Trying to figure out best spelling of name - please help!
We figured out the name of our Girl, mainly the way it sounds, but then people kept saying it differently from what we expected when they read it. We do not want our daughter to have to correct every single person who reads her name for the rest of her life. Please try your best to explain how you would pronounce these names to help us pick the closest spelling.
Laneaya
Lanaea
Lanaya
By e1
Fri, 08/03/2012 - 1:48am
Fri, 08/03/2012 - 1:48am
Replies
I would say the first one as luh-NEE-ya (I think... This one is a bit difficult to parse)
The second as luh-NAY-uh
The third as luh-NAY-ya
The last two are almost identical, but the transition between second and third syllables is slightly different when I say them mindfully. If I said them quickly, I suspect that the last two would sound the same, somwhere between the two pronunciations.
(Note: The "uh"s are schwas, "ə")
Lanaya was the one that we originally went with, unfortunatly most people pronounce it like La•Nye•ah which we do not like. luh-NAY-ya was what we were going for.
Hmm... Well, I think that this is one of those names that will often require pronunciation clarification. However, some spellings are more intuitive than others and I think that certain spellings will only need explaining once per person. You need to decide whether it is a deal breaker to have to explain pronunciation. Ultimately, people who know her will learn to say it properly and others probably don't matter so much, so if you love the name, I say choose the option that feels best and go with it. (That is, unless she will have a really complicated last name, in which case I may think twice about introducing more naming difficulties.)
I also think that my familiarity with the name Linnea biased me towards your preferred pronunciation because I just assumed that you were presenting alternate spellings of that name. Is there a reason that you don't want to use that established version?
Of the three spellings, the first is definitely the most confusing - I can think of at least three different potential pronunciations for that one and none is your preferred one. I say nix that one.
I find the second to be quite visually pleasing (for some reason I really like the look of ae in names), though I'm sure that people will come up with creative ways of saying it.
The third, well, you already know what mistake you're going to get. Can you live with it? Perhaps more importantly, can you live with knowing that she will have to live with it? (On the plus side, it would be really easy for her to spell her name aloud.) It reminds me of how my friend named her daughter Laila, pronounced LYE-la. Did I get it wrong the first time? Absolutely. Did I learn? Yup.
It would seem that with all the different spellings trying to get the luh-NAY-ya sound, each one still has multiple ways of saying them. Linnea was rejected because the lynn sound was not what we were going for. Even with that spelling i have seen both lin-NEE-ah and lin-NAY-ah from people.
I love the way the name sounds, luh-NAY-ya that is, but it seems that I can't win with an easily recognizable spelling. Maybe I should change this posting to be, "how to spell the name that sounds like luh-NAY-ya".
Unless I can find a better spelling, I'm getting that if we like that name, my daughter will have to deal with people calling her La-NEE-ah or La-NYE-ah for the rest of her life.
The sound is a name that invites itself to mispronunciation, mainly because there is no established spelling for it. However, there is a name with that sound, and a history behind it:
Linnea.
By choosing that spelling, you'll still have to occasionally correct people who pronounce it LIN-ee-uh, but you will meet people who will, because of experience, pronounce it lih-NAY-ah.
The name is Swedish, and the Swedish pronunciation is about halfway between LIN-ee-uh and lih-NAY-ah. It is a name based on Carolus Linnaeus, the man who invented the scientific naming of species. It's a name with a full history, and is presently very popular in Norway and Sweden.
Come to think of it, Linnaeus is unambiguously pronounced lih-NAY-us, so you can get the lih-NAY-uh pronunciation with a spelling of Linnaea.
As to the three above pronunciations, the first is Lan-ee-ah-ya or LANE-ee-ya. The second is Lan-ay-ah, and the third is luh-NY-ah. Personally, I think Linnea or Linnaea is your best bet. You'll have history on your side.
Thank you for the reply. Linnea or Linnaea are ones that we are considering, the Lynn sound was not what we were looking for, but because it is close and the spelling I think is a bit more recognizable we may have to go with that.
It does looks like both of you are at least pronouncing Lanaea the way we wanted. We are welcome to more suggested spellings or pronounciations, so thank you.
This is what I kept coming to. Why not just spell it Linnea to get the Lih-nay-ah sound?
I get: Layne-ay-uh with the first
Lan-uh-ah-uh with the second
and Luh-nay-uh with the third.
Then I got that you were trying for Luh-nay-ah and kept thinking, do they mean Linnea?
I'd go with Linnea (or maybe Linnaea) too. Of course, I'm biased: I've always liked this name (it's my sister's middle), and in general I like names to have some kind of positive association (meaning/ history/ namesake/ connection to family or heritage, etc.) as well as just a pleasing sound. Do an image search for the linnaea flower (also known as twinflower) - it's cute and distinctive and makes a interesting reference, as does the eminent scientist. Maybe it will win you over to the established version.
You say you don't care for the "LYNN" syllable, but I'll just point out that this syllable won't be emphasized in most North Americans' pronunciation of the name. The unemphasized i in Linn- actually comes out as a schwa for me in everyday speech (just as you're looking for with your La- spellings); it's only when I'm really trying to enunciate that I say "linn-AY-uh."
I agree with others that the first spelling on your list is the most problematic (I'd hesitate to venture a guess even), but honestly I think all of your options are going to need clarifying pretty regularly. The problem is that the names looks unfamiliar, and they also don't give people any clear clues which pronunciation rules to use. With the third one I think they're guessing that it's built on the Spanish/Italian model, i.e. lah-NAH-yah, which slurs to luh-NYE-uh in English; I too would guess you were going for this, particularly if your daughter's surname threw off any clues/misdirections that her heritage might be Hispanic, Middle Eastern, African or South Asian.
The first two just look invented to me, and since creative spellers and name inventers don't take a consistent approach to phonics even in English (to be fair, largely because English itself doesn't have a consistent approach to phonics!), I wouldn't be confident to guess what you intended. My best guess on the first would be LAY-nee-uh, nicknamed Lane or Laney, since you've included the word "Lane" in the spelling. For the second, half of my brain wants to start with Lan- (rhymes with Ann).
The ae looks Latin-derived or -inspired (and visually pretty, I agree with Karyn), but that actually throws me off; I only know Latin through scientific terms, and people don't seem to agree on a consistent set of pronunciation rules for these in English. I seem to remember some discussion in college that ae is pronounced like "eye" - as in alumni and alumnae should be said the same way - but I also don't remember my source and whether he/she was reliable. I'm also vaguely aware that there are different pronunciation rules used for classical Latin (i.e. people who are studying Virgil etc.) and church Latin, but I don't know what they are and if there any differences for vowels; EVie could weigh in here, I think.
Anyway, I think the last option is the best of the three you've created, but I'll still put in a plug for Linnea. And I do think all the pronunciations in this family of names sound pretty at least, even the ones you aren't going for.
Yeah, the way we pronounce alumni and alumnae in English is all off-kilter from the Latin pronunciation. In classical Latin, alumni is ah-lum-nee, and alumnae is ah-lum-nai. So, almost backwards. Church Latin mainly follows the rules of Italian pronunciation, meaning that ce, ci, ge, gi are always pronounced as che, chi, dje, dji (e.g. excelsis = ex-CHEL-sees), rather than the hard K/G sound as in classical Latin; there are also some differences in the vowels, especially the -ae- and -oe- diphthongs, which are pronounced as approximately "ai" and "oy" in classical Latin, but "eh" and "ay" in Italianate/Church Latin. And then there are also differences in the way Latin is pronounced in other European languages; e.g. in Germany, the c is sometimes pronounced as -ts-. Confusing, no?
Back on topic—I'd agree with everyone else that Linnea or perhaps Linnaea would be by far the best choice. I just really, really don't care for invented names and/or spellings. No matter what you choose, your daughter will have to both spell and pronounce her name for everyone she meets, and having a made-up name can often make someone come across as less intelligent, educated or sophisticated (unfair, I know, but people always make unfair judgments based on snap impressions—it's a fact of life). Linnea, on the other hand, is a beautiful, well-established yet uncommon name that has the added benefit of being associated with science and knowledge. And the Lin- and the Lan- sounds are virtually indistinguishable from each other; because they're both in unstressed syllables, the vowels both basically turn into schwas (the unstressed vowel sound, or "uh").
Luh-nye-ah
Luh-nay-ah
Luh-nye-ah
The first spelling gave me the longest pause, I really wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. The second one was a little better, though I was really wanted to make it be a spin on the name Lana. By the last spelling I realized you were probably going for the nay-ah sound, but only because I'd already seen the other 2. If I saw it alone, I would guess the ending naya to rhyme with the name Maya.
I agree with other posters that the more traditional Linnea might be a good option for you. I know with my accent , especially when I say it quickly, the Lynn sound is not emphasized at all. It's almost like a cross between Lih and the Luh sound you are going for.
You guys have been a big help, so first of all thank you so much.
We talked about the name, the tradtional one Linnea. We are considering maybe Lannea now because of all the suggestions, this way it is closer to the original spelling but more with the a sound in the beginning.
Lannea or Lannaea
****** please give me your pronunciations for these ones ******
Lannea: LAN-ee-uh. LAN rhyming with MAN.
Lannaea: Lah-NAY-uh.
ok one for Lannaea
I agree with Linnaeus on the first one.
For the second, I think I would guess something closer to LAHNA-ee-ah. That spelling has a kind of Hawaiian look to me, which makes me really want to stretch out the syllables.
Don't be misled by spelling; a schwa is a schwa, regardless of what letter you write for it.
May I suggest an experiment? You'll need some sort of audio recording device and a bunch of people to interview and record. Divide the people into two groups: one group will be asked to read the name Linnea aloud, the other group will be asked to repeat the name you say (lah-NAY-ah). Record each person's version, then shuffle the files around. Can you tell which one was which group?
I'll take a bet that most of the time, you will not be able to tell whether the recording was of Linnea or lah-NAY-ah.
For your latest two attempts, I get LAW-neigh and LAW-neigh-ah.
I like this idea!
FYI--I have the same thing with my name: Sharalyn (Share-uh-lynn)--many will still say Sharilyn (share-ih-lynn--I don't get Share-ee-lynn when people see my name) instead. But they are *so* similar when you emphasize the first syllable, that you can't really tell the difference, unless someone emphasizes that middle syllable.
It totally doesn't ever bother me (well, when I get Char-uh-leen it does). ;-)
I love this suggestion! I agree that a schwa is a schwa, at least in my accent. Amongst all the spelling, the biggest difference for me is the middle syllable-nay or nie. If I read them quickly, the beginnings all sound pretty much alike. Only when I really concentrate and slow way down do I hear the difference between lih & lah.
I will also add the disclaimer that my pronunciations for the more recent spelling are just my best guesses. Knowing what pronunciation is wanted colored my attempts to read them.
LAN-ee-uh for Lannea
lawn-AY-uh for Lannaea
So Linnea is nice but in spanish its pronounced LEE-nay-uh, which is where the problem lies so it is not on the table. Most of you guys dont like the first one, I get that. The last one at least half or more want to pronounce that la-NEE-uh, I dont like that. The middle one most of you are pronouncing it correctly as La-NAY-uh.
So at the moment Lanaea with one or two n's seems to be the one that looks the best and is pronounced the best. I welcome more pronounciations on the originals or Lannaea with two n's.
I really do appreciate the feedback even if we disagree on the names we like.
Well, in Spanish, Lanaea or Lannaea is going to get you 4 syllables, not La-NAY-uh.
In Spanish, -aea is ah-eh-ah, which most easily Anglicizes to igh-ah (igh as in sigh or thigh). It's what my mother, Micaela does.
If what you're doing is guaranteeing an AY sound in Spanish, then there's only one spelling that will work: -ei-. However, "ei" is pronounced igh in German. So Laneia could be Lah-NAY-uh or Lah-NY-uh.
There is no pronunciation that is fully unambiguously what you're looking for. Using history with Linnaea helps, but the name will always need to be spelled out and there will be risks of mispronunciation at any time.
Oh! I thought you were trying to avoid the LYNN sound, wich I think is where the schwa conversation came in. But if you are trying to avoid the LEE sound in Spanish, that's a totally different issue I think.
Not being a Spanish speaker, I have no suggestions for other possible spellings. Perhaps Linnaeus will have an idea or two?
If Lanaea/Lannaea are your final 2, I vote for Lanaea. I think it will be the most likely to give you Lah at the front, while Lannaea makes me want to want to say LAHN (as in Lana or Lonnie). I also think the one N spelling is nicer visually.
I think it's a lovely name. Like others, I prefer the traditional Linnea spelling, which I think most will know how to spell and say.
However, and I hate to be discouraging here, if you would really be bothered by having to correct people, then you may want to go back to the drawing board all together.
Any name that could reasonably be pronounced or spelled different ways-well, it will happen.
In terms of your first set of choices, like others, I'd pronounce the last two luh-nay-a, as you're after. I'm so put off by the look of the first one I don't know what I'd do with it.
I'd discourage spellings with extra ns. They start to look Hawaiian to me, and would make me inclined to do a lawn sound somewhere.
Please spell it Linnea if you are not living in Latin America. It will cause far more difficulty, mispronunciation, and confusion having a non-standard spelling. I live in a community that is about 50% Spanish-speaking and people have no problem saying my name even though in Spanish literally every letter would be pronounced differently.