How do you pronounce the name Estee?
My friend's name is Estee, and she prounounces it "Eh-STEEEE". That's the only way I've seen. I'm not a fan of the name either way. It sounds too fake-European and wanna-be chic. Why not Esme? It's a prettier alternative and doesn't sound so forced.
Alternate spellings for the name Helena?
I love the name as its spelled, its beautiful to me, but I plan on pronouncing her name HEL-AYNA. Ive thought of spelling it as it sounds (Helayna) but my fiance feels like it looks to much like the name Alayna, wich he hates, so that's no longer an option for us. Do you think if I was to keep the original spelling (Helena), her name would be mispronounced often? & any other spellings you know of for the name?
What do you think about the name belen?
I honestly don't like it, sorry. The sound is unappealing and seems a little harsh for a girl. I personally wouldn't give the name to any child. However, I do like the meaning behind the name - Spanish form of Bethlehem, the name of the town in Judah where King David and Jesus were born. The town's name was derived via Greek from Hebrew בֵּית לָחֶם (beit lachem) meaning "house of bread". Even though you might dislike it, I think you should embrace it and be proud that your name isn't the result of a made up trend, and that it actually has history! (:
What are some names that..?
I love... Briony (Some people say BREE-oh-knee and others say BRY-oh-knee.) Amélie (The accent could confuse people, and people may think she is saying Emily when she says her name.) Saoirse (People don't know how to pronounce Irish names.) Niamh (Again, the Gaelic would be difficult for people.) Aoife (Once again, it wouldn't work because of the Gaelic.) Cecily (People may think she is saying Sicily, like the island.) Aurelia (I have heard ow-REL-yah, Or-ale-yah, ah-RAY-lee-ah, and many others. I'm not even sure how it's supposed to be pronounced!) Margot (People may say mar-got instead of mar-go, but I like this spelling better.) Adeline (People may say add-eh-lynn instead of add-eh-line.) Emmeline (People may say em-eh-lynn instead of em-eh-leen or em-eh-line. I'm also not sure if it is supposed to be pronounced "line" or "leen.")
Does your name affect your personality?
Growing up, I hated my name. Still not fond of it. It was always misspelled, mispronounced, and I always had to hear the stupid "Don't squeeze the Charmin" line when I was introduced to someone new. I could never get any of those personalized necklaces, pens, notepads, etc with my name on them, didn't exist, and it didn't fit in those stupid test sheets where you had to fill in your name (they only had 8 spaces). And people always shortened it to Char. I hate being called Char even more than I hated being called Charmaine. Only one good point. There was a song, even spelled the name. An old song, but a song, none the less. As a result, I was very careful when choosing my daughter's name. I wanted it to be beautiful, and unique, but not freakish, just not common. I knew that it would be the first gift I ever gave her. Apparently I chose correctly. She really does love her name, will not allow anyone (not even me) to shorten it or use a nickname. Does it affect us, I don't know. I do know I had a lot of stress over my name.
What do you think of the name Aileen?
Aileen is a very good name.You may also consider other spellings like Ayleen or Aylean