Thalia

[Algebraicyourleg]

I am looking at girls names for DD3 (due October) and need a name which ends in an a.

I have come across Thalia. I love the idea of Thalia due to it being the name of a Greek Grace/muse. However I am a true over thinker and am wondering about the pronunciation of it.

Would you naturally say:

1. Tar-Lee-ah
2. Tal-Lee-ah (as in short for Natalia or is this usually spelt Talia)
3. Thay-Lee-ah
4. Something I can’t think of.

I am in NW England if that makes any difference.
Thanks

I would naturally say Thallia with a short a (rather than thar-lia). But I’d also be well aware it was a complete guess and be prepared to be corrected.

@KitchenWarrior

The one I know rhymes it with "failure"!

Nice name though!

I think this is standard in English. It also shows up — girl misheard another girl saying her name as saying ‘Failure’ and asks whether it’s because she wasn’t a boy — in an Antonia Forest novel written in 1948. Characters upper-middle-class RP speakers.

I believe it’s roughly THAA-leea in Greek.

I teach one and hers is pronounced as it looks but without the "h", so Taleea. Accent on the long "ee" bit.

My first guess for Thalia would be your 1, but I wouldn't be surprised to be corrected.

Spelt Talia, the one I know (London) is pronounced closer to your 2 but not quite. More tuh-LEE-a, rhyming with how id pronounce Aaliyah. (Whereas for me the end of Natalia is TA-lee-a.) I wouldn't be surprised to meet a Thalia using either of these pronunciations too.

In spite of knowing that Antonia Forest passage, the 'failure' pronunciation is actually not one I'd expect!

I'd pronounce it the second way.

I originally would have said Tar - lee- ah but we now know a little Thalia and her (Greek) parents like it pronounced Thar- lee- aah.
So we do.

I would say Tar- lee-uh. Love the name

Tha-Lee-a

For the record, the correct Greek pronunciation is Tha-lee-a , the tha- being like "tha" in thanks.

1. Lovely and Nice name.

It's one of those names I think looks so pretty but I'm never confident what the common pronunciation is. There was a Thalia on Big Brother yonks ago and she pronounced her name like tile-a.

Thalia, to half rhyme with failure. .

I'd say Thar-li-ar

Lovely name. I have friends with a Talia which I love too.

Thank you all. Looks like there is no clear answer and it could be up to us (I’ve tried to avoid names such as this) but I just find it so pretty.

Thank you all, I will mull it over. Any other suggestions of short girls names which end A are most welcome.

I teach a Tar-Lee-ah but I know a Tha-Lee-a

I’ve only ever known it pronounced with a long ‘a’ ...so for a Londoner like me it would sound like ‘TAR-lee-a’

It’s a beautiful name.

Thea
Lila
Alaia
Athena
Kaia/ Kaya
Mila
Lena

It's my 85 year old DM's name, pronounced THAY-lee-ah. She hates it!

Gorgeous name, I'm not sure why it isn't used more - very elegant look and sound. I'd pronounce it Tar -lee -ah unless corrected, as that is what I've heard (I'm in Wales now but have lived in various places in Southern England).

Short names that end in A - have you considered Lara, Cora, Maia or Gaia? (All have Greek Mythology links too). Or possibly Ancient Roman Cassia, Claudia or Diana?

You pronounce the h in Greece - so THA-le- A, with emphasis on first and last syllables - sometimes the middle syllable is almost swallowed I think

If I didn’t want the h I would spell it Talia, but that’s a bit made up. Be realistic about how it will sound where you live is all I’d say

You could just spell it differently to make it obvious how you like it to sound. Shows there's so many variations how it could be pronounced. I recently saw KAYTE. Is that Kate or Katie. The only point to that is to confuse the kids life a bit more.

I know one pronounced Tar-li-a. Emphasis on Tar (southerner here, so 'r' sound not pronounced!)

However one of her parents is northern and says it 'Tallia'.

The one I know is TAR-lee-a.