Name of the Day: Isla
This choice conjures up exotic islands, of both the verdant green and lush tropical variety, and seems poised to be the Next Big Thing.
Thanks to Kayt for suggesting today’s Name of the Day, the enchanting Isla.
If your first exposure to Isla was Spanish class, or maybe Madonna’s 1987 single “La Isla Bonita,” you may have assumed the name was pronounced EES lah. In addition to being the Spanish word for island, it’s also a nickname for Puerto Rico.
Then came 2005’s Wedding Crashers and the star-making turn of Australian-born Scot Isla Fisher. (She played Gloria.) We all learned that Isla, pronounced EYE lah, refers to yet another island - the equally lovely, but far more northern, Islay, known for malt whisky and birdwatching, and part of the Hebrides.
While Isla is sometimes described as a traditional Scottish name, it’s probably less than 150 years old. It is a Top 20 choice in Scotland today, and is gaining in the UK’s overall rankings - she first entered their Top 100 in 2006.
Two early notable Islas are British television actress Isla Blair and Scottish singer and actress Isla St. Clair. The latter arrived at the choice as a contraction of her birth name, the unrelated Isabella.
Despite brief appearances in the Top 1000 in 1886, 1887, 1905 and 1908, Isla is currently unranked - and little known - in the US, but should Ms. Fisher’s career take off, that’s likely to change. She’s starring in 2009’s Confessions of a Shopaholic. If the movie does half as well as the book, Isla might be the new Ava.
There’s one tiny complication with this oh-so simple and appealing moniker. It’s tempting to confuse it with Ayla. Technically, Ayla is pronounced AY lah and originates from either Turkish or Hebrew. In Turkish, the name is related to the moon; in Hebrew, it means oak tree. And some parents probably first encountered Ayla in Jean M. Auel’s bestselling Clan of the Cave Bear, where Ayla was a sort of jumbled pronunciation of the orphaned Cro-Magnon girl’s name by her rescuers in the Neanderthal tribe. While Isla may be unranked, Ayla is fairly popular, at #383.
While Ayla has roots and history aplenty, we can’t help but feel that she blends into the Name Blob - Kayla, Jayla, Jaidyn, Hayden, Haylie, Layla.
In contrast, we love Isla’s simplicity and feel she fits well with chart-toppers like Ava and Mia - while still standing out as distinct from many of the more common choices.
Plus, names that surface in the UK Top 100 almost always present fresh and appealing choices for American parents. Isla’s Spanish/Scottish roots give her some additional, cross-cultural appeal. Potential pronunciation hazards aside, we think this would be a sophisticated and easy choice for a daughter.
Filed under: Hot Names of 2010, Names for Girls, Names of the Day |
Tags: Ayla, Isla
I love it. I do, I do, I do. I also love Ayla, but when I was a child reading Clan of the Cave Bear, I was also a Spanish student, ans pronounced it the same as Isla. That said, when I see the frequency with which Isla pops up on Y!A, I’m tempted to forget it. Not that I have anything against a popular name (son = Ethan James) but it’s more that I don’t want anything to do with certain people… Bashing aside, I do like this name a lot, but because my last name starts with L, it would most likely never be agreed to by DH - if we ever even get around to having a daughter.
Know what? I like Gloria better than Isla. Not that I think Isla’s awful or anything, she’s too “breathy” for me. Same problem I have with Seth & Hugh. She did, however, make a superb Gloria (even though I’m still trying to rationale sisters Claire & Gloria? Huh? What?) and is what spurred my re-interest in Gloria/Gloriana.
I ususally am wary of celebrity names, as in my family, you never know when someone’s going to do something stupid that will tarnish the name. She’s new enough that I still worry (but swoon over her daughter’s name: Olive!) Is she still engaged to Sasha? I don’t pay attenion to much celebrity gossip.
I do think Isla’s a lovely choice and a fairly comfortable one at that. Easy to spell and not too hard to figure out. Once you’ve got it, it’s memorable. And again, it beats a good handful of names in the top 50!
I can see the appeal of Isla, just like I can see the appeal of Ava and Mia. There’s something very modern and cross-cultural about these short, feminine names. Too bad they tend to explode in popularity.
And, maybe I’m showing my lack of sophistication here, but I think I like the EES-la pronunciation better. Would it really be that strange, in a world of Trinitys, Brooklyns, and Dakotas, to name your child Island?
DH - Island (or “Eesla”) isn’t any worse than Irelyn. Ha-ha. What about Scotlyn, for that matter?
I Love this name!!
It recently made it on to my fave names list.
I know a few little Isla’s here in Scotland but i still like it although it is popular here.
Isla is just okay to me, though I can see the appeal. What bothers me most is that I never heard this name until the actress. It seems oh-so modern and wholly tied to her. Personally, I prefer more history. While I can support and like many coincidental place names, having the name of an island/ country/ continent strikes me as a bit odd. I also think many a name civilian would get the pronunciation wrong. Maybe I have low expectations, but coming from the parent to Luckis and Esera - a.k.a Lucas and Ezra - I have my doubts.
Scotlyn - GROAN! But I’m sure they’re out there.
RF, LOL at “name civilian.” And it *is* modern, which surprised me.
DH, you’re right - Isla feels like Mia and Ava - easy to wear with almost any last name and bound to have broad appeal. At the moment, Isla seems like a good substitute for parents dismayed to learn that Ava is in the Top Ten.
I can see the appeal of EES lah - I assumed that’s how it was pronounced, based on my tragic Spanglish.
As for Olive’s mama, I could find any news about when she & SBC were planning to tie the knot, but apparently they’re still happily engaged:
http://www.celebrity-gossip.net/celebrities/hollywood/isla-fisher-out-with-olive-206011/#blog
Now Olive, there’s a name I LOVE.
Hmm Isla… well Brits have been aware of Isla Fisher for quite a lot longer than Americans as she appeared in a popular Aussie soap screened here for a few years (and was often in celebrity magazines). In addition, the footballer Frank Lampard and athlete Paula Radcliffe have both named offspring Isla in the last couple of years - neither of which is particularly noteworthy but contribute to the name Isla percolating into our national psyche (and thus explain why she is - out of nowhere - charging up our charts to her current ranking of 70).
Personally, I am confused by my reaction to the name Isla. I hate following the crowd but am well aware that while I have a crush on the name now, I paid her no attention just a couple of short years ago. In the current climate, Isla sounds fresh yet old fashioned and is unfussy without being dull. I would most likely steer clear of her though as she is no doubt set to reach even greater heights of popularity and such a huge upsurge in usage would diminish her most appealing quality: mysteriousness.
Lol to Lola’s comment re. the Wedding Crashers sisters names! I had the exact same thought too - sisters called Clare, Gloria and not fogetting Christina (the bride) - how bizarre!!
I CAN’T see Isla being the new Ava at all. I think the confusion with the Spanish word is also likely to impinge on any potential massive popularity in the United States. Now, Lila. There’s a name that’s going to be huge. It’s already gaining ground. I can see Lila being the next Ava for sure.
I have to groan at Gloria. It’s garish!
BTW Isla is my great grandmother’s name.
Gemmy, you have a great grandmother called Isla? She must be one of the earliest bearers of the name. That’s fascinating!
And I think you’re quite right about Lila. The only time I remember hearing her before was in the old Sweet Valley High books - wasn’t the rich girl named Lilah? But she’s got a lot of buzz these days, that’s certain.
As for Gloria? I’m sure plenty of us thought that Hazel and Mabel were too moldy to revive, too - but if there’s one rule of baby naming, it’s that almost everything makes a comeback.
Yes she was a Lila and that’s my first recollection of it too!
I think Van Morrison’s Gloria ruined it for me. It also feels very showy in a virtue-ish way but then I like Victoria and that is little different so….
Not one of the earliest bearers as she would have had to be born about 1900. You made me curious so I checked for Isla in ancestry.com, well England anyway and the first find is from 1840. For Islay, 1816.
That’s interesting - I only have access to the US ancestry.com - I should probably upgrade - and Isla first pops up closer to 1880. What strikes me as curious is that those early Islas often have surnames that are definitely not Scottish or English. While it happens all the time, I can’t imagine a non-Scottish parent becoming aware of the name so early.
Maybe there was something - a song, a poem - not well-known enough to survive into the 21st century, but enough to influence a handful of parents? Or hey, maybe some of those Islas just married guys from Germany and points East.
Isla was in my top 5 until I discovered there was an actress by this name. I’m so afraid we’ll see its popularity skyrocket over the next few years. That being said, though, it still makes a great alternative for Ella, Emma, and Ava, at least for the time being.
I agree with RockingFetal, though, that it doesn’t have the kind of known history I usually like in my favorite baby names.
My daughters name is Isla Juliet. She is almost a year old.
I dread the day when the name sky rockets. Im not into trendy or popular names and now all of a sudden Isla is popping up all over the boards. Its a little scary. I named Isla after my husbands Grandma. Im from Australia and even though Isla FIsher is Australian and Ive known of her my whole life basically, Ive never even considered her as a connection to the name. Strange.
I really do love Isla and I feel that it fits into a quirky old fashioned name rather than a trendy modern name. My other kids are Oscar and Beatrix and I think it fits in great.