A recent superstar with an intriguing, smooth sound and flowy femininity, Isla went from a name doomed to be never used again after her pitiful mid 900s ranking in the early 20th century to a name that can be heard on every playground and neighborhood street in the United Kingdom and the United States. But has Isla’s overwhelming popularity seemingly from nowhere destroyed that mysterious beauty that lured the first few families into choosing her? Or have her lovely qualities persisted, untouched by the wave of popularity enveloping Isla? Today, I’m taking a look at the baby girl name Isla, analyzing the reasons a family may want to choose her, and the aspects they may like to be weary or at least aware of before bestowing it on their baby girl. Many thanks to all who are reading, and let’s get right on into it!
Pros
Isla has an unbearably stylish sound. With the Aye sound but I initial like the white hot trendy Ivy and -la second syllable like Ella, Stella, Bella, Layla, and more, she’s unstoppable sound wise. You could create several complete Islas with just the sounds in popular names. Stick Iris on Arabella and you’ve made Isla. Add Stella to Ivy and you have another. While Isla is adding yet another name to these sound trends, she’ll both feel individual, not necessarily like a Bella in a room of Ellas, but also blend in, unlike a Cynthia in a room of Emmas and Claires. This balance is excellent for attracting parents as well. She appeals to trends enough to appear ready for use in the modern day and age, but sticks out from the sea of similar sounding names offered to parents through baby naming websites, books, and blogs to catch interest.
In addition to the sounds of Iris, Ivy, Layla, and Ella, Isla also has the appearance factor. She looks visually like a condensed version or even a variation of top ten favorite Isabella, who ranks at a very high #5. With parents on the lookout for two syllable girl names that fit that four letter ends in -a classic pattern like Emma (#2), Mila (#19), Luna (#16), and Nora (#29), a shorter version of the elaborate and beautiful Isabella is perfection for many. And although she subscribes to enough key sound, style, and look trends to get noticed by parents in the market for a baby girl name, she’s also plenty distinct. She has a mysterious vibe for me, a familiarity due to trends, yes, but still an aspect of much intrigue. If we’re talking popularity, it’s hard to call Isla unique. Even at first glance, she probably seems like another one of the trendy new names blowing up thanks to white hot sister names buying her a ticket onto the trend train and letting her get off on the late 50s on their way to the top ten. But Isla’s silent S and non-intuitive I sound give off a very different and interesting vibe to Mila and Ivy. Instead of bouncy and bright, Isla has a more cool and fantastical feel, although I may be alone in that opinion. Either way, her similarities to other names don’t strip her of appeal whatsoever.
Not only that, Isla has the added plus of being an anagram of the name Lisa. In 1969, the name Lisa was at her peak at #1, which is a placement she held for 8 years prior to that. Lisas receiving the #1 name over the span of the 8 years she held that title would be 52-59, an age bracket that is quite likely to be expecting a little grandbaby. Given the huge popularity of Lisa, it’s unsurprising if you or your partner has a mother or friend with this name. But if you find Lisa a bit too dated for your modern naming style or think that a name like Mila you were going to go with sounds awful with a middle name of Lisa, Isla might be a cool and creative way to honor said honoree. Due to Lisa’s popularity, I’m sure many families do have a special Lisa in their lives, but don’t really feel compelled to choose the name in full for their baby girl. This potential for a cool honor name story offers yet another wonderful reason to use Isla.
Cons
Pronunciation is a huge issue when it comes to choosing the name Isla for your daughter. Depending on your area, you’ll likely get a variety of weird pronunciations and spellings. “Isla” you say, and when you look up, the teacher has written “Aila” on the board. “Isla” you scrawl on the form, only to have your daughter annoyed when the coach calls her “Izz-la”. There are several pronunciation and spelling pitfalls with Isla. The first one is her I sound, which will likely be changed or confused as Ee or Izz instead of Eye. Secondly, there’s that silent S, which I guarantee all bearers and parents of Islas can confirm is constantly pronounced. Whether it’s said like a Z or pronounced as an S sound, there’s sure to be plenty of frustration surrounding a silent letter. Finally, when converting Isla to writing through speech from a parent, there’s also a common issue. The I sound in Isla also sounds like the Ei- in Eileen or Lorelei or Ai- in Maia or Kai or Sarai, providing a completely interchangeable set of endings and beginnings sure to show up in your child’s everyday life. And even then, there are Spanish parents who pronounce the name Eez-la due to their language, which is a beautiful way to pronounce this name. However, these differing pronunciations make keeping up hard for the staff your child will work with as they grow.
“But there shouldn’t be so much trouble, especially given such popularity, right?” you may ask. And yes, there are heaps of popularity. But unfortunately, Isla is still always mispronounced. Whether it’s the avalanche of names with similar sounds that are also popular, so daycare workers and coaches don’t recognize the name as Isla right off the bat or the very recent influx of little Islas preventing teachers and babysitters from knowing enough Islas yet to seal the name in their head, I don’t know. However, I do know that Isla is a name swamped with little namesakes, but burdened by difficult pronunciation, the worst of both worlds. And at #57, Isla certainly does have plenty of popularity. Last, there’s the spellings. While some families pronounce the name differently due to culture, so do some families with spelling. There’s Islay, pronounced exactly the same, but Scottish, which adds more confusion to the spelling issue, although I find this a lovely choice if you have Scottish heritage. Then there’s the stylized versions of the name, such as Aisla (#8566), Aylah (#1871), Islah (#2653), Ila (#1032), Iyla (#1044) and Eisla (#16109), just to name a few. While these aren’t hugely popular, they still do contribute to inconsistencies, which some families attempt to avoid.
Predictions For Isla:
Isla is at her highest as of recent data, and with Mila, Mia, and Ella dominating the ranks, I don’t expect anything less from Isla then to join her sisters in the top 20 someday. As for specific numbers, I’m going to guess that Isla will get to the 40s or 30s when the new SSA data comes out. And when it does, I’m inviting all of you to a huge viewing party in the form of an article series! I can’t wait to see you all again for my next article. Have a lovely rest of your day, dear readers.
Sincerely,
-Delphina Moon