Lara writes:
I LOVE the name Analeigh (soft “a” like ah-na), but I realized the other day how close it is to…anally. I am terrified that if I name my daughter Analeigh that she’ll be relentlessly teased throughout grade school and middle school. I can’t think of another way to spell it that takes out the “anal” part of it that isn’t obnoxiously adding extra letters.
Do you the the name is too close to the, ahem, naughty word? Can you think of a way around it?
I am afraid it was the very first thing that came to my mind when I saw the name—but then, this is an issue I’m on the lookout for.
I think adding a second N would help a little without being obnoxious, since Anna is spelled with two Ns. Annaleigh is already an improvement over Analeigh.
You could also divide it: Anna Leigh.
And I recently saw the name Andrea spelled Ondrea in order the get the preferred vowel pronunciation, so I suppose you could go with Onnaleigh although to me that kind of…ruins it.
What about this: Do you like the name Avaleigh, pronounced like your way of pronouncing Analeigh except with a V-sound instead of an N-sound? It completely removes the problem while leaving the essence of the name intact.
My husband has an ex-girlfriend by the name of Auralee. To this day (and they dated 10 years ago), his friends still refer to her as Orally, with the concomitant lewd references. (FWIW, it’s not like she comes up all the time – just that when she does, there’s lots of snickering and name-bashing). I love Swistle’s suggestion of Avaleigh – completely avoids any prurient associations.
How about adding a “u”. Aunaleigh. OK, maybe nevermind. It doesn’t look as good in print as it was in thought. I just know a little girl named Kayaunna. I thought maybe the “u” would help. Or perhaps Aunnaleigh. Ehh, still not liking it as much.
I do like the idea of splitting it up though. That was my first instinct. Ana Leigh. That looks pretty.
I recently saw this name in our church bulletin and went from what a sweet sounding name to horrified that someone could do that to their child. They spelt it:
Analy
Did I mention I was horrified!
I am loving Avaleigh.
I love the name Ava, but my hubby won’t go for it.
This is Lara – I actually *love* Avaleigh (Ava was one of my top names, until I realized how popular it had become). And I can’t believe I didn’t think of just adding another “n”. Dur!
How about Annalie?
It’s tough to get away from the possible association between this name and the unfortunate word, no matter how you spell it. But I think Annalie sidesteps some of the link.
There’s also the possibility of naming her Anna Leigh. Should she endure teasing, she can drop the “Leigh” without drama. And I think that might be the most graceful way to avoid teasing.
But really, every kid takes a drubbing at SOME point for SOME reason … while Analy seems an obvious target, who knows? She could be teased for having big feet. :)
What about Avonlea?
Anna-Leigh (mn) (ln) would completely separate the issue also.
I think you are going to have trouble getting her name pronounced the way you want it – with the soft “ah” rather than the more common “anna” It is such a pretty name but if I were you and the pronunciation was important to me that would be my number one concern. I think I’d add another n also, Annaleigh.
I really love Avaleigh (though I would prefer it with the long-a initial sound) and never considered that name before or so much as knew it was a name. I think it’s great! I like it way better than Ava, which isn’t a bad name in itself.
I do think it would need a spelling adjustment if the parents wanted it pronounced AH-vuh-lee without having to constantly correct people. Maybe Ovvaleigh? No, that doesn’t look good. Ahvaleigh? That’s a tough one.
I know a Swedish couple who recently named their baby Anneli (pronounced Ah-neh-lee), which I think is quite lovely.
What about Amelie (ah-mel-ie).. that gives the same sound.
I’d stay with Annaleigh or even Analeigh. My reason being that neither pronouncation of the name sounds like the word an@l. I think it is far easier to be made fun of when the name actually sounds like the bad word, not when it looks like it.
I like the suggestion of splitting the name into two parts (like Ana Leigh, or Ana-Leigh.)
However, as a Southerner, I pronounce the name Ana, “Ah-na” and the name Anna, as “Ann-ah”. I think you might have more pronunciation difficulties if you spell it with two n’s.
I like Annalie and Anneli. And the word is pronounced with a long A, so as the commenter above said, it shouldn’t be so much a problem. Your problem will be getting people to say that AH sound. But don’t go so far as to spell it with an O! I knew of one girl named Briauna and I thought it was an awkard spelling even if it did solve the pronunciation problem.
Avaliegh sounds too created for me to like as well as Annalie. Not as if my opinion should alter your entire way of thinking.
My name is Analeah (ah-na-lee-ah) and I think you should go with the name you love!
I love my name, and never even noticed what the first 4 letters spell until my last year of high school (which was the first time anyone pointed it out). And by then I didn’t care in the least. Of course people will often mis-prounounce it “Anna”, but it’s never been a big deal.
I love Amelie or Annaleigh and I have a dear friend named Annelise. She’s never had any issues with her name (I just called to ask!).
I think you should stick with Analeigh. Younger kids aren’t going to come up with those bad nicknames (I would hope) and the pronunciation doesn’t lend itself to that either.
No matter what form you chose for the name, you likely will have trouble getting people to pronounce it correctly. I immediately said AN-uh-ly even with one “n”. The whole Ann/Anne/Ana/Anna thing is so difficult on its own. Is it pronounced AN? AN-nee? AH-nuh? AN-uh? Having trouble getting the pronunciation you want with one “n” will not be fixed with two “n”s.
That said, it is a lovely name no matter how you spell it, and I personally would never think to pronounce it like “anal-ee”. Wouldn’t have occurred to me.
I immediately thought of the naughty word, not because the name would be pronounced that way but just because I saw the word within a word.
My name is Aveleigh (the ‘ave’ is pronounced Dave, but most people assume it is pronounced like ‘ava’ or ‘avenue’). I love my name how it is with the two syllables, but I also really like Avaleigh and Analeigh. When I see Avaleigh, I assume it is A-va-lee, not Ah-va-lee. But with Analeigh, I assume Ah-na-leigh, which sounds much less like anally than Ann-na-leigh.
I know of an Ahna (Ah-na, not AN-a). If you add the H it gets rid of the spelling issue, and still keeps Ahnali, instead of Avaleigh, which I prefer better.
Anneli is the swedish way to spell it. My friend has a one year old with the name, and no one has problems pronouncing it after hearing it just once. It also completely takes out your problem word.
I know a woman named Avalee (that is how it was spelled.) It never once occurred to me that it sounded like a “created” name–it fact I think it is a pretty name. She is a woman who is probably in her 50’s…
You are very considerate to inquire about the Anal issue. Besides that issue, in all honesty Analeigh, and most of the alternatives bounced around here(Annaleigh, Anna-Leigh, Avaleigh) just seem like made-up names to me. I think you are going down a very slippery path, and regardless of what route you take, you will run into spelling and pronunciation issues. Good luck getting everyone to say any “Anna” name consistently. But that could be my limited frame of reference.
Besides the made-up factor, double names with or without a hyphen and names ending in “leigh” aren’t my tastes (really can’t stand Ashleigh would rather see Ashley). I’m a “less is more” type of person and like simple paired down names. To that end, I think Annalie, Annali, and Anna with the middle name Leigh are your best bests. You may also like Annalisa.
I’m really liking the Anneli suggestions as it removes your problem (although I spent half the post trying to come up with the naughtly word…it just wasn’t obvious to be but I think it is b/c I saw Ana then Leigh). Regarding the soft ah pronunciation, you’ll just have to correct people. I don’t think an O would help as when I saw Ondrea I would not have said ahn-dre-a. The O just throws me off and I start thinking Olivia and would pronounce more along those lines.
I vote for Avaleigh or Amalie, or better yet, Amalia. Very soft, very pretty, yet neither as popular as the everywhere Ava or Emily.
It’s tough to get everyone on the same page pronounciation wise with the Anna/Auna thing. It might drive you crazy correcting people all the time!
I knew a little girl named Anika (ah-nika), and the single “n” made the difference in pronunciation.
Hey, how about Anya Leigh? Anya is always said with a soft “a” while I’ve heard Anna said every which way.
I went to university with an Annalee (but AN-uh-lee, not AUH-nuh-lee).
I also agree that the “AN” vs. “AUH” pronounciation might be the hardest part of this name choice, rather than the worry over the an@l thing.
Two other names you might consider, with a different sound though than the “AUH”:
Annaleise (AN-uh-leese)
Ainsley (AYNS-lee) (different sound, but similar letters and I think it’s pretty).
Why not choose an alternate name instead? Anneliese/Annelise has the same sound with just an “s” sound added on at the end. You could also go with the French Amelie, Anna, Leigh, Leah, Annabel/Annabelle, Annabella, Annalisa, Angelica, Angelina, Angela, Anne, etc…
I know a girl named Onalee (on-a-lee, just like it is spelled!). I never heard anyone get her name wrong. I think it is pretty but it will probably become more and more popular since there is a girl on America’s Next Top Model with that name now (Analeigh; she might win!). Lol. Anyway, it tends to happen that names get popular if they are in the media. Good luck!
Annahleigh
I love Anneliese – maybe you like it too?