About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

8 Comments

  1. Still trying to get my head around it. A friend just had a baby girl this morning and i was just text the name (Silke)…havent heard the mum say it yet.So im not sure how they are pronouncing it themselves. I still dont quite understand, Silkee or Silkkeh. So you say it like Sil-key??? or Silk-Ka what the hell?? Hmmm interesting but id like to say i have a difficult name to pronounce and i have spent the better half of my life explaining and arguing with ppl how to say it. Its frustrating and ppl who name their children names such as this (that are destined to have problems) need to check their head. You might thinks its cool or interesting or original but its actually crule.

  2. I forgot I suggested this.

    Cecilia, Celia (a step sister) et al are decent names but absolutely meh to me. Silke is something else entirely. It wouldn’t go down so well here in NZ, too rare. While it’s standard and even dated in some places in Europe (which I like) it would get SILK or SIL kee frequently here, but I’d likely take the risk. Elke too. Both Silke Violet and Elke Susy Jean have recently featured in Aussie BAs so I’m not alone “down under”.

    Unbelievably I still have issues with Isla’s name being said ISS la/IZ la here sometimes and it’s a mainstream name so pronunciation issues don’t faze me terribly. You really can’t win.

    I don’t take issue with it being a diminutive either. No one seems to bat an eyelid at Juliet’s informality.

  3. I’m in the SIL keh camp – like that, perfectly lovely; said like silky just is too much for me. It never dawned on me that it could be pronounced like silky. (Incidentally, I assumed Elke was ELL-keh and not ELL-kee and I like it with the -keh ending.) That said, this name isn’t one I personally love, but it’s perfectly fine for someone else’s kid. I’d find it much more fun to meet a Silke (and find out how she says her name) than some of the more popular or perennial S names.

  4. When said as SIL keh I like it. I was saying it incorrectly.I completely get how it is pronounced like that, looking at it’s origin. I don’t mind it said as ZIL either.Saying it the wrong way as SIL-kee or SILK-ee reminds me of the mythical selkie.Ironically, that’s what I thought of and not ‘silky’ the word.

    I think where I live, most people would say it wrong & some would say it right.I think some might get it right because Afrikaans sounds really similar to German & if you’re fluent in Afrikaans you can understand Dutch.However, when you live in a nation where most of the names come from Bantu languages and are names like Nckozana,Sikhosana etc, I’m not as worried about perfect pronunciation 100% of the time as some others might be 🙂

    Overall, I like it. I don’t like the sound enough to actually consider it. If I truly, truly loved a name, I’d go for it even if there were possible pronunciation problems i.e. Isla