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 )

@SarahBellam

I'd give her the most obvious spelling for the way you want it said. I have a name that doesn't sound like it's spelt (Irish name) and it's a pain in the bum having to tell people how to spell/pronounce it all the time.

Irish spelling for me too, never bothered me I like my name being slightly unusual. Wanted to pass that down a bit but just couldn't work out if Arlia was too literal a spelling that's all.

This spelling issue often happens when people use a name from another language / culture that they're unfamiliar with. Arabic has two 'a' sounds, one heavy a from the back of the throat and a light 'a' similar to English 'a'.

Aaliyah is spelt with the heavy 'a' sound so there's absolutely no 'r' sound in it. The op is changing the pronunciation & spelling of the name so its now a completely different name. The word path might be pronounced by some as 'parth' because of the speakers accent. However, there's no 'r' in the word and it's the same here for this name.

Aaliyah is also the female version of the Arabic male name, Ali.

These pronunciation threads always do my head in. There’s no point using “are” to designate a sound, when there is such wide variation in English as to how that word is pronounced!

OP you say you pronounce the words grass etc “with an r”. I’m pretty sure you don’t and it is a long “aw” sort of sound but you imagine there being an R which modifies that A from short to long, because that’s how your accent pronounces the combo “AR” in many words depending on the position.

Your accent is arhotic - ie you actually delete “R” sounds unless it’s in between 2 vowels.

Compare how you pronounce car vs career. The middle r will be heard in career, yes? That rhotic r sound will be heard when someone with my accent (NI) says “arlia”.
Like arrrr (like a pirate) - lee - a.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English?wprov=sfti1

This is the funniest thread ever. I have zero clue how you want the name pronounced op! But I wouldn't worry. I've read 20 different class registers this week and the girls just correct their names like Sara and Sara, Iman and Iman, Laura and Laura. Or they simply went with whatever I said. I guess the question is whether you feel it is a different name when it's said differently.

@HaveringWavering

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.

Ah damn. Obviously not as well versed on languages and pronunciation as I think haha. Hard to explain when written I suppose! But yes you are right

If you live near Bristol I wouldn’t call a kid a name ARE-lee-yah are the It will sound like ARRRRRRR Lee-ya

@TheHoptimist

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

No, not Muslim. The pronunciation does originate from Arabic i believe but spelt differently. No issues with that though just like the how the name sounds.

@GrendelsGrandma

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?

I mean it is a name, I didn't invent it it's just seldom heard of and as pp have said they know some children with it. All names were made up once I suppose

I know an ARE-lee-ya written Alya and an Al-ee-ya written the same way, both adults now. I love the name.

[quote queenmeadhbh]These pronunciation threads always do my head in. There’s no point using “are” to designate a sound, when there is such wide variation in English as to how that word is pronounced!

OP you say you pronounce the words grass etc “with an r”. I’m pretty sure you don’t and it is a long “aw” sort of sound but you imagine there being an R which modifies that A from short to long, because that’s how your accent pronounces the combo “AR” in many words depending on the position.

Your accent is arhotic - ie you actually delete “R” sounds unless it’s in between 2 vowels.

Compare how you pronounce car vs career. The middle r will be heard in career, yes? That rhotic r sound will be heard when someone with my accent (NI) says “arlia”.
Like arrrr (like a pirate) - lee - a.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English?wprov=sfti1[/quote]
Yes you're right in everything you've said here. Like I said before I can't say I know specifically about uk accent/language/rhotic etc so apologies for explaining wrong.
These threads would annoy me too if I weren't worrying baby won't have a name in 2 weeks haha. Thank you for your educational input though.

I'm still not clear on whether or not you want an R sound, OP!

Without an R in the spelling, I'd pronounce it like the Arabic name, Aahliyah, with long vowel, implicit h, absolutely no R.

Spelt with an R, I'd go for the full rhotic, Arrrlia. (Scot).

@AuntDympna

This is the funniest thread ever. I have zero clue how you want the name pronounced op! But I wouldn't worry. I've read 20 different class registers this week and the girls just correct their names like Sara and Sara, Iman and Iman, Laura and Laura. Or they simply went with whatever I said. I guess the question is whether you feel it is a different name when it's said differently.

Haha yes I knew I'd get that also. Think I was just looking for wider opinions than those of friends or family, which I definitely have! We never wanted an "easy" "common" or "traditional" name. I did try other options as knew it would lead to all the issues mentioned but we both then typically couldn't find one we liked as much.

Arlia makes me think of the milk brand Arla 😬 but I would never pronounce Alia or Ahlia with the r sound, it is only a specific U.K. accent that uses an intrusive r sound.

Out of the other names you listed I think Aurelia is prettiest.

@HaveringWavering

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.

Exactly

Adding in an R that does not exist in the word is not pronouncing Rs.

@Stravaig

I'm still not clear on whether or not you want an R sound, OP!

Without an R in the spelling, I'd pronounce it like the Arabic name, Aahliyah, with long vowel, implicit h, absolutely no R.

Spelt with an R, I'd go for the full rhotic, Arrrlia. (Scot).

So after reading some other posts I believe I don't want the R pronounced/rolled as such I just want an elongated vowel sound like aaah? In my head it's how I say are so spelt It like that when writing the pronunciation but obviously didn't take in to account Scottish/Irish etc. Equally I didn't want the A to be a short sound like I'd personally read in Alia so I thought putting the R in would help this but obviously not haha.

Like I said before I can't say I know specifically about uk accent/language/rhotic etc

But you just said you have an Irish name yourself? Why don’t you ask your Irish relatives how they would pronounce “Arlia”? I guarantee it would be Arrlia.

So Aalia is probably your best bet in that it's like enough to Aaliyah that everyone will know how to pronounce the first bit. And she will have to correct half the people anyway about the second bit. I work in a job where I call children's parents a lot and Aaliyah is super common round here. I automatically default to AA Lee a but half of them correct me to aa LEE a so I think those are just two genuine pronunciations.
I have to say I'm not too keen on the name but Aalia probably makes the most sense.

@CiciLapin Ah ok! So Aaliya / Aaliyah / Aahliya / Aahliyah?

Please please don't use the R, I'd guess most of the English speaking world has rhotic accents and we would all pronounce the R, making a completely different name to the one you intend. Go with Ah, or Aa.

Since you don't want the R pronounced but you want a long ah sound I'd go with Aalia or Ahlia. As another person dealing with school registers they would be the easiest to my eyes.

Aahleah. Aaleeyah. Ahlea, Aaleah. Aalear. Aahliyah.

Aaliyah would be the best conventional spelling, as it’s actually a recognisable name. I’d guess it’s perhaps a little more common to emphasise the second syllable, but I’ve met plenty who emphasise the first.

Aria is also an actual name, very nice, and easy to spell and pronounce. As is Daria, Taliah and Natalia. Would you consider Natalia, and using Alia as a nickname?

Alia is a nice name but you CANNOT spell it Arlia. It looks like a milk brand or similar and it looks like you are completely illiterate.

I'd listen to the teachers and keep it simple, Aalia, or even Alia.

Also separates it from the Arabic name - the beginning sound represented as a long A in English is actually a consonant in Arabic that doesn't have an equivalent in English. So Ali/Aaliyah are perpetually mispronounced by non Arabic speakers!

Aaliyah/Aliya/ Aliyah are not the same as Arlia to my ear. Neither is Ahlia. If you want the 'r' sound in I think you need the 'r' in the name. I'm in Scotland though and it sounds like others don't hear a difference between aliya and arlia. My parents made up the spelling and pronunciation of my name and honestly it's been an ongoing pain in the neck.

There's a beautiful sculpture near me called Arria. Would you consider that as an option? It's named after the mother of a famous Roman I believe. www.andyscottsculptor.com/sculptures/arria

@Geezabreak82 OP doesn't want the R sound. It's just to her accent that's how you would stress a long A.