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[Opinions] Ada, Elma & Ottilia
These have been in my mind a lot lately. What do you think of Ada (pronounced ah-dah), Elma and Ottilia?
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I think pronouncing Ada as ah-dah goes against my instinct. Both are darling. As for Elma, it makes me think of Elmer. Not a bad thing. I think I prefer Alma to Elma, though. Ottilia is gorgeous. Just perfect. Feminine and strong.
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I'm in love with Ada, but only with the "AY-duh" pronunciation. It evokes Victorian England and is very picturesque. Using an "AH-duh" pronunciation would make it more modern and exotic. It's not that I don't ike that. But I crave the retro feeling that "AY-duh" gives me.Elma is interesting. I love Alma ("AHL-muh") so Elma is not that much of a stretch. I haven't clicked on the hyper link so I have no idea what the meaning / origin is. But it's making me think of a feminine form of Elmer, which is tickling my funny bone. Also, it reminds me of Elm trees. Both nice associations. Ottilia is fabuous. I love the historic feeling of it. Nn Tillie is darling. It's also vaguely giving off an Attila the Hun vibe, but I'm surprisingly digging that for a girl. It's all dressed up in the usual formal "-ia" garb, so the Hun association is very unexpected. Dualing images. Fun!
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I think they're all beautiful. All three names have a similar feel to me, delicate and refined but also fresh and innocent. I see willow trees and mint.
Ada (ahdah) is difficult to get used to because Ada (eyda) is a favourite of mine. It reminds me of adders and ardor, but I still think it's pretty and especially in another language where the pronounciation is more natural. Elma is a bit too close to Elmer/Elmo for comfort but also wonderful and arboreal and it would be such a pleasantly unexpected nickname for Wilhelmina. Ottilia is just great, I have been falling in love with Ottilie pronounced similarly and I'm not sure which I prefer. It's so wonderfully subdued.
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