Are these truly terrible names?

[kiylahskies]

Hello . Me and DH have decided on two names for our DD when she arrives 1)Leilani (pronounced Lay-larn-ee, not sure how we're going to spell that yet) meaning: Heavenly flowers. And 2) Eyanah (pronounced Ay-yah-nah) meaning: educated/ a pretty flower.
MIL hates them both and says she'll cringe every time she has to call her grand daughter. One of DH's friends gave us a bit of a face when we told him. Are these names really that bad/ which one do you prefer?
Thank you so much!

Ayana is an Arabic name afaik. So OP so is either of Muslim/Arab or Hawaiian heritage.

Posters should be careful before they insult other people’s cutures.

@JennyHolzersGhost a cultural name is a name which reflects a person's culture or heritage....but I suspect that you knew that already Jenny.

I think they’re both gorgeous names, but:

1. don’t give her both of them, they don’t go well together and it’s a bit of a mouthful

2. spell eyanah with an A so it’s easier for people to pronounce :)

@Rupoy Eoin is how we spell it over here in Ireland. Nothing unusual or silly about it.

Imo that says something about the particular person Sparky. There's a serious Little Englander mindset among some on the thread. Why would she name the child Jane or Mary if those names mean fuck all in her culture?

IMHO those are awful names. However, I imagine many don't like my particular favourites such as Egbert, Artemis and Cordelia.

Can't help but think of:

Leilani Mayolanofavich

...I'll just make this out to 'cash'

They are both not good, OP. A lifetime of spelling and pronunciation problems. Also I'm pretty sure there was a topless model called Leilani in the 90s that certain age groups will remember.

Your idea to go with Leila or maybe Layla is great!

There is a page 3 girl from the 90s... Just checked.

My daughter called her son Eoin (pronounced Owen). Most people have to ask how to pronounce it or guess (usually incorrectly). IMO it's a silly name but what can you say?

You can say "how silly of me to not realise its a perfectly normal name in a country very close to me, and not remotely silly or difficult in anyway"

The only Leilani I've ever been aware of was the page 3/model neither are too my taste but then you probably wouldn't like my very traditional options. Each to their own as long as you like them

I am absolutely gobsmacked by some of the shitty comments on this thread.

This board is the same any time anything vaguely ‘ethnic’ comes up. The same “Ewww I haven’t heard of it, I don’t like it at all, it’s ugly/common/hard for me to spell” which really just mean “Ewww, it sounds foreign and/or working class.”

Personally I think Leilani is beautiful and simple to pronounce, with a slew of reasonable, attractive nicknames. Eyanah is less pleasing to the eye (in my opinion only - I like Ayana though) and less intuitive but I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if one showed up in my classroom.

Good luck OP. Choose a beautiful name for your beautiful baby.

Oh, and as someone with a boring, ordinary first name that’s easy to spell, I always wished I had something more interesting.

And as someone with a hard to spell surname - who gives a shit? You spell it out. Lots of people do. We manage.

I've always loved the name Leilani! It's beautiful.

Prefer the spelling Ayana for the 2nd name.

They're lovely names OP don't worry, MIL had her time naming her children.

Honestly, some of the comments on this thread are so offensive.

Do some of you even own a passport?

Not that you even need one to go to the likes of Wales, FFS. 🙄

I don't really like either of those names sorry.

@SparkyBlue Eion is less common in England and it's spelling causes pronunciation confusion. Owen is a fine name but I think he will suffer unnecessarily by mispronunciation problems and teasing by his school friends.
A friend's name is Siobhan, a great name but she tells me that outside of Ireland she gets fed up with people either mis spelling it or mispronouncing it. My point is: why give your kids an extra burden purely because of parent's wims.

It's Eoin, and its also a perfectly fine name that has no basis for any teasing

Why would Eoin prompt kids to tease?

I like both and heard many very similar names when I was living in East Africa, so if you live in a multicultural area I doubt anyone would bat an eyelid. And if you don't and people do then who cares. I also find the pronounciation perfectly intuitive as you've spelled it. Yes she'll be forever spelling her name but as others have mentioned so do many people. I have a very common first and last name and always have to spell them as it's always "how many 'l's?", "is that with an 'ie' or 'y'?" etc. My son has a very unusual long last name and we figured if he was going to be spelling it out anyway we might as well go all in, so gave him an unusual (though culturally relevant) name. I say go for it, but definitely don't tell anyone else. People can be seriously rude. Our original short list was things like "James", "Arthur" etc and we still got people making faces. Just keep it secret is my advice.

Exactly @FartnissEverbeans (like your name btw), the OP mentions that the names bear back to her culture and then there are people here braying "how about Emma or Jane", i mean how much of a bollock brain do you have to have?? Neither Emma nor Jane are remotely like the OP's suggestions and are unlikely to reflect the OP's culture. Then to top it off, others are like "what's a cultural name?" Oh please

Absolutely love Leilani! We have friends with a DD with the name and it is very special to them. We are English and they are not but in their respective countries people manage to pronounce it correctly as do we if people can’t they are frankly quite stupid.

I really like Leilani, reminds me of the singer from a few years ago. I don't think it looks hard to pronounce at all. Go for it!

I had a babysitter called Leilani when I was little - lovely name, and easy to spell. Certainly not "made up"!

I can't see what issues there would be. I think there's no need to "simplify" it.

"Katie" is a page 3 girl from the 90s. HTH.