Interesting, I thought the exact opposite! Kaylee, maybe Keeley, didn’t even consider Kiley, and was surprised to see it once I scrolled down to the poll.
I went Kaylee? Keeley? So I voted Kaylee since it was first but Keeley is a close second. The eigh reminded me of Leigh, which I pronounce as Lay (whether that is right or wrong, I don’t know either).
Keeley, but only because I know a Keely from another friend, and my first impression of that name was “That’s not a real name!” The GH part of this spelling makes me want to add some chutzpah into it. Kee-GGHH-lee.
My husband is a teacher, and I’m almost positive that he would pause, confused, when reading this name on the first day of school, if that means anything.
I thought Kiley first, but then immediately thought it must be Kaylee, because of how the “eigh” sounds “weigh” and “neigh”. But then I read a comment about the name “Leigh”…which is a long /e/ sound. Lord only knows. Perhaps it is actually pronounced Keg-uh-lie!
I couldn’t decide between Kaylee or Keeley but went with the more unusual one. Actually at first glance I thought it was Knightly but then I looked again.
Many names that have an “eigh” are pronounced “ee”. I noticed that most of the “eigh” names are proceeded with an L (which the name in question is not). So I found several that didn’t have an L – such as Teighan and Aubreigh – that still make the “ee” sound.
Some names where “eigh” seems to make an “ay” sound (which I couldn’t find many):
Peighton/Peightyn (Payton)
Leighton/Leightyn (Layton)
So I suppose Keighly could be Kayley. I couldn’t find any names where the “eigh” made the “eye” sound to make the name Kiley. I am sure further searching would turn something up…
My first thought was “kaylee” and I voted for that, but then it occurred to me that -eigh- is usually pronounced “ee”, so “keely” would be more logical.
Well I don’t know anyone with these names, they all came from the SSA 2012 database. The further you get down the list, the more creative the spellings become. I found a Keileigh (similar to the name in question – Keighly) which is probably pronounced the same.
I voted Keeley, because it brought to mind Keira, but it could easily Kaylee (rhymes with neigh) or Kiley (rhymes with height). Way too ambiguous for my tastes.
I immediately thought it should be Kiley, which is what I put in the poll, but as soon as I had that thought I also thought that my inclination was WRONG and instead it should be Kaylee.
This needs to be cross stiched on pillows and given out at every obgyn’s office. Creative spellings do not service the person who ends up stuck with the name.
This is exactly what I thought too… I immediately saw “eigh” like eight. I’ve never been a fan of the eigh=ee pronouncitation though. There was a Leigh in my high school and I always thought Lay when I saw the spelling even though I knew it was pronounced Lee.
I voted Keeley because that was my very first thought, but I immediately questioned that. I kept going back and forth between Keeley and Kaylee and found myself feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing.
Keeley immediately popped into my head, even though I am a stickler about eigh being pronounced like sleigh, neigh, eight, etc.
P.S. swistle- thank you for removing the word verification, it always hung up on my phone!
Like others, immediate thought was Kaylee although then I thought of Leigh (which I love) and thought maybe it should be Keeley. But I would have thought Kaylee at first glance.
I said Keeley because I assumed “keigh” rhymes with “Leigh” (my phone even autocorrected to Leigh when I typed it). But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was supposed to be “Kaylee.”
I answered ‘none’ because that is technically true. I looked at the name and said “Keeglee? Kegglee?”
And then a split second later I came up with Kee-lee, which IS one of your answers. So.
My first instinct is Kiley, but I emphatically dislike this spelling. All three pronunciations would be valid. That pesky -eigh can be said so many different ways!
Kaylee because keigh is like neigh? Keeley because keigh is like Leigh? I kept wanting the -eigh to be eight. I voted Kaylee but I imagine it is one I would never get right, even if I knew it I’d have to think a second. Feels too confusing and difficult.
I voted my gut reaction, before puzzling out that “-eigh equals -ee in girl names these days, even though I always read it as ay no matter how many times I correct myself” because I think it’s more telling. With names you tend to get responses based on split second reactions and in this case my mind went to familiar looking name “Kaylee” before deciding it’s probably Keeley.
I’m with everyone else in that -eigh spellings really just confuse and annoy me. I just don’t see a point to them. I know a little girl named Charleigh, pronounced like normal Charlie, and I still always read “Char-LAY” emphasis on the lay, which is particularly cringeworthy.
“Kaylee”, but I dislike all of those options and I really dislike creative spellings, particularly when they make it impossible to tell what the actual name is.
It was close between “none” and “Keeley” … only because I said it more like “Key-Lee” instead of “Keel-ee” ..and, in my head, that made a difference? The “eigh” separated the first syllable from the second significantly to me..but maybe it doesn’t matter much to the parents. Still, all other “kee” names, I’d generally pair with the following consonant… “keeg-an,” “keel-an,” “keen-an” .. not “kee-gan” or “kee-lan” or “kee-nan.”
Also, I knew someone with a last name extremely similar to this, which could be influencing how I thought it was pronounced.
And, I’m actually sort of upset about the amount of commenters who are opposed to this name. I, too, generally strongly dislike spellings that look made up (think Jessyka or Lynzi) …. but this didn’t look made up at all to me. It simply looked British. American English phonetics aren’t the only ones out there! We don’t get all up in arms because Raleigh, NC wasn’t changed to Rolly when it became an American city, do we?
Anyway! I googled it. And found: “Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England.” However, the town is pronounced “Keeth-lee” …interesting.
No matter what the pronunciation, if it’s named after a place or a surname or any sort of family heritage, I’d say, by all means, go for it. Once people know your child, the name will become normal to them :)
I’m not into made up spellings. (my name is simple and it’s been mispelled my whole life – but it also hasn’t really bothered me), but I can relate to not liking how something looks. I really like Riley for a girl, but I don’t like how it looks. I think in the end though, the name is said so much more than written. And I would stick with the original spelling.
I really like Keeley and Isley. I think the familiairity of Isla would make it easy to pronounce and remember, for me. And Keeley Hawes from Spooks (and other British dramas) doesn’t make this name seem dated or made up to me. I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Finley. How cute is Fin as a nickname for a girl!
I also wondered if you’d like Monet? Gracyn, Lane and Monet. I like the repetition of the ay sound without them being rhymy.
Now I’m wondering if Leigh was at one point an oddly spelled name? I thought it was sort of an “also ran” middle name for many of us who are now having babies (First place winners = Ann and Lynn, with honorable mention to Marie, Leigh, and perhaps Louise?)
I know a Keeley, but I don’t think that made a difference in my gut reaction of Leigh = Lee.
Not my style, but doesn’t offend me in any way. Lately I find that if a name bothers me, its more about the presentation and attitude of the parents vs a name that I dislike.
While I am another who does not like the proposed spelling — I thought one thing and immediately started second-guessing myself — I very much like the term “delivery room surprise” and wish everyone would use it. It makes so much sense! The sex is always a surprise; it’s the timing of the surprise that varies.
For some reason, seeing an ‘eigh’ in the middle of a name (as opposed to at the end) makes my eye linger on the ‘g’ more than it would otherwise. I think the familiarity of Leigh, and the -leigh endings on some names (I immediately think of Ashleigh, and I know there are others), makes my eye used to seeing the ‘g’ there without tripping over it, but seeing it in the middle of the name makes it jump out to me a lot more. I think that would be my main concern, or at least a concern right up there with the fact that Keighley is a pretty ambiguous spelling, pronunciation-wise. I just can’t stop thinking that it should be pronounced “kee-guh-lee,” as a commenter above said already.
I voted Kaylee. Not sure, but that’s the first pronunciation that I thought of. The “eigh” automatically makes an “ay” sound in my mind, like sleigh, even though I know it can make the “ee” sound as well.
To be completely honest, I am not a fan of contriving new spelling of names to make them look more appealing. The way the name is pronounced is still going to be the same, so I just don’t understand the theory behid making up new spellings for the sake of being trendy or making the name more appealing. You’re just going to set your kid up for years of constnatly correcting the spelling and pronunciation.
I read it as Kee-lee, but if I came across the name I would not really be sure how the parents intended it to be pronounced – it might be Kay-lee or Ky-lee. I pronounce Keely slightly differently, like keel with an ee sound on the end, rather than key with a lee on the end. I haven’t come across anyone named Keighley but the name fits in with similar sounding names that are popular right now: Kaylee and Kylie (add up the numerous spellings of these names and they are in the top 10-20 names in many states). Also trendy at the moment are Kenley, Kinlee, Kinsey, Kinsley, Kensley (in various spellings), Kenzie. At any rate, judging from the replies, Keighley definitely seems to be a name that will invite a lot of spelling and pronunciation questions.
Keighley, in my mind was always Keeley or Keethley, and was on my list of favorite possibilities (when I was 20, before my tastes changed) because of the town in England. I travelled through there and while apparently it’s sort of a slummy town, it was a beautiful day and something about it felt very romantic and enchanting to me.
So to me Keighley is a place name, not a made up spelling but ultimately I think it has too many possible pronunciations and it’s not a name I would choose because of that.
I immediately thought, as previous poster wrote, Keegley, like Kegan. But then I got hung up on the fact that my mind went immediately from Keegley to Kegels. Yikes.
Kay-lee, but I immediately and vividly disliked it.
I thought maybe Keeley, but I agree completely on the immediate and vivid dislike. It felt like a trick name trap.
Keeley, but I think this only popped into my head because I knew a keeley. I don’t think the pronunciation is clear from the spelling.
I voted “Kiley” but wouldn’t be surprised if it was “Keeley”. I would NOT expect “kaylee”.
Exactly this.
Interesting, I thought the exact opposite! Kaylee, maybe Keeley, didn’t even consider Kiley, and was surprised to see it once I scrolled down to the poll.
I went Kaylee? Keeley? So I voted Kaylee since it was first but Keeley is a close second. The eigh reminded me of Leigh, which I pronounce as Lay (whether that is right or wrong, I don’t know either).
Keeley, but only because I know a Keely from another friend, and my first impression of that name was “That’s not a real name!” The GH part of this spelling makes me want to add some chutzpah into it. Kee-GGHH-lee.
My husband is a teacher, and I’m almost positive that he would pause, confused, when reading this name on the first day of school, if that means anything.
I first thought Keeley and then thought it was probabaly a silly spelling of Kylie. Dislike all options.
Kaylee – but then I immediately questioned that assumption.
I don’t mind non-standard spellings, but this one seems awfully ambiguous.
I thought Kiley first, but then immediately thought it must be Kaylee, because of how the “eigh” sounds “weigh” and “neigh”. But then I read a comment about the name “Leigh”…which is a long /e/ sound. Lord only knows. Perhaps it is actually pronounced Keg-uh-lie!
I couldn’t decide between Kaylee or Keeley but went with the more unusual one. Actually at first glance I thought it was Knightly but then I looked again.
Kiley.
Please do not saddle a child with that spelling.
I immediately saw Kee-ley because Leigh (Lee) is a common-ish female first name in my area and friend’s little girl is Kayleigh (Kay-lee).
I kind kind-of/sort-of see the other pronunciations:
Kay-lee, similar to the sound in sleigh
Ky-lee, similar to the sound in height
But because it is in name context, I think of the sound that combination of letters makes in other names I know.
Keeley
Many names that have an “eigh” are pronounced “ee”. I noticed that most of the “eigh” names are proceeded with an L (which the name in question is not). So I found several that didn’t have an L – such as Teighan and Aubreigh – that still make the “ee” sound.
Some names where “eigh” seems to make an “ay” sound (which I couldn’t find many):
Peighton/Peightyn (Payton)
Leighton/Leightyn (Layton)
So I suppose Keighly could be Kayley. I couldn’t find any names where the “eigh” made the “eye” sound to make the name Kiley. I am sure further searching would turn something up…
My first thought was “kaylee” and I voted for that, but then it occurred to me that -eigh- is usually pronounced “ee”, so “keely” would be more logical.
“Teighan”? “Aubreigh”? Good heavens.
Well I don’t know anyone with these names, they all came from the SSA 2012 database. The further you get down the list, the more creative the spellings become. I found a Keileigh (similar to the name in question – Keighly) which is probably pronounced the same.
I went with Keeley, but definitely dislike it. It looks like a mash up of Keira Knightley’s first and last names.
I thought this too!
I voted Keeley, because it brought to mind Keira, but it could easily Kaylee (rhymes with neigh) or Kiley (rhymes with height). Way too ambiguous for my tastes.
I immediately thought it should be Kiley, which is what I put in the poll, but as soon as I had that thought I also thought that my inclination was WRONG and instead it should be Kaylee.
Parents, please spell the name in the clearest way possible. Show off your creativity in ways that do not negatively impact upon your child.
This needs to be cross stiched on pillows and given out at every obgyn’s office. Creative spellings do not service the person who ends up stuck with the name.
Seriously.
I went with Kaylee because the “eigh” there made my brain think of “eight”, so that’s the vowel sound it picked. Eye-rolly spelling though.
This is exactly what I thought too… I immediately saw “eigh” like eight. I’ve never been a fan of the eigh=ee pronouncitation though. There was a Leigh in my high school and I always thought Lay when I saw the spelling even though I knew it was pronounced Lee.
At first glance I thought it said Knightley. On re-reading, I assumed Kaylee or maaaaybe Kiley. I would not have thought of Keeley.
I voted Keeley because that was my very first thought, but I immediately questioned that. I kept going back and forth between Keeley and Kaylee and found myself feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing.
I’m sure it’s supposed to be Kaylee, but I can’t help but read it as “Kay-lay.” That -ley ending is really throwing me off.
Keeley immediately popped into my head, even though I am a stickler about eigh being pronounced like sleigh, neigh, eight, etc.
P.S. swistle- thank you for removing the word verification, it always hung up on my phone!
Like others, immediate thought was Kaylee although then I thought of Leigh (which I love) and thought maybe it should be Keeley. But I would have thought Kaylee at first glance.
I said Keeley because I assumed “keigh” rhymes with “Leigh” (my phone even autocorrected to Leigh when I typed it). But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was supposed to be “Kaylee.”
I know an Ashleigh, so at first glance I thought keely, but immediately wasn’t sure. Kiley?
Kay-lee because Keighley looks like it should rhyme with neighbor or weigh.
But other people’s points about Leigh being pronounced “Lee” has me questioning my assumption.
I answered ‘none’ because that is technically true. I looked at the name and said “Keeglee? Kegglee?”
And then a split second later I came up with Kee-lee, which IS one of your answers. So.
My first thought was Kee-lee.
Kaylee – the “eigh” made me think of the sound in sleigh.
Then I wondered if it was Kylie, since I know a Ryleigh and the “eigh” makes the “ee” sound in her name.
The more I look at the name, the more confused I am.
I immediately thought Kylie and then thought maybe keeley. Never would I think Kayleigh.
My first instinct is Kiley, but I emphatically dislike this spelling. All three pronunciations would be valid. That pesky -eigh can be said so many different ways!
Kaylee because keigh is like neigh? Keeley because keigh is like Leigh? I kept wanting the -eigh to be eight. I voted Kaylee but I imagine it is one I would never get right, even if I knew it I’d have to think a second. Feels too confusing and difficult.
I voted my gut reaction, before puzzling out that “-eigh equals -ee in girl names these days, even though I always read it as ay no matter how many times I correct myself” because I think it’s more telling. With names you tend to get responses based on split second reactions and in this case my mind went to familiar looking name “Kaylee” before deciding it’s probably Keeley.
I’m with everyone else in that -eigh spellings really just confuse and annoy me. I just don’t see a point to them. I know a little girl named Charleigh, pronounced like normal Charlie, and I still always read “Char-LAY” emphasis on the lay, which is particularly cringeworthy.
“Kaylee”, but I dislike all of those options and I really dislike creative spellings, particularly when they make it impossible to tell what the actual name is.
It was close between “none” and “Keeley” … only because I said it more like “Key-Lee” instead of “Keel-ee” ..and, in my head, that made a difference? The “eigh” separated the first syllable from the second significantly to me..but maybe it doesn’t matter much to the parents. Still, all other “kee” names, I’d generally pair with the following consonant… “keeg-an,” “keel-an,” “keen-an” .. not “kee-gan” or “kee-lan” or “kee-nan.”
Also, I knew someone with a last name extremely similar to this, which could be influencing how I thought it was pronounced.
And, I’m actually sort of upset about the amount of commenters who are opposed to this name. I, too, generally strongly dislike spellings that look made up (think Jessyka or Lynzi) …. but this didn’t look made up at all to me. It simply looked British. American English phonetics aren’t the only ones out there! We don’t get all up in arms because Raleigh, NC wasn’t changed to Rolly when it became an American city, do we?
Anyway! I googled it. And found: “Keighley is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England.” However, the town is pronounced “Keeth-lee” …interesting.
No matter what the pronunciation, if it’s named after a place or a surname or any sort of family heritage, I’d say, by all means, go for it. Once people know your child, the name will become normal to them :)
Best wishes!
I thought it was Knightley. I did a triple take before I figured out it wasn’t, then then I thought Kaylee.
I’m not into made up spellings. (my name is simple and it’s been mispelled my whole life – but it also hasn’t really bothered me), but I can relate to not liking how something looks. I really like Riley for a girl, but I don’t like how it looks. I think in the end though, the name is said so much more than written. And I would stick with the original spelling.
I really like Keeley and Isley. I think the familiairity of Isla would make it easy to pronounce and remember, for me. And Keeley Hawes from Spooks (and other British dramas) doesn’t make this name seem dated or made up to me. I also like Swistle’s suggestion of Finley. How cute is Fin as a nickname for a girl!
I also wondered if you’d like Monet? Gracyn, Lane and Monet. I like the repetition of the ay sound without them being rhymy.
Now I’m wondering if Leigh was at one point an oddly spelled name? I thought it was sort of an “also ran” middle name for many of us who are now having babies (First place winners = Ann and Lynn, with honorable mention to Marie, Leigh, and perhaps Louise?)
I know a Keeley, but I don’t think that made a difference in my gut reaction of Leigh = Lee.
Not my style, but doesn’t offend me in any way. Lately I find that if a name bothers me, its more about the presentation and attitude of the parents vs a name that I dislike.
While I am another who does not like the proposed spelling — I thought one thing and immediately started second-guessing myself — I very much like the term “delivery room surprise” and wish everyone would use it. It makes so much sense! The sex is always a surprise; it’s the timing of the surprise that varies.
So thank you for that, and I hope it catches on.
The beginning of Keighley reminded me of Leighton, so Kay-lee came to mind immediately.
For some reason, seeing an ‘eigh’ in the middle of a name (as opposed to at the end) makes my eye linger on the ‘g’ more than it would otherwise. I think the familiarity of Leigh, and the -leigh endings on some names (I immediately think of Ashleigh, and I know there are others), makes my eye used to seeing the ‘g’ there without tripping over it, but seeing it in the middle of the name makes it jump out to me a lot more. I think that would be my main concern, or at least a concern right up there with the fact that Keighley is a pretty ambiguous spelling, pronunciation-wise. I just can’t stop thinking that it should be pronounced “kee-guh-lee,” as a commenter above said already.
I voted Kaylee. Not sure, but that’s the first pronunciation that I thought of. The “eigh” automatically makes an “ay” sound in my mind, like sleigh, even though I know it can make the “ee” sound as well.
To be completely honest, I am not a fan of contriving new spelling of names to make them look more appealing. The way the name is pronounced is still going to be the same, so I just don’t understand the theory behid making up new spellings for the sake of being trendy or making the name more appealing. You’re just going to set your kid up for years of constnatly correcting the spelling and pronunciation.
I read it as Kee-lee, but if I came across the name I would not really be sure how the parents intended it to be pronounced – it might be Kay-lee or Ky-lee. I pronounce Keely slightly differently, like keel with an ee sound on the end, rather than key with a lee on the end. I haven’t come across anyone named Keighley but the name fits in with similar sounding names that are popular right now: Kaylee and Kylie (add up the numerous spellings of these names and they are in the top 10-20 names in many states). Also trendy at the moment are Kenley, Kinlee, Kinsey, Kinsley, Kensley (in various spellings), Kenzie. At any rate, judging from the replies, Keighley definitely seems to be a name that will invite a lot of spelling and pronunciation questions.
Keighley, in my mind was always Keeley or Keethley, and was on my list of favorite possibilities (when I was 20, before my tastes changed) because of the town in England. I travelled through there and while apparently it’s sort of a slummy town, it was a beautiful day and something about it felt very romantic and enchanting to me.
So to me Keighley is a place name, not a made up spelling but ultimately I think it has too many possible pronunciations and it’s not a name I would choose because of that.
I immediately thought, as previous poster wrote, Keegley, like Kegan. But then I got hung up on the fact that my mind went immediately from Keegley to Kegels. Yikes.