{"id":14681,"date":"2020-04-20T09:33:57","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T13:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/?p=14681"},"modified":"2020-10-17T08:02:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-17T12:02:03","slug":"baby-naming-issue-adlai-for-a-girl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/2020\/04\/20\/baby-naming-issue-adlai-for-a-girl\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby Naming Issue: Adlai for a Girl?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Swistle,<\/p>\n

I am due with baby #2 in September. My first daughter is Ariela Elena. The name ticked off all the boxes for us. It has a great meaning (lion of God), it has a great nickname (she goes by Ari), and it is easy to pronounce in Spanish and English (we live in predominantly Spanish speaking community). Her middle name is a Latinized version of an honor name on my husband\u2019s side of the family.<\/p>\n

All kids will have two last names following the tradition of the Latin community (think Harrison Smith in our case).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not planning to find out the sex of this baby. If it\u2019s a boy it\u2019ll most likely be Elliot nn Elio, middle name Theodore or Timothy (both honor names). It\u2019s another Hebrew-origin name that sounds modern (I\u2019m a sucker for British-sounding boy names), and it is familiar in our Spanish-speaking community. I\u2019m also finding that I like the soft vowels and \u201cl\u2019s\u201d in both names.<\/p>\n

What I\u2019m really writing you about is a girl\u2019s name. We have a name that we love that was a front-runner for our first daughter, and we\u2019ve wanted to use it for years. However, I\u2019m having doubts about its usability for a girl.<\/p>\n

The name is Adlai. I came across it a few years ago. Similarly, it\u2019s a Hebrew name with a cool meaning (Justice of God). I loved it immediately. I work in social justice so it has a little extra special element for me. My question is: Can I use the name Adlai for a girl?<\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s seldom used at all now (which gives me hope), it is a traditional boy\u2019s name connected with some historical political figures. When we came across it, though, we thought it just sounded more like a girl\u2019s name. I\u2019m not surprised that it did with the trend of Adelaide, Adeline, Adalyn, etc.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not bothered by using a traditional boy\u2019s name, I just want to avoid a lot of confusion and explanation if it really is set in people\u2019s minds as a guy\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Another part of that problem may be the similarity to other popular girl\u2019s names. I have a K name that\u2019s similar to so many K names from the 80\u2019s and 90\u2019s, so the idea of correcting people really doesn\u2019t bother me. I\u2019ve also gotten used to reminding people that my first daughter is Ariela not Ariana (something I did not expect to deal with). But I would like some feedback from the community. Is Adlai going to be impossible to remember with all of the other Ad- names or with so many variations out there already, will people be more likely to take in stride?<\/p>\n

A third factor, which isn\u2019t a big issue for me, is pronunciation. I believe the famous Adlai Stevensons pronounced the name Ad-lay. I have read that it can also be pronounced Ad-lie. Spanish-speakers in our community will be more likely to pronounce it Ad-lie, but I\u2019m not sure with English speakers. What is your first inclination?<\/p>\n

I know there\u2019s the option to use Adlai for a boy, but it\u2019s been in my head as a girl\u2019s name for years, now I have a hard time picturing it on a boy (and I do love Elliot).
\nPotential middle names would be honor names Dorothy\/Dorothea, Lia, or Patricia.<\/p>\n

Thank you all for your input.<\/p>\n

K<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

I don’t know anyone named Adlai, and so I am going to start with a little research. First let’s check the Social Security Administration<\/a> to find out current U.S. usage. In 2018, the name Adlai was used for 5 new baby girls and 18 new baby boys, so the current U.S. usage is very rare, and unisex but used more often for boys.<\/p>\n

I am not sure if the Ad-lie pronunciation you mention is “lie” with a long-I (like telling a lie, or like lye soap), or “-lie” with a long-E (like the ending of Charlie\/Natalie\/Ellie\/etc.). If we think the name might legitimately be pronounced Ad-lee or Ad-lye, then we have some more possibly related usage to add:<\/p>\n

Adalae, 19 F
\nAdalai, 9 F
\nAdalay, 12 F
\nAdalee, 314 F
\nAdalei, 11 F
\nAdaleigh, 112 F
\nAdaley, 34 F
\nAdali, 31 F
\nAdalie, 150 F
\nAdaly, 54 F
\nAdelae, 9 F
\nAdelai, 11 F
\nAdeleigh, 9 F
\nAdeli, 6 F
\nAdelie, 31 F
\nAdely, 8 F
\nAdlee, 87 F
\nAdleigh, 96 F
\nAdley, 480 F \/ 19 M
\nAdlie, 8 F<\/p>\n

Some of those look like they’re trying to get the LAY sound, some look like LEE, some look like LYE, and some look like Ada plus an ending (as opposed to the Add- sound we’re looking at).<\/p>\n

My guess (and this is based on not knowing any people named Adlee\/Adleigh\/etc. either, so take that for what it is worth) is that many of the Adley names are related to Hadley and to the whole Addison\/Adelyn\/Addy group, rather than to Adlai; and that many of the Adeleigh\/Adelie names are related to Natalie, and also belong to the Addy group.<\/p>\n

My next step was to make sure I knew how Adlai Stevenson was pronounced, because that is the only association I have with the name. (Here’s a couple recordings<\/a> and a couple more recordings<\/a> if you want to go listen.) It is ADD-lay, though I heard some recordings that seemed to put a little half-beat in there so it was sort of ADD-uh-lay, but with only a quarter or half of the -uh-. I find I keep slipping and saying it add-LYE, I think because of Mordecai and Adonai.<\/p>\n

Here is a screenshot of a pdf<\/a> I found on the topic (which indicates that add-LYE was a common alternate\/mis- pronunciation):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It looks to me as if there’s no particular reason you couldn’t use Adlai for a girl; the boys don’t seem to be using it right now anyway. But this is a good area for commenters to weigh in: others might have more\/different associations with the name that make it more of an issue. It seems like a challenging spelling\/pronunciation to me, but as long as you’re willing to accept that as part of the package deal of this particular name, I don’t think that has to be a dealbreaker: a spelling that is difficult because it is old\/traditional is not in the same category as a spelling that is difficult because the parents made it that way on purpose to be different.<\/p>\n

I do think for most people, the only association will be the various Adlai Stevensons, but that many people won’t even have that association (it was only today I learned that there was more than one political figure named Adlai Stevenson). I think for many\/most people, the name Adlai will sound and look like another entry in the Adelay\/Adalyn\/Adaleigh category, and that’s something that would bother me a little if I were considering using the name, but it’s a huge benefit for familiarity\/acceptance of the name. The spelling will reinforce the Adlai Stevenson connection for those who know it, and may look invented\/creative to those who don’t.<\/p>\n

I think my main reaction to the name is “Yes, of course you can use it if you want to—but why?” Why take this exceedingly rare, oddly-spelled, hard-to-pronounce, one-hit-wonder boy name out of obscurity and then also use it for a girl? If there’s no answer that is any more of an answer than a parent might have for any other name (“We just really liked it, and we like the sound and the meaning”), that’s what gives me that “Why?” feeling. Why do it? Why not find another name you like the sound and meaning of, but without the odd baggage?<\/p>\n

For all of those reasons, if it were up to me I think I would use Adelaide instead. It’s almost the same sound; it’s beautiful; it’s used exclusively for girls in the U.S.; and it’s a nice fit with Ariela. Or Adelay would be pretty.<\/p>\n

Name meanings are not my thing so I’m not going to dwell too long on that topic, but I will say generally that meanings can vary from book to book. If it’s important to you that it mean “justice of God,” check multiple sources before using it, to make sure the various meanings fit with what you’re going for. The Baby Name Bible<\/a> says Adlai means “refuge of God.” The Oxford Dictionary of First Names<\/a> says Adlai is a contraction of Adaliah, and that Adaliah means “God is just.” Baby Names Made Easy: The Complete Reverse-Dictionary of Baby Names<\/a> says it means “God is just; God’s refuge.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name update:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Swistle, <\/p>\n

I know that usually when someone writes in asking permission to use a name they love, they use it anyways. However, when I read your reply and the comments, I gave up Adlai for a girl, cold turkey. The replies confirmed my two biggest concerns: 1) it was too strongly associated with Adlai Stevenson to be neutral and 2) its pronunciation is confusing. <\/p>\n

From there I reworked both girl and boy choices. The girl’s name wasn’t hard to find. We had a vanishing twin early in the pregnancy, and I had Ida picked out after Ida B. Wells. A girl would have been Ida Beth. I appreciated the suggestions for Dorothea as a first name, which we also considered. <\/p>\n

I also gave up Elliot because, as much as I love the name, I didn’t like the tongue twister with Ariela. I looked back through Hebrew names and family names, and Ruben kept catching my attention. I was hooked. I liked the repeated “r” sound with my daughter’s name, the nickname Rue, the workability in Spanish and English, the familiarity but uncommonness, the adorable old-man feel in English and the sharpness of the name in Spanish. I struggled with whether or not to use a family name but ultimately decided to honor Ida B. Wells for a boy as well.<\/p>\n

The literal meaning of Ruben, “Behold a Son”, became a running joke for us because the ultrasound looked so much like me that everyone was sure we were having a girl. The doctor laid him on my chest, and, behold, we did have a son. Meet Ruben Wells. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

K<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear Swistle, I am due with baby #2 in September. My first daughter is Ariela Elena. The name ticked off all the boxes for us. It has a great meaning (lion of God), it has a great nickname (she goes by Ari), and it is easy to pronounce in Spanish and English (we live in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-name-update"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3iyiG-3ON","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14681"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14987,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14681\/revisions\/14987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swistle.com\/babynames\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}