Aziza, Izuka, Iruka and Zikora

[NameGameBame]

They’re girls’ names. What’s your immediate reaction to each of them, please?

They're all meaningful and from our cultures, but - putting that aside - I’m looking for immediate reactions/first impressions.

Thank you!

Do you pronounce the middle two with an eye sound or Is/Ir sound?

My first reactions:
Aziza is my favourite. Iruka seems to have a harsher sound and I don't like it as much as the others. Izuka and Zikora seem nice too.
I pronounce them AZ-ee-za, eye-RU-ka, IZ-oo-ka, and ZIK-or-a when reading then in my head.

I like Izuka and Iruka.

I think if you’re in the UK Aziza might be a bit too close to Aviva.

Personally not a fan of any name starting with Z, as it always sounds harsh to me - but that really is just personal preference,

Is/Ir sound, not ‘eye’. But this is the sort of stuff that’s helpful, as it wouldn’t have occurred to me that people might think ‘eye’. Thank you!

I like Aziza best. Used to know one, so that may be why.

The first and last make me think "Zika" (sorry). Iruka probably my favourite if I had to choose, but it sounds (in my pronunciation at least, which may be incorrect) a bit like verruca

Thank you. Pronunciations mostly correct. IR (as in, iridescent) - rook - ah and Zik - cora.

I would read them as I roo ka ? (I like in)
And I zoo ka
They're very unfamiliar to me.

I like Zikora. Her nickname could be "Cora" which can be pronounced easily by many here in the west.

Iruka means dolphin in Japanese

All nice, maybe Iruka is my least. I like Izuka

We’re pretty against the shortening of names to ‘westernise’ them, so no.

What a lovely fact! I didn’t know. I love ‘crossover’ words.

Fair enough! I did ask for honesty. 🤣

Pretty much the same as this! I'd have also made the same assumptions re pronunciations but would of course call them by the correct name once i'd been made aware.

They're lovely names. Iruka is probably my least favourite purely on the phonetic sound - think the combination of the 'r' and the hard 'ca' evokes 'verruca' but that's probably a bit of a stretch!

Unfortunately they sound like brand names for pharmaceuticals.

This is fair enough, but bear in mind that your daughter might feel differently when she's older, especially if she's grown up in the West.

Iruka is my favourite. Ee - roo - kah is how I would pronounce it, but more flowing together so not so much emphasis on each sound.

You might want to factor that into your choice then? Some of these are more easily abbreviated to a Western name than others. You can't stop kids shortening and nicknaming obviously, but some are more Western sounding than others. Like I'd think Aziza would be Zeez or Zeezy if she/her mates are that way inclined.

I know a Zikora, but she often goes by Zizi. I think it would be easy to avoid the shortening, though, at least until your daughter can make up her own mind. I think Z is a fun initial, I think it's easy to pronounce and I like the one I know - so that would be my pick!

I know an Izuka, think it's a lovely name.

I grew up in England, as did my husband. I can honestly say I don’t know anyone under the age of about 30 who does this/is fine with it. Whilst it was definitely something older generations did to assimilate, we’re more about celebrating cultural differences (including names) at this point. Which is a good thing, imo.

But, thank you.

Izuka - bazooka
Zikora is giving me Zoflora vibes, or reminds me of Zika virus

I would pronounce Izuka and Iruka with an 'ih' sound, as in iridescent

Aziza is beautiful and easy to pronounce and spell for people unfamiliar with the name (if that bothers you).

Zikora is also beautiful but you can’t really control what nickname your DC end up with at school so there is a good chance she will end up as Kora/Cora.

I really like Izuka too but she will probably end up as 1 of many Izzys at school, if you don’t want a Westernised nickname.

I love all 3 of them.

Iruka is okay but a bit clunky. I prefer soft sounding names with S and Z.

Zizi (zeezy) would traditionally be how both Aziza and Zikora would be shortened. I think it’s cute.