# 'uh-LIE-ah' How is that spelled??



## Guppy051708

Im not even sure if it's a name or not but i really like the sounds of uh-LIE-ah. I just cant figure out how that would spelled to be pronounced correctly. Most of the google search results had it pronounced ah-LEE-ah but i dont want that. I want uh-LIE-ah. So how should it be spelled in order to be pronounced correctly? :shrug:


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## Ecologirl

Yes my friend's brother's girlfriend is called this! I'll text her now and see how it's spelt :flower:


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## Ecologirl

Ok so it's Julia. She's from Germany and its pronounced exactly how you described, NOT Jule-ee-ah. Don't know how you'd get over the spelling confusion though as people would assume to call it the other way in places like Australia, UK, America?


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## cupcake0406

You would probably have to spell as it sounds maybe aelyah or aelieah? This isn't exact but is the best I could think of to try and get away from Aaliyah! Xxx


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## // arcadia

Aalya


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## Kyla

I've also seen it written as Eulia. 

My friend's daughter is called Aaliyah and the daughter really hates her own name as because it starts with Aa she gets selected first at school for everything, in exams she sits first in the row when she'd much rather be somewhere in the middle of the class so she isn't always first in line for things.


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## CloverMouse

Aliyah


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## Guppy051708

So this is the issue im having, All of the spellings posted, when i look up the pronounciation they claim the english is prounced ah-LEE-uh and not ah-LIE-uh. But then i read that if it was the Arabic pronounciation the "a" would be stressed and it would be LIE not LEE. The problem is most Americans dont grasp that concept and say it as ah-LEE-uh and not ah-LIE-ah. So i guess what im saying is, how do you avoid a child being constantly called the wrong name? In my mind the above posted are all legit spellings for the pronunciation i am looking for, but all of the baby name sites say differently. I wish there was a way to spell it to avoid any mispronunciations to achieve the sound we are looking for.


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## Kyla

Hm. I wonder if you could put a J in Eulija to separate the sounds? Or Euleah even? :shrug:


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## Guppy051708

I think anything with LEAH is Lee-ah. 
the Eulija does make sense, though its not aesthetically pleasing, but guess beggars cant be choosers :lol:


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## Kyla

Hope you can find the right way to get what you want. :flower:


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## Nyn

aliyah


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## Ecologirl

Guppy051708 said:


> I think anything with LEAH is Lee-ah.
> the Eulija does make sense, though its not aesthetically pleasing, but guess beggars cant be choosers :lol:

I agree that Eulija doesn't look as nice, but it does make sense. Kyla's suggestion of Eulia is good. To me that sounds it out pretty well. Hope you can find a spelling you like, xx


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## kel3639

Alaiya? or Ulaiya.. but I like the A ion the beginning more.. it looks pretty.


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## magicstardust

Aliah? or did i just make that up? :blush:


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## Guppy051708

^ See that's what i thought too (of the many out there) but the pronounciations according to various sites says that Aliah is said as uh-LEE-ah. ...makes no sense to me because when i think of the name Liah (LIE-ah) its pretty much the same just with an A in the front :dohh: i guess this is just going to be one of those names that will require correction. I think what everyone posted is all properly written. Guess it just depends if ppl take it as the English or the Arabic.


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## Mummy2B21

Aliya - Sounds like A Liar?


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## kel3639

Lol ^


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## Guppy051708

:wacko: yeah, if you have a British or a Boston accent....


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## PitaKat

// arcadia said:


> Aalya

I think this spelling is phonetically closest :)


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## Bevziibubble

I would probably spell it Aliyah but I think there are a few different spellings you could choose from


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## magicstardust

i think Aliah is closest. Anything with a y is to much like the other pronunciation? 
If not said uh-LIE-ah, then it may also be pronounced AH-lee-uh, but i deffo wouldn't pronounce this spelling ah-LEE-ah. 
Of course this is all just my opinion. Hope you get it the way you want :)


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## MrsPoodle

Maybe Alia?


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## kel3639

There's also Eliah


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## LauraAvasMum

Uhlieah ? ûliya ? Ûliâ ? Anything with an A will make it aleah how ever spell it maybe the U with the hats will drag the uhh sound out ( not an english teacher as you can tell ) xx


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## greenlady

What about Alaya?

Unfortunately I also hear it in my head as 'a liar' but that's with my Aussie/British accent and probably won't be a problem where you're from


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## Smudgelicious

Have you heard of Azzedine Alaia ? 'Alaia' is pronounced uh-lie-ah. I'd spell it that way.


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## Guppy051708

I have never heard of that before, but it's nice to have one confirmation...off to google :comp:


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## Guppy051708

Some of you have already suggested this, but here is confimation :thumbup:

https://www.behindthename.com/name/alaia/comments


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## pinkribbon

Alyah? That's a tricky one.

Have to admit I read it the same way as mummy2b21 but I'm British... :blush:


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## The Alchemist

Are you talking about the Arabic name Aliya? If so, it can be spelled any way. Really, we're spelling the pronunciation of the name. Its correct spelling is in Arabic, of course.


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## Guppy051708

yes. the Arabic form, not the English. But since i write in English, it cant be written in Arabic.


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## Proserpina

I vote for Alaia as your best bet. Though really, vowels are such variables that any name which has a lot of vowels in it tends to get mispronounced. 

(I, too, thought of "a liar" when I clicked on this thread.)


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## The Alchemist

Guppy051708 said:


> yes. the Arabic form, not the English. But since i write in English, it cant be written in Arabic.

Right. What I meant by that is no matter what, the name, or most ethnic names, will always have several spelling variations. Really, all we're doing Is spelling out the transliteration of it. There is no correct way to spell it. 

On this name in particular, sometimes, it sounds a little different if an Arabic from the gulf region says it compared to how a Moroccan says it. That's why sometimes it sounds like "ah-lee-ya" while another dialect sounds like what you're aiming at, "ah-lie-yah".

The closest spelling to how it's really said is Aaliya/Aalya. Why that double A? Because its the only way in English to portray the first letter 'ain', which is a 2nd type of A sound in Arabic, and it's pronounced very accented, using your throat muscle. 

By the end of the day, it's totally up to you how you want it spelled. Unless someone is Arabic, you're just going to have to correct people. I'm Thai+Arab so I grew up having to correct people how to say my names. Can't really get upset at them; they just don't know.


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## wannabemomy37

I would definitely go with Alaiya.
There's also:
Eliah
Elyah
Aliah
Alyah


As I am writing this out, I am realizing that the Y is definitely the vowel making it the "LIE" vs "LEE". The letter I is interchangeable with E or I sound, whereas Y really isn't when followed by an Ah sound.

Eliah is also an awesome spelling, if I do say so myself.


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## taytay

Yulia maybe? It's a Russia variant


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