Elsie & Eilidh?

[ByNeatLemonTraybake]

We're expecting our second little girl in march and just considering baby names.

Our 4 year old is Elsie and we have fallen in love with the name Eilidh (pronounced- Ay-lee) but I'm starting to think they sound too similar?? I don't know if I'm just over thinking it or not? Does it matter that they end in 'ie' and have the same number of syllables?

I really can't think of any other names that I like as much so I'm struggling!

I know Elsie and Violet sisters that I think sound well together :)

I personally wouldn't do another ie sound with an E, but I think something like Lucy or Katie would be OK although not what I would do.

Both lovely names, but yes, too similar i think.

Do you live in Scotland? If not, people may not know how to pronounce Eilidh. I once heard it pronounced "eyelid" when teaching in England. It's become more common to spell it Ailie and then there's no confusion over the pronunciation. I'm not keen on these kind of spelling though.

I don't think too similar personally! But like suggestion of PP of changing the spelling to Ailie or similar.

I live in Northern Ireland and I have Scottish heritage which is another reason why I like the name so much so I think I'd just leave the spelling as it is

They are similar sounding, but I think it’s more important to choose a name you love than for it to sound ideal with her sisters name.

I love those 2 names together. Please spell it as Eilidh, changing the spelling due to other people’s ignorance spoils it.

They are a bit close to my ear for siblings imo- it’s not that that they both end in “ee” , it’s that combined with the 2 syllables and vowel heaviness too. Elsie and Isla (for the Scots link) work better or another “ee” ending name but with more syllables and less vowels.

I think a bit too similar what about:
Isla
Mia
Olivia
Chloe
Bonnie
Mila
Nellie
Polly
Ferne
Verity

Too similar for my taste.

I've not really heard Eilidh pronounce "Ay-lee". It's more "Ay-lay"

Definitely too similar for sisters!

Eilidh is lovely and isn't too similar.

Elsie was originally a diminutive of Elisabeth, just as Molly and Polly were of Margaret, so I'd like to put Polly into the mix: Elsie and Polly sound like a fun pair to me 😀

I love them both together.
Make sure their second names are not similar in any way.

Do you like Eileen or Ailish

I don't think they sound too similar. It's fine, go with Eilidh if that's the name you love (and don't change the spelling!).

Sometimes it isn't "ignorance" but people have genuinely never come across a name before. As a teacher I'd have been completely stumped if a child with an Irish or Welsh spelling of a name was in my class and would have been afraid to attempt pronunciation in case I caused offence.

I was thinking maybe Aila (ay-la) which is a bit like Isla and means ‘from a strong place’ which I love as this baba is a IVF baby so I feel appropriate ☺️ just have to convince my husband!

Really? I’ve only ever known Ay-lee’s!

Omg Eilidh is my all time favourite girls name. If I was lucky enough to need 2 girl names it'd be that and Aisling for me. Elsie is nice enough and ok with Eilidh but it's just a bit meh in comparison. And a teeny bit on the matchup side which I'm not a big fan of. But if you love those 2 names then plough on.

Probably due to local pronunciation

Aila is very pretty imo and as a non Scots Gaelic speaker (though I do live in Wales so am familiar with some non - English name pronunciations at least), Aila seems more likely to be pronounced correctly as a bonus than Eilidh would outside Scotland.

It's too similar

I think they sound nice together.