Message: "Name - Elia" - Behind the Name

[Facts] Name - Elia

by largirl (guest)

7/8/2013, 8:05 PM

I heard this name on a little girl today, pronounced El-ee-ya, at the park today. I saw a backpack she had with the spelling Elia.

I absolutely LOVE it and think it's so pretty - but then I looked it up on Behind The Name and not only is that pronunciation off, it's also a boy's name. Wah wah.

http://www.behindthename.com/name/elia

When I mentioned that my name bible didn't have it listed as a girl's name, DH looked around and found it as a girl's name on a few sites (i.e. http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Elia).

I want a name with an actual background and actual meaning - so can anyone verify whether Elia is a legit girl's name with a legit meaning (in addition to being a male Dutch name as BTN lists)?

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- Kirke (guest)

7/14/2013, 7:24 PM

I can't find it on a list of Albanian names but there is an Albanian actress/singer named Elia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elia_Zaharia

- SugarPlumFairy +2

7/9/2013, 6:34 AM

Don't trust think baby names or other baby name sites other than Behind The Name!

Èlia / Élia (notice the accent), pronounced "EH-lee-a", is a Italian, Catalan and Portuguese feminine name (also spelt Hélia). It's the feminine form of Elio, which comes from Helios (meaning "sun"), like the Roman names Aelius and Aelia.

Elia (sans accent) is also Italian and Dutch for Elijah.

This message was edited 7/9/2013, 6:35 AM

- largirl (guest) +1

7/9/2013, 9:17 AM

Trust me - I don't trust anything other than BTN! :) That's why I wanted to double check. LOL!

Is it passable in English without the accent as a girl's name, since we don't use the accent in English?

- SugarPlumFairy

7/9/2013, 11:04 AM

I think so. 99% of people would assume Elia was feminine, anyway.

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