Alannah or Daphne

[Drunkenmonkey]

I think I prefer one but the other one feels like it fits better with the sibling names which are both Irish. Which do you prefer? Any preconceptions of either name? The Scooby Doo thing doesn't bother me at all.

@Lemonlemon88 I quite like it pronounced like that too but I get the impression most would pronounce it the other way. DH is adamant it is like Lana but with an A but then he pronounces Lana differently to me. L-ah-na like if you were scared and said 'ahhhhhh'
Whereas Hannah or Anna is a short A.

OP your DH is definitely correct on the pronunciation.

I've always liked the name Daphne so it's an easy pick for me!

@Drunkenmonkey
My little girl has a friend called Alanah and she's a lovely little girl and I work with one too also lovely

I'm not keen on Daphne I think Disney as in duck! 🐤

Allanah, best name going

@whataboutthecat yes yes to “The Girl From Tomorrow”, I loved that program and decided I would name my future daughter Alana.

Op, both lovely choices! Alannah is slightly less popular here so i’d probably go for that one on balance.

Choosing Alannah will Mean a life time of people misspelling your daughters name ( and mis pronouncing it)

There’s already about 6 spellings on this thread already 🙄

My name is Alana, yes, sometimes you have to spell it as there are different variants. I live in Scotland, no one here or really elsewhere mispronounce it - people with an English accent do because they pronounce it in an odd way with an r so ‘alarna’ but I think it’s just an accent thing.

Daphne. I would pronounce Alana and Alannah differently. The double n changes the vowel sound.

I'm not Irish and I assumed Alannah was pronounced Al - AN - a. Not Al - AR-na. Fwiw.

@Synchrony

I'm not Irish and I assumed Alannah was pronounced Al - AN - a. Not Al - AR-na. Fwiw.

You're correct. The AR pronunciation is in some areas in England where the speakers have a "non-rhotic" accent - a long A is given an R sound (it makes no sense to me!). No-one in Ireland would add an R to a name with no R in it!!!

My accent is non-rhotic but it still it makes no sense to me either in this case given the similarly of spelling to Hannah (no one says that "Har-nah"). I find the differences in pronunciation of words really interesting.

Basically it's the elongated ah sound that becomes ar in my accent.
So my DH says Hannah exactly the same way as I do but he says Alannah with an 'ah' sound. I can't make that ah sound without it feeling very strange, so it becomes an 'ar' sound.
I don't think many people would say Alannah to rhyme with Hannah but I could be wrong.

My name is Allanagh - a nightmare variation to spell out - so I'm delighted to see you're thinking of Alannah for the spelling. My father was Irish and chose the name for its meaning (from the old Irish language) of 'O, child', and for its later use as a term of endearment (equivalent to my darling), particularly popular from the late 18th century, especially in the Victorian period, and possibly used this way even today. So, although I still want to strangle my dad for the spelling, it's a very touching and loving name to give. Oddly, at no time in my life has anyone ever shortened it, other than a Polish friend who used a traditional pet form for girls' names, so called me Alanka, which was rather pretty. Also, nobody has ever said they thought my name was the feminine version of Alan; it doesn't sound boyish in the least. Daphne is equally lovely, and easily 3000+ years in use in Greece. If you chose this, just don't let any boy called Apollo come near her. That particular myth did not end well! Both your choices are charming...so, possibly I'm not being much help to you, but I do wish you well.

So lovely to see someone trouble to ask. As an Allanagh (weird, very Victorian spelling), I can safely say it's pronounced Al-ANN-a, if the intention is for it to be the original, very historic, Irish name. There was a hugely popular Irish ballad 'Eileen Alannah', which Spotify has helped me prove to stubborn friends that I know how to say my own name! So, if you meet an Alannah, go with that first; they can always correct you. It seems to be more an American thing to say Uh-LARN-a, or A-LARN-a.

@Drunkenmonkey

Basically it's the elongated ah sound that becomes ar in my accent. So my DH says Hannah exactly the same way as I do but he says Alannah with an 'ah' sound. I can't make that ah sound without it feeling very strange, so it becomes an 'ar' sound. I don't think many people would say Alannah to rhyme with Hannah but I could be wrong.

I really do think that a significant percentage of people would pronounce Alannah to rhyme with Hannah- I would certainly have assumed it was pronounced like this due to the double n, and others on this thread have said that they would have assumed this too. When corrected I would of course pronounce it as the person preferred, but I have a name that is often mispronounced and find it a real pain, so if you haven't yet named your baby I would consider this issue.

I love both names

100 times Daphne

Love Daphne.

Alannah I agree is much like Nigella, and so I always read it as Alan-A then correct myself.

Love the name Alana. The one we know rhymes with Ana (as in Ana from Frozen) not Anna. Prefer the spelling ‘Alana’ for that pronunciation.

A beautiful and modern sounding name yet with an element of mystique and old age glamour to it.
Some meanings are:
‘cherished’, 'beautiful', ‘darling child’, ‘harmony’, ‘serene’, ‘little rock’ (beautiful to look at and rare but also strong, tough and unbreakable like a precious gemstone or jewel)
The name has multiple origins. It can be derived from the Old High German word for ‘precious’ or from the Irish language term “a leanbh” for ‘child’ or from the Goidelic/ Hawaiian community meaning ‘fair’, ‘beautiful offering’. In Gaelic ‘Alanna’ is the term for ‘beauty’ or ‘serenity’. Depending on the interpretation the name's roots can therefore be Old High German / Hawaiian / Irish / Gaelic.
The Alana I know was named after a great-great-grandmother of Dutch and French heritage called ‘Anna’ (pronounced ‘Ana’ like one of the lead characters in the Frozen film).
Characters with the given name: Alana (a royal mermaid princess in King Triton’s court), Alana Yarn (famous author in the Storybook Rainbow Magic Fairies series), Alana (protagonist main character from the ‘Alana Dancing Star’ series by Arlene Phillips), Alana of Trebond (fictional heroine in the Tortall novels), Alana (sporty, kind main character from the cartoon Dora the Explorer)
Some people with the given name: Alana Blanchard (American surfer), Alana Curley (American dancer), Alanna Nash (journalist), Alanna Nobbs (historian), Alanna Schepartz (scientist), Alanna Kraus (Canadian skater), Alana Aoun (bridal & couture designer), Alana Spencer (British business woman & Apprentice Winner).

That's a very hard call as I love both

If spent that way I’d chose Daphne. If Alana was spelt this way I think I’d got for Alana…a would pronounce it A-Larna rather than A-lan-uh…if that makes sense!

Daphne for sure, lots of nickname possibilities Daph or Daffy et al.

Definitely Daphne