Baby name Amala?

[julyyrain]

What are your impressions of the name Amala and how would you assume it was pronounced?

Vowelly and nothingy. Uh-MA-luh. I'd probably think it was a girl with Indian or Pakistani heritage.

Agree with the PP on pronunciation. I’d think it was someone who liked Amelia and Amelie but wanted to differentiate between the hundreds of those.

I would pronounce it Ah - mah - lah

not sure why pejole read A and say Uh?

I like it - I think it’s unusual and pretty. Uh- MAH-luh

I would say uh maa la. It’s nice enough but it’s also forgettable. I was at a graduation this week where two hundred names were read out and I was thinking how some are memorable and others completely dull.

I wonder if people would be confused like with Kamala (Harris)

This is how I’d read it.
I’ve never heard of the name before, I’d assume Arabic heritage.
Ah-mah-lah.

I would say Ah-mah- lah unless corrected

I think it's pretty, and not too out there

@castleclass ,because that's how we'd say it.

I would pronounce it Ah -mah-lah
I agree with previous poster that I can’t see where Uh comes into it.
Maybe pronunciation depends on where in the UK you are.

But why was the question? Why do you read Ah and say Uh? It’s not a criticism, I’m curious is all

Because the A- and -a are unstressed they each become a schwa sound.
Schwa | Definition, Examples, Sound, & Symbol | Britannica

America is said as Uh-MERR-ick-uh.
Anna - ANN-uh etc

It's an accent thing.

Like how some people see bath and say 'bar-th' and others say 'ba-th'.

You must surely be aware that people have different accents?!

I would say ah-ma-la which in my accent is barely distinguishable from uh-ma-la.

I don't particularly like it, but nor is it offensive, it's just meh.

Of course I know people have different accents. I guess I was looking for someone to be able to offer something deeper.

@castleclass , I did. It's because it's an unstressed vowel. In Anna or Adam, the first A is stressed but the second one isn't.

Thank you I actually missed that post completely

Feels like an Arabic version of amelia

I read it as al - ma
I think it's very pretty name I like it

I’d guess “Ah-mar-lah ”. Because Amala looks so similar to Amara and Alana and those sounds are how they are usually pronounced (at least where I live). Pretty names though.

I would say A mal ah. I would guess Indian heritage?

Like Amala Ekpunobi?
She pronounces it Ammala.
i like it.

Initially, I would have guessed "Ah-mah-la", and possibly of Pakistani heritage. I used to teach in a class with several Pakistani heritage girls with names like Amara, Anaya, Amina, etc. so Amala wouldn't have been a stretch!

I like it.

This is how you say it. I know a few. Didn’t realise it was that tricky to understand tbh

If you are asian origin you’ll know of
Amla hair oil
Ambala sweets