actually really love the name Alana.

But what's your opinions? We've kept all name options entirely to ourselves so need opinions of strangers :-)

I would like it pronounced 'Ah-larnah' as opposed to 'Al-Anna'

Is the spelling correct for this?

If you have this name or a do with this name do you find the spelling and pronunciation an issue?

Lastly does it get shortened to anything?

Theo doesn't and I can't see that Alana could apart from 'Lana' maybe.

Is it even a nice name? !

Another Scot here, very much Al-AHN-nah here. Sorry to be rude but I think it sounds awful in a accent with imaginary Rs. Otherwise it's a pretty name... Although I went to school with one who was a right cow!

Beautiful name. Pretty but also elegant if you know what I mean. Also not common but not out there either. I've only known one (spelled Alannah but pronounced Alarna).

I'm Irish with an Alanna, pronunciation is al-an-a. No drawn out sound in the middle. Her nickname is Lana.
It means child in Irish.
Theo is a lovely name by the way and they sound nice together

It's not so much putting an r in it but it ryhmes more with karma than it does Anna.

I guess for the Scottish people it's confusing then ... I saw this thread earlier further down about Celtic names and to me these look nothing like they're pronounced and seem 'made up'

Caoilfhoinn (Key-Lin)
Saoirse
Aurnia (hour-knee-ah) - means golden lady

So definitely regional differences

I'd pronounce it A-Lah-Na and that's the pronunciation ubiquitous in those old enough to remember the 1970s (Rod Stewart's wife)

I'm Scottish too and Alana to me would be would Al-ah-na. I also don't see where the 'r' would come into it but if it would be pronounced that way where you live OP then go for it. Up here you would be constantly correcting people.

I would say A lah na.

And short names could include Al, Ali, Lana, Lanni

I guess for the Scottish people it's confusing then ... I saw this thread earlier further down about Celtic names and to me these look nothing like they're pronounced and seem 'made up'

That's just plain rude, to think that a name in another language sounds made up

We're not 'confused' by the notion of accents and dialects, no.

Treaclesoda over been called 'ridiculous' for giving the baby a 'made up name' by pronouncing it with an r sound and told to choose a different name, just because the person had a different accent. Think that's rude.

Ah Lah Nah is pretty
Ah Lar Nah is not
In my accent I wouldn’t pronounce the second any differently from the first. I think everyone writing it with an r means it should be pronounced Alahna not Alarrrna

Scottish person here and it would be Ah-la-nah for me. It's a pretty name.
No insertion of r in bath or father either.
I can't remember which Julia Donaldson book it is, but there's one rhyme that really doesn't work in a rhotic accent!
This is one name where there's no right or wrong, just regional variation!

I really like it its on our list! I was a bit hesitant because I hate the name 'Alan' lol but pronounced how you would pronounce it I think its lovely sounding. The NN Lana is beautiful too.

Puffins same here, I think that those who pronounce it to rhyme with Anna can't imagine what it sounds like to rhyme with karma, it's difficult to get it across when you aren't used to hearing it that way :)

Also by no means ‘confused’ by the concept of different accents. It’s just unusual to see a name with such different regional pronunciations. And btw, I realise it’s not a hard, Scottish ‘r’ in the middle of A-lar-na, but more like a cross between that and A-law-na (unless you’re Tom Kerridge...)

@LittleCandle and others, people aren't putting an r sound into it. They're trying to emphasise that they elongate the a. So alaaaaaahna instead of Al anna. Most English people pronounce ar as aaaah and so when trying to stress a long vowel sound write "ar". As the op said, she is thinking about karma for example, but non rhotic English speakers pronounce it with no vocalised r. It's kaaaahmuh. Baa rhymes with car. Porn rhymes with lawn.

When people say they pronounce it alarna, they simply mean that they pronounce it alaaaaahna.

The name is Ah lan ah

I'm not sure why this is difficult to understand. But the insertion of an R is words baffles me. There is no R is bath or father either, so those examples don't back up your point much.

If you think your DD is never going to leave your local area, then o suppose it's fine to stick an R in her name where there isn't one, but if she is ever to travel, in the uk never mind the rest of the world, then just use the name correctly.

But it only rhymes with karma if you’re like me and pronounce it the same as calmer!

I like it and would pronounce A-la-na

It’s not ‘inserting an r’ it’s writing ‘ah’ as ‘ar’. Which works in my accent - I say bath as b ah th and cart as c ah t. Same sound.

Italiancortado

"There is no R is bath or father either, so those examples don't back up your point much"

That's another example where maybe not in your area but they do in mine! And in a lot of England!

I asked for pronunciation variants as I was genuinely interested and still am, but gosh I didn't realise how passionate some people are over their accents being right and everyone else wrong