Love the name hate the spelling

[CiciLapin]

Baby girl due in 2 weeks and we are set on the name pronounced ARE-lee-yah.
Struggling with spelling although are leaning towards Arlia.
Aware it's probably a marmite name.
Other names we liked were Ophelia/Aurelia/Amelia/Delilah but for various reasons they aren't top.

Any thoughts on a better way or is ours okay? Not sure I like how it looks? (I have a name always mispronounced/spelt wrong and it's not been an issue so have no problem with that for her) just not sure Arlia is too literal a spelling. Other ways we've looked at are: Aalia, Ahlia. Aware it can be spelt Aaliyah/Aliya/ Aliyah but we don't like the y and h.

Also any ideas for middle names?
So far we like grace, we are aware it's very common but seeing as her first will be unusual though best to not be too "out there". Thought a one syllable middle name would be best as first is 3 but open to other options. Last name is one syllable.

Thoughts? (Please don't hate on the name too much, we took forever to agree )

I know an Aalia and she's a beautiful person inside and out so I vote for that spelling. IMO it's the most obvious, especially if you want to avoid y or h

If you were a Spanish speaker you’d solve this by using an accent to indicate stress. - Àlia.

In English the she’ll just have to get used to people getting it wrong and correcting them. It’s like Teresa - there are two accepted pronounciations and you just have to ask the person.

@fluffythedragonslayer

I like Arlia. It's almost like the female version of Arlo although I guess that would be Arla (which I also really like as a name!)

Alia looks nicer but I think she will have a lifetime of people getting her name wrong and as someone who that happens to, I'd strongly advise trying to avoid it!!

Arla and her little brother Lurpak.

Alia I would say a-leah

But then I don't have an English accent.

I knew an Aalia pronounced as you would like it to be. Much nicer than Arlia. I would expect that whichever way you spell it she will have to explain both pronunciation and spelling as there is not a standard way. (I did once see Aaleigha - please don't use that, it took me ages to even work out what it said!)

My friends daughter is called Aalia and there’s never been any confusion with pronunciation as far as I know.

My friend spells her daughters arlea. It's lovely.

Ahlia would work best. And no middle name

If you want an R in a name, you have to spell it with an R.

So it has to be Arlia.

Anything else is just a long Ah sound, which is totally different.

As the mum of a child with a name that can be pronounced different ways I say go with the spelling you like and people will learn how to pronounce it from you. People usually hear a name before they see it written. Like Mya - some pronounce it M-eye-a and some Meeya. We had one of each in the same class. People just go with the pronunciation they are told.

I'm in Scotland but I agree that without the R in the name then I wouldn't know to pronounce it with an R.

I like the name Arlia and the spelling. If it was spelt any of the other ways suggested I would province it Ah-lee-ya. I know some places it sounds the same but where I am the second spelling doesn't have the R sound in it at all so I think you would be constantly correcting people. There isn't really much you can go wrong with Arlia

@HaveringWavering - that still wouldn't make A sound like Ah, just changes the stress from the penultimate syllable.

Honestly OP I'd just find another name with one, straightforward pronunciation. You can see from the responses on this thread that even changing the spelling wouldn't guarantee it is pronounced as you want. There is bound to be someone who mispronounces it, as far as you are concerned, and that will annoy or upset you and could also stick.

Like Dahlia without the D

The flower is day-lia

'ah' can be either 'a' as in cat or 'aaaa' as in car

I think an aa or the are spelling are most likely to get you the pronunciation you want from people reading the name

But yes, it's possible you will need to be ready to explain the pronunciation many times and your DD will need to be equally patient

I think if you are going to, essentially, make up your own spelling, you need to make it as clear as possible. But you are right, Arlia looks ugly.
I prefer Aaliyah but maybe Aalia would solve your problem.

@Gardeningcreature

I would only pronounce the r if it is in the spelling. Think of the word path. Some people pronounce it p a th, others p ar th. So Aaliah for example would spell A Lee ah to me. No r .

We pronounce the rs here so parth, glarss, grarss etc. I just felt Alia would never have the long Ar sound whatever the accent. Even I read it the way I don't like.

@TrashyPanda

If you want an R in a name, you have to spell it with an R.

So it has to be Arlia.

Anything else is just a long Ah sound, which is totally different.

But she doesn’t want an R SOUND in the name. She is using it to indicate a long a.

Aaliyah is an Arabic name meaning heavenly and exalted. There is no 'r' sound in the original Arabic spelling hence the pronunciation of Aaliyah with an emphasis on the flat a sound at the start.

There is an Aboroginal name called Arliyah and you could use this one instead of Aaliyah.

I quite like the spelling Arlia and I would pronounce it the way you want it, if I saw it written down.

I know an Aalia and everyone pronounced her name correctly as ‘Ar lee-ah’, emphasis on the Ar not the Lee.

@TulipsGarden

Aaliyah will be pronounced Ah-Leah by anyone over 40, as they'll remember the singer by the same name.

I think Ahlia looks prettiest and most likely to gain the pronunciation you want... although people will always say it wrong, that's just reality when you use an uncommon name.

Yes we remember the singer too which is why that spelling isn't the one (under 40 though so imagine a lot more people would as well)

We pronounce the rs here so parth, glarss, grarss etc.
That’s not “pronouncing the rs “!

Pronouncing an r is when it is a rolled sound, so for example making a rolled sound at the end of “car” or “door” or in the middle of “urgent” or “border”.

What you do is make a long vowel sound when you see an “r” written down.

Are you Muslim? I think many people seeing the name would assume that you are- regardless of spelling.

I would spell it Ahlia I think. If you want the first syllable to sound like the a in ‘can’t’.

I would pronounce Alia AYlia (as in hay or day)

@DustyOwl

Depends on the accent. I am a primary teacher, currently doing supply. I sight read ALOT of children's names, out loud, in the register! I like Arlia, I would read it the way you want Ahlia, I would also read like that. Alia, I would probably read Ay Lee a. But I'm from the West Country!

Yes my issue was with registers and trying to make it slightly easier for poor teachers. I had my whole school life (and then adult life) with people having 2/3 goes at saying my name when reading. Easy name just Irish spelling. Can't say I was ever too bothered when correcting them. She might resent me though.

It'll sound like 'earlier' in a lot of the country. Honestly I think you're setting her up for a lifetime of having her name misspelled and mispronounced. Why not go for a name that is actually a name?