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!

Aziza and Zikora as I prefer the nickname options for these two

Because Aziza made me think of the name Azaria!

3 of the names have Z in them, which isn't common- so my 1st thought was Azaria! I was being honest with what my first though was.

Aziza and Zikora are both nice, though Zikora might be mistaken for Zipporah/ Tsipora.

The nn Zizi is really sweet.

Ah, I see! Thanks for clarifying.

Aziza, it’s the nicest.

Zizi's nice though Aziza might also be shortened to Az, which may not be so desirable...

Hold your ground. I have kept my Indian name and given my kids Indian names too. No way are any of us Westernising our names to Joe or Annie. Those days when we had to break ourselves into two to assimilate are over. I have a 3 syllable name. If people cant get their head around it, tough.

I like Izuka but I would choose the name with the best meaning.

Aziza is my favourite- it’s very pretty, and I love Zizi for short. Zikora is my second favourite. Iruka is my least favourite just because my initial association was verucca.

Well said!!!

Yes to every single word. 💗

Don't be so rude. Why shouldn't the OP pick a name from her culture? None of these are hard to spell or pronounce

Aziza, Izuka, Iruka and Zikora

I think they're all lovely in themselves but sorry to say Iruka brought to mind Verruca for me too.

Aziza- pretty, sing songy and flowy plus I like Zizi but not my favourite. Something a bit generic girl's namey about it.

Izuka- punchy and cool. Love

Zikora- favourite. Potential slight zika virus echoes but I don't think enough to rule it out. Not if it's a short /i/ sound. If it was pronounced Zeekora maybe different.

People from white foreign background also have to spell their names too! I have a foreign name that I have to spell every time I ever say it but I love it as no one else I know has it. My parents just made sure (as I grew up here) that my name sounded pretty here too if pronounced the way a British person would pronounce it (which everyone has always done here and I don't care) and that it didn't have any unwanted connotations that I might not wish for. Otherwise what more can a parent do other than name their child what they like!

Zikora is the only one that jars for me as it sounds a bit like the floral disinfectant called Zoflora.

Aziza is my favourite

Aziza is the nicest IMO - plus I love the shortening Zizi which is really pretty: that way you get a cute nickname for a little girl, but also a longer formal name for when she’s older.

Izuka is my next favourite. Sorry to echo previous posters, but Iruka makes me think verruca (and the potential for teasing at school), and Zikora does make me immediately think of the Zika virus.

I think Zikora is the prettiest, and nicest to say. Aziza is hard to say, and the other two both have unfortunate rhymes (bazooka and verruca).

I have to spell my boring names too . One is constantly adored on mumsnet.
They are all fine names, op, some people are very bad at spelling, don't worry about that.
Re shortening, I had a set of cousins with names like Peter, David,Suzanne and Rosemary. Never shortened until they began working...Pete, Davy,Sue and Rosie!

My (Western) name has only 4 letters and I still have to correct people's pronunciation so I wouldn't worry too much about those comments. I like them all but with a preference for Zikora for what it's worth.

Just pick a name from the top 10 girls names in the UK and use Rose or Grace as a middle name, or her life will be ruined.

I like Aziza best but it's the only one I'm familiar with.

Aziza is my favourite - I've never heard it before but it sounds strong, elegant and pretty at the same time. Also reminds me of Aziz from A Passage to India.

Totally agree.

Both my DC have names from our heritage that are hard to spell by many English people.

FWIW they love them (and are old enough to have a considered opinion now!).

If we all ignore our heritage so we can become one homogeneous mass with the English, it's the death of culture in action.

Aziza is beautiful. I love Zizi as a NN.

A lot of English names aren't English...how do people manage to spell Christopher or Sophia with the ch and ph.
And Catherine, Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn is a nightmare.

I think most people would pronounce Izuka and Iruka as “Eye” before meeting her but after knowing her they should / would pronounce it semi correctly. I don’t particularly like Aziza because it has a random meaning, except if I’m missing something. Zikora would be my first choice and off course every reasonable person without any speech impediment should be able to pronounce it. No need to shorten it for acceptance.

I don’t particularly like Aziza because it has a random meaning, except if I’m missing something.

Aziza are woodland fairies (closest European approximation). Telling me that a name in my language, which you presumably don’t speak, has a ‘random meaning’ is a bit odd.

The rest of your comment was helpful. Thank you.