Because of the popularity of
Aaliyah and its variants, I would assume that
Alia is another spelling and pronounce the two names the same way (ah-LEE-ah or -yah). On sight, I would pronounce
Alya AHL-yah as well.
I wasn't sure if
Aaliyah and
Alia were related, so I looked them up in the database. They are not on each other's "Related Names" list, but if you compare meanings they obviously must be related.
Aaliyah is the feminine form of
Aali, meaning "high, lofty, sublime," and
Alya means "sky, heaven, loftiness."
Alia is a variant transcription of
Alya. I assume there is a pronunciation difference between the A and the double A - does anyone who is more familar with Arabic know? What about between "iyah" and "ia" or "ya"?