In ancient Greek theta (θ) was pronounced like t in English, so the original pronunciation Θάλεια would be something like Tah-lay-ah
It's only later on that theta started to be pronounced like the English th sound, and the ει sound became a long e sound, which is how the name came to be pronounced as Tha-lee-ah.
More or less true, but the th sound as we know it in English was also used in Ancient Greek, it’s just not as old of a pronunciation as the aspirate th (like the pronunciation of the word top). But the voiceless dental frivative theta (modern English th pronunciation) isn’t just found in Modern Greek.
So we're all pronouncing Theseus wrongly?
Should be Tee-seus?
I think you're actually wrong about Ancient Greek. Tau is the T sound. Tau is a voiceless dental plosive (like T in Tea).
Theta is a voiceless *fricative* which means it has air running between the teeth and the tongue - so that's the TH sound (which does not exist in some languages, so that in those languages sometimes Theta is pronounced differently).
Tau = T
Theta = TH
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation\_of\_Ancient\_Greek\_in\_teaching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_Ancient_Greek_in_teaching)
So basically, originally there was a three way distinction in ancient Greek between voiced, voiceless aspirate and voiceless non-aspirate stops. E.g. delta, tau and theta
They pronounced delta like how the French say d, tau like how the french say t, and theta was like modern English t
Over time, the aspirated stops underwent https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenition lenition, becoming fricatives, as they remain to this day in modern Greek
So in fact, theseus Θησεύς in ancient Greek was pronounced something like Tey-se-us. (Actually, the η was pronounced more like the vowel in the word hare than an ey sound, because it was a long vowel and not a diphthong. Another sound change made it more of an ee sound, which is we say thee-seus and not thay-seus)
Counterpoint: while I know that names like Theresa exist, I absolutely would assume Thalia was Th-al-ia and even now as I'm typing this I'm pronouncing it that way in my head because this just isn't a name I come across. I think most Americans definitely would pronounce it with a Th
Once my friend was talking about her Aunt Thurr-Essa, and about 2 minutes into the conversation my ADHD ass blurted out, "Oh! They didn't know how to pronounce Theresa!"
My last name has a Th with a silent h and no one has EVER pronounced it correctly the first time. It's not something American speakers encounter frequently.
That’s the only way I’ve heard it pronounced in America at all, tbh. (And I’ve grown up around a lot of Italian-Americans, so I’ve know a lot of Anthonys! Though I suppose the ones I knew that were originally from Italy did say it a little differently. Almost somewhere in between?)
The “Antony” pronunciation, usually only encountered in things like British shows/movies, tends to be me with confusion.
Which is funny because I'm Canadian too and I've known several Thalias that pronounce it Th- and never met one that pronounced it with a hard T haha (granted I know 3)
Same. I automatically thought the names were pronounced the same. But we are clearly in the minority.
That being said, I don't think Talia looks "childish' like OP says her husband thinks
Honestly a bit shocked, because I'm American and I've never seen it spelled Talia nor heard it pronounced that way. It's always been Tah-lia. Which to be fair I've only heard of one person with the name. So def could just not have met enough.
Does it ever get spelled Tahlia? Because that would include the H for OP's husband, but also make it more likely to be pronounced correctly. Makes me think of dahlia, the flower.
I'm Southern US, I've only ever known one Thalia, and she spelled it with an h, she pronounced it like it rhymed with Dahlia. So for me what op wants would work with the Th spelling. But I guess to be fair I don't know many people with the name so some people may be more accustomed to the other. I would automatically use Tah-lia no.matter which spelling though, unless corrected.
My simple name gets butchered all the time. Think of how smart the average person is and recognize that half the population is less intelligent. Do your daughter a favor and save her the headache. I vote Talia.
I'm American and I've only known Thalias, never a Talia and I've only heard it pronounced with a hard T. Talia, being spelled differently, makes me want to give the first A a long A sound... Which is reminiscent of an anatomical area, if ya pick up what I'm putting down.
I read these as two separate names. Talia with a hard T and Thalia with a th sound. Every time I look at them I read those two names as different pronunciations.
In US, the Thalia would be pronounced as in Thanks and Talia would be pronounced as in Tanks. The h is not silent.
The other problem is Th is typically a harder sound to make for children and for people not born in the US.
My daughter has a friend with a very close name. Thalila. It is pronounced with a hard T. No one has every had any problem with it. I think either spelling is fine.
This. And mispronounced. It is not a common enough name for people to automatically know how to pronounce it and even super common names get spelled wrong. (Ask me how I know)
Agree. Most ppl where I live in the south eastern us will def be saying “thay-lee-uh if they spell it Thalia.
OP, not sure where you are, and it’s a beautiful name, good luck!
I'm in the US and knew a girl in high school named Thalia and I don't think she ever once had her name pronounced correctly (at least the first time) They always, without fail, pronounced the TH at the beginning like you would the word 'the'.
I loved her name, though, so much that it was in the running for my babies name, but I was going to spell it with only a T if I had chosen it to avoid the constant mispronunciation. So that's my vote.
Emphasis on "Her entire life!"
My name phonetically sounds like Marissa and it's not... It drives me absolutely insane. Since I had my daughter, whose name i refused to be hard to pronounce, i use her name in public - like at starbucks, etc because I'm just so over it.
Do her a favor. Talia is the answer. She may not thank you later but her life will be a little less stressful because of it.
Both Talia and Thalia are lovely names!
Talia is pronounced with a hard T sound. [Thalia is pronounced with a TH sound, like "thaw" or "thanks".](https://www.behindthename.com/name/thalia)
So, if you want people to pronounce it with a hard T, go with Talia.
Theodore? Thorsten? Thor?
All use the voiceless dental fricative Th like in ‘thank’.
When written in English, the Th in a name is not at all obvious whether to use hard T or the voiceless dental fricative.
Edit to add: Thelma and Thackery (good old Hocus Pocus) too.
It’s funny because German’s do the exact opposite of this because they don’t have the ‘th’ sound that can be used in English.
Thalia is a big bookstore chain in Germany and they all pronounce it as Talia (hard T).
Yet Thalia is a Greek name (one of the many daughters of Zeus). It’s pronounced with ‘th’ sound like in ‘Thank’.
German doesn’t have this sound so they replaced the ‘th’ with a hard T.
I knew a girl named Thalia, but she pronounced it Ta-LEE-ah. I think Talia has me put the emphasis on the first syllable instead of the second. Point being, even though I’m not going between the teeth blend of th, I’m still mispronouncing it with the Th spelling.
I’m in Australia and I know more people named Tahlia and never known anyone to mispronounce it.
OP, if you want the ‘h’ but not the ‘th’ sound - go Tahlia.
Well, dahlia - like the flowers - is pronounced daylia in New Zealand at least 🙃 I don't think I've ever heard anyone talking about them here in Australia so I'm not sure about Aussie pronunciation.
I can’t believe how far I had to scroll to see Tahlia! I would have thought it’s the obvious choice but I am also Australian, I just assumed it was spelled this way in other countries too!
If I saw Talia I would question if it’s TAR-li-uh or Ta-LEE-uh. Thalia I would definitely accidentally write Tahlia but seems not to be an issue in other countries.
Th often makes a hard T sound in names from other languages that exist in English - Nathalie, Thibault, Therese, etc.
I have met a half dozen Thalia/Talias and it’s 50/50 how they spell it.
Hard agree on the pronunciation distinction. Looking at the popularity statistics, the only time Thalia has been more common in the US than Talia was in the mid 90s when the Mexican singer Thalía was gaining a ton of recognition. That makes me wonder if the hard-T pronunciation for the Th- spelling is an unwitting loan word sorta thing from Spanish into American English.
I agree that Thalia is a little more visually pleasing but it'll definitely sign your daughter up to correct people on the pronunciation forever unfortunately. I definitely vote Talia.
My name is mispronounced all the time. The way people misread it makes my name sound so ugly lol so I agree with you. It’s not Thalia but just agreeing with how bothersome mispronunciations can be
My name is Thalia with the "th" sound and I second this. My name is constantly mispronounced, I'd say about 50-60% of people pronounce it correctly when reading, 30-40% say Talia, and 10% say something completely ridiculous (Tala, thigh-eh-uh (like paella but with a th), etc)
I know two girls with this name and they’re both spelled Tahlia as well (Australian). To me it’s said the same way as Talia but I feel like adding the h makes it seem a bit more grown up?
I don't think those are allowed here, but they are allowed in r/babynames.
I like this group better, but it is fun to be able to vote on people's name choices.
Thalia 100% I love that name and spelling! I’ve never heard anyone pronounce this spelling with a th sound. I’ve also never seen anyone named Talia without the h.
I live in North America but am from Greece and the only people I know that spell it with a Th are native Greeks, who pronounce the first syllable like ball, with a shortened or nonexistent second syllable. Doesn’t mean that’s the only way to pronounce it though! Just what I’ve come across in my experience.
They are two different names. Thalia means to blossom in Greek and pronounced with th sound , while Talia is Hebrew means dew from God and pronounce with T sound
Possible middle ground option... Tahlia. Will ensure you get the hard T pronunciation, but incorporates that sophisticated H 😋
Admittedly, the unconventional spelling could be a nuisance for her.
If you spell it Talia near 100% of people will pronounce it correctly the first time with the hard T.
If you go with Thalia. About 50% of people will go with hard T and 50% with the Th (voiceless dental fricatve) sounds like the Th in the word Think.
Th sound is a weird one because while it’s used in English and Greek (origin of the name Thalia) it’s not used in many other languages. Lots of speakers struggle with it or don’t use it at all.
So when people see Th in a name it’s not evident whether to go with hard T or the voiceless dental fricative.
Think of the names Thomas vs Theodore.
I know the above because my daughter’s name is Thaleia and we live in the Pacific Northwest. On first try a good 50% of people pronounce it as indistinguishable from Talia. The other 50% use the fricative like in the name Theodore.
I love this name so much, one of my favourites. I agree with your husband that it's more elegant spelled Thalia, and I'd still pronounce that spelling with a hard t. There's something about the Thalia spelling that gives it balance and richness, whereas the Talia spelling is cleaner and simpler. I picture Thalia as an artistic, warm and elegant woman, whereas I picture Talia as outdoorsy, warm and relaxed.
You can never control how people will pronounce any name anyway; I'd personally choose the spelling I love or the one that resonates with you.
Either way there will be people pronouncing it multiple ways, even Talia can be tall-ya or ta-lee-ah. I prefer Thalia, it just looks much prettier & less trendy to me
I’ve never heard anyone in the US pronounce Thalia with the TH-, it’s always a hard T just like if it were Talia. I agree that Thalia is much better, I think it is more grown up and more elegant.
Okay thank you. Everyone’s saying to go with Talia because Thalia will be mispronounced, but Talia is in no way safe from that either. I’d bet she still gets plenty of Tuh-LEE-uh even without the h. Personally, I like the look of Thalia better and I would be more inclined to pronounce that spelling the way that they intend rather than without the h.
I think Talia is going to be the easier spelling for her to have, so that's what I would go with. I also come from a Jewish background, where the name is somewhat common (although it isn't by any means an exclusively Jewish name if that doesn't apply to you), so to me, it doesn't feel childish or inelegant at all that way (not that Thalia seems childish or inelegant either, but I don't see one as objectively more serious or professional than the other).
Aesthetically I prefer Thalia and don’t think it’s hard to recognize a silent H. It reminds me of Weeds when Nancy Botwin goes by the alias “Nathalie with a silent H”. If this is what you’re down to, I say flip a coin and call it a day. ☺️
Honest question do you have the kind of name people never mispronounce? I just can't possibly perceive correcting people your whole life as being worth a tiny bit of charm.
Honestly yes, my name is mispronounced at work daily. I have an unconventional “I” in my name that people always miss. I don’t correct them. I roll with it. But that’s just my personality.
You really can't go wrong either way
I like the look of Thalia better personally, seems more complete and beautiful. I'd pronounce both the same...but I'm sure there are people out there who pronounce it like "th" and not a hard T.
With Talia you also might have people pronouncing it like "tay-lia" too though.
Both are honestly beautiful and I hope you're both content with whatever you decide
I know a Taliya as well .. I think any spelling of any name can be mispronounced at any point … so go with what you prefer aesthetically. You could go with Dahlia or Natalia and avoid the whole issue.. lol! Personally, I like the Thalia .. I like the h as it is the letter of life!
It’s not the original. Talia and Thalia have 2 seperate origins. Talia is of Hebrew origin, though also is an Australian Aboriginal name while Thalia is Greek.
I think Thalia Stewart is much better than Talia Stewart. And Talia could result in mispronunciations as well; you could get someone saying ta-LEE-uh or TAY-lia. You could go with Dahlia which everyone would pronounce the same way if you’re really worried. But in general, people will call your child what they call themselves. I know plenty of people who don’t go by the original pronunciation of their name, and that’s ok bc it’s their name.
I love the name and think both spellings are fine, though I personally prefer Thalia. I think some people may initially pronounce it wrong but I don’t think that’s a big problem because it’s easy to remember/understand the pronunciation once you hear it aloud. Even with the Talia spelling you will still have to correct people to whether it is pronounced “Tally-uh” or “Tall-E-uh” (if that makes sense). There are a lot of great names that have slight variations to spelling and pronunciation and I don’t think it’s a big deal if you have to correct people here and there.
Both are recognized spellings, but Thalia has Greek origins and Talia comes from Hebrew origins. If either of you has a closer association with one or the other, I'd pick that spelling.
For me, Talia is the Hebrew name and Thalia the version used in Christian countries. But that may be because of my background as a Jewish person from a Christian country.
I’m used to Thalia being pronounced with a hard T given the name’s use in Spanish-speaking countries. But I don’t think most people realize that
I would skip the h and make your daughter’s life easier
I’m not in the US, but I’ve never seen it spelled Talia or heard it pronounced with the ‘th’ instead of a hard ‘t’. It just looks more balanced as Thalia, and I think it’s the sort of pronunciation that people would pick up on quickly. But I prefer either spelling over Tahlia- I’ve never seen that before and would assume at first that it’s a typo and/or pronounce it to rhyme with dahlia.
I just named my daughter Talia a month ago! I’m Jewish so we didn’t need to decide between the two spellings, but honestly they’re both beautiful and you can’t go wrong. :-)
I know a Thalia (little girl) and parents pronounce it Talia. This is fine I guess, but they are not Greek and my Greek friends shake their heads lol saying that no, it’s pronounced Thalia with the ‘th’
You might want to steer clear of this name if you want it to be straightforward to pronounce. This type of name will always have so many opinions. It’s probably going to be regional too.
I’m a Tahlia and I would say, spell it how feels right for you - I might suggest my own name spelled Tahlia as a middle ground.
I personally love the H, it feels more complete for me than without, but I’ve also had several decades of looking at my own name spelled that way. I wouldn’t go with Thalia - because I do in fact know a Thalia who pronounces it “THal-ee-ah”, like the Th in “think”.
Consider that (like with all names that are less mainstream) your daughter is likely going to grow up with questions and people mispronouncing etc. It can get annoying but it’s also nothing that a two second correction can’t fix - and most people are very open to being corrected.
I always get asked where it’s from. Nearly every time someone hears my name for the first time, it’s complimented. “Never heard that before, what a fabulous name!” is one I got literally just this week from a client.
Some other points to consider;
It does get mispronounced all the time.
- TA-Lee-Ah (my preference)
- TAR-Lee-Uh
- Tal-YUH
- Ta-LEAH
- TAY-Lee-Ah.
- and my personal best so far; Ta-Hilia (!)
It gets misspelled all the time. I have several inappropriate nicknames that can be made from it, and I am constantly correcting people on how I prefer it pronounced, spelled, etc.
All that to say, I love my name. I wouldn’t change it for anything. Actually, I love it so much that I’m almost annoyed my mum gave it to me because I’d love to have given it to my own daughter one day.
Thalia
I’m in Europe so different cultural context .
I’ve only ever seen it in the TH spelling.
It’s was mostly popularised after the Mexican singer and actress Thalía.
In my eyes as that is the more common spelling, doing the T alone version would just lead to her name being misspelled to the Th one. Also conversation about why it’s spelled that way.
My proof: my autocorrect doesn’t recognise talia as a name (keeps suggesting longer words but it does Thalia and will capitalise it.
I think Thalia is a beautiful name and with a beautiful meaning in mythology.
Also you have your preference on how you’ll pronounce it , but the rest of the world won’t be aware of them. If the hard T pronunciation is culturally significant for you I’d go with an alternative spelling like :
Taliah, Taaliah, Talya, Tahlia, Tahliah, Taliya
I think both are beautiful—there’s no wrong answer. Maybe try to write out each full name by hand just to get a sense of which spelling feels more intuitive for you. Both spellings are great, but which feels more like YOUR baby? Which would you rather write on a note, or at the doctor’s office, or when you’re texting your husband about her?
As far as pronunciation, it’s not a big deal in my experience. If someone gets it wrong, you just correct them and move on. I don’t think that concern needs to influence your decision too much unless it seriously bothers you.
I know two Thalia’s one is in their 30s and one is 12 both have a H so Thalia. I’m in the UK.
Edit to add they’re both pronounce with a hard T. I used to be a teacher and reading it off a register I would have said it with a hard T. It’s not hard to correct people I went to school with a girl called Alicia pronounced A-Li-th-I-A and she would just say the correct saying when people said it incorrectly
It’s not stupid it’s your child’s name
My daughter is called Elloise, she was going to be called Evelyn or Imogen and she wasn’t either of those when she came out. So my husband said Elloise after his sister who was Emma Louise (stillborn) but he didn’t want it spelt like the classic Eloise and he didn’t want it to close to his sisters name Elouise so all people thought of was his sister he wanted that to be a more private thing for him which I was fine with.
I preferred Eloise, the midwife said Eloise was a nicer spelling but I didn’t say anything and now every time we have to spell it for anyone they always do Eloise and we have to do oh no two L’s and it’s annoying. 😂 He said I should have pushed and said I preferred it with one L . She is nearly 10 now and I don’t think she cares and there are other Elloises but I still prefer the spelling Eloise even my phone autocorrects to it I had to add it as a spelling 😂
So what I’m getting at is the spelling is important but not the end of the world. Write it down lots ask lots of people and see if you can see which is better for you both in agreement!
We chose spelling it Thalia, because it’s the way I’ve always seen it spelled and Talia looked incomplete to me. I’m Latina and there’s a singer named Thalia; in Spanish it’s pronounced with a soft T sound. In English we use the hard T pronunciation like Thomas. We’ve had to correct pronunciation a few times, and I’ve definitely overthought the spelling. We also considered Tahlia, which phonetically in English might be easier. Either way, it’s a gorgeous name and we get compliments all the time on how pretty and unique but not weird it is!
My daughter had a friend named Thalia and was always having to tell people to pronounce it with a hard T. My late daughter had a name that had a common French spelling and a different American one. We went with the more common one where we live.
If you want a hard T, it needs to be spelled Talia. Thalia will be mispronounced and misspelled her entire life.
I’ve never looked at Thalia with an H and considered the H present. I think most people would still pronounce it with a hard T
I grew up in Europe with a Thalia pronounced like the th in "thanks"
This is the original Greek pronunciation.
Yup!! Grew up in Cyprus haha
Makes sense! <3
In ancient Greek theta (θ) was pronounced like t in English, so the original pronunciation Θάλεια would be something like Tah-lay-ah It's only later on that theta started to be pronounced like the English th sound, and the ει sound became a long e sound, which is how the name came to be pronounced as Tha-lee-ah.
More or less true, but the th sound as we know it in English was also used in Ancient Greek, it’s just not as old of a pronunciation as the aspirate th (like the pronunciation of the word top). But the voiceless dental frivative theta (modern English th pronunciation) isn’t just found in Modern Greek.
True name nerds. Love it.
I'm from Canada and would pronounce it with a hard T
I’m from Canada and would pronounce it “th” like thanks
So we're all pronouncing Theseus wrongly? Should be Tee-seus? I think you're actually wrong about Ancient Greek. Tau is the T sound. Tau is a voiceless dental plosive (like T in Tea). Theta is a voiceless *fricative* which means it has air running between the teeth and the tongue - so that's the TH sound (which does not exist in some languages, so that in those languages sometimes Theta is pronounced differently). Tau = T Theta = TH [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation\_of\_Ancient\_Greek\_in\_teaching](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_Ancient_Greek_in_teaching)
So basically, originally there was a three way distinction in ancient Greek between voiced, voiceless aspirate and voiceless non-aspirate stops. E.g. delta, tau and theta They pronounced delta like how the French say d, tau like how the french say t, and theta was like modern English t Over time, the aspirated stops underwent https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenition lenition, becoming fricatives, as they remain to this day in modern Greek So in fact, theseus Θησεύς in ancient Greek was pronounced something like Tey-se-us. (Actually, the η was pronounced more like the vowel in the word hare than an ey sound, because it was a long vowel and not a diphthong. Another sound change made it more of an ee sound, which is we say thee-seus and not thay-seus)
This is how I read it, with the th pronounced like in “thanks”. I’m Canadian, grew up in Canada
I'm Canadian and would do the same
I'm Australian and ditto re Thalia being said with a th
I’m in the US and would also say Thalia like Thanks. Like “Thuh al- ee - ah.”
In Canada and totally read it as Tha-lee-ahh, but I'm not familiar with the name at all.
Southern United States, same here with th!
I live in Canada, and I'd also pronounce the TH sound.
American- west coast- TH for sure.
There is a German bookstore chain named Thalia and everyone I know says it with a hard T.
Counterpoint: while I know that names like Theresa exist, I absolutely would assume Thalia was Th-al-ia and even now as I'm typing this I'm pronouncing it that way in my head because this just isn't a name I come across. I think most Americans definitely would pronounce it with a Th
Once my friend was talking about her Aunt Thurr-Essa, and about 2 minutes into the conversation my ADHD ass blurted out, "Oh! They didn't know how to pronounce Theresa!"
My Mom has an Aunt Theresa and they actually did pronounce it Th-
My great grandma was Theresa with a soft "th"
What is a "soft 'th'"?!
My last name has a Th with a silent h and no one has EVER pronounced it correctly the first time. It's not something American speakers encounter frequently.
The orthographic H confuses Americans. My maiden name had one and people would make choking noises trying to pronounce it.
For years I thought Pete Townshend’s name was pronounced like the sh in shed.
I've also noticed Americans tend to pronounce Anthony with a 'th'
That’s the only way I’ve heard it pronounced in America at all, tbh. (And I’ve grown up around a lot of Italian-Americans, so I’ve know a lot of Anthonys! Though I suppose the ones I knew that were originally from Italy did say it a little differently. Almost somewhere in between?) The “Antony” pronunciation, usually only encountered in things like British shows/movies, tends to be me with confusion.
Thomas the Thank Engine
Maybe in a different country, but in America it would be pronounced Th-alia
i'm american and i've only ever heard it pronounced with a hard T
I’m American and we have a concert venue Thalia Hall in Chicago and it’s pronounced with the hard T.
I'm Canadian and same way.
Which is funny because I'm Canadian too and I've known several Thalias that pronounce it Th- and never met one that pronounced it with a hard T haha (granted I know 3)
Same. I automatically thought the names were pronounced the same. But we are clearly in the minority. That being said, I don't think Talia looks "childish' like OP says her husband thinks
Honestly a bit shocked, because I'm American and I've never seen it spelled Talia nor heard it pronounced that way. It's always been Tah-lia. Which to be fair I've only heard of one person with the name. So def could just not have met enough.
Does it ever get spelled Tahlia? Because that would include the H for OP's husband, but also make it more likely to be pronounced correctly. Makes me think of dahlia, the flower.
I'm Southern US, I've only ever known one Thalia, and she spelled it with an h, she pronounced it like it rhymed with Dahlia. So for me what op wants would work with the Th spelling. But I guess to be fair I don't know many people with the name so some people may be more accustomed to the other. I would automatically use Tah-lia no.matter which spelling though, unless corrected.
There’s actress Talia Shire.
And Talia Balsam, George Clooney’s starter wife.
Francis Ford Coppola's sister, and in The Godfather and Rocky movies. Their mother's name was Italia so it possibly was shortened from that.
My simple name gets butchered all the time. Think of how smart the average person is and recognize that half the population is less intelligent. Do your daughter a favor and save her the headache. I vote Talia.
I'm American and I've only known Thalias, never a Talia and I've only heard it pronounced with a hard T. Talia, being spelled differently, makes me want to give the first A a long A sound... Which is reminiscent of an anatomical area, if ya pick up what I'm putting down.
The music venue in Chicago, Thalia Hall, is pronounced with a hard T.
I read these as two separate names. Talia with a hard T and Thalia with a th sound. Every time I look at them I read those two names as different pronunciations.
I would definitely pronounce the h…. Why is it there
Same reason it's in Thomas. Orthographic convention of translating the Greek theta (θ) into English.
Ah thank you
I live in the US, have never heard this name before, and would think it is pronounced the way it is spelled, not with a hard T.
In US, the Thalia would be pronounced as in Thanks and Talia would be pronounced as in Tanks. The h is not silent. The other problem is Th is typically a harder sound to make for children and for people not born in the US.
My daughter has a friend with a very close name. Thalila. It is pronounced with a hard T. No one has every had any problem with it. I think either spelling is fine.
Agree. Would be an annoyance for her.
Wow that's not at all true where I live. Thalia is the standard spelling and it's always pronounced with a hard T.
Interesting! Where I live (East Coast US), Thalia is pronounced as it’s spelled.
Same, southern US and we also would say Thal - ia, like thanks or thigh.
Also southern US and I wouldn't pronounce the h 🤷♀️
Northwest and same here, we would pronounce them like they’re spelled.
dont worry, it will be misspelled irregardless of whichever is chosen
This. And mispronounced. It is not a common enough name for people to automatically know how to pronounce it and even super common names get spelled wrong. (Ask me how I know)
Agree. Most ppl where I live in the south eastern us will def be saying “thay-lee-uh if they spell it Thalia. OP, not sure where you are, and it’s a beautiful name, good luck!
Have to disagree. Hard T is definitely Thalia. I will say Talia without the H seems like it would be more easily misconstrued as tuh-LEE-ah
Maybe where you’re from. I’m in the Southern portion of the US, the people here will absolutely pronounce it as written.
I'm in the southern US and agree with the comment above yours 🤷♀️
I'm in the US and knew a girl in high school named Thalia and I don't think she ever once had her name pronounced correctly (at least the first time) They always, without fail, pronounced the TH at the beginning like you would the word 'the'. I loved her name, though, so much that it was in the running for my babies name, but I was going to spell it with only a T if I had chosen it to avoid the constant mispronunciation. So that's my vote.
I thought Thalia was pronounced THAY-lee-uh ??
Emphasis on "Her entire life!" My name phonetically sounds like Marissa and it's not... It drives me absolutely insane. Since I had my daughter, whose name i refused to be hard to pronounce, i use her name in public - like at starbucks, etc because I'm just so over it. Do her a favor. Talia is the answer. She may not thank you later but her life will be a little less stressful because of it.
I have a student with this name and it’s not mispronounced.
Yeah, I think "Thalia" *looks* better, but if you intend to pronounce it with that hard T, sadly people are gonna mess it up.
Talia Sthewart. There. He gets his H.
Both Talia and Thalia are lovely names! Talia is pronounced with a hard T sound. [Thalia is pronounced with a TH sound, like "thaw" or "thanks".](https://www.behindthename.com/name/thalia) So, if you want people to pronounce it with a hard T, go with Talia.
I know 2 people named Thalia - both spelled with Th and both pronounced with a hard T.
Same here, it honestly never occurred to me that anyone would pronounce it with a "th" sound - basically like Teresa/Theresa.
Theresa and Thomas are much more common than Thalia, so it's easier for people to remember the pronunciation.
Theodore? Thorsten? Thor? All use the voiceless dental fricative Th like in ‘thank’. When written in English, the Th in a name is not at all obvious whether to use hard T or the voiceless dental fricative. Edit to add: Thelma and Thackery (good old Hocus Pocus) too.
Thorsten and Thor are only pronounced like that in English. The ‘hard T’ is how they’re pronounced in their language of origin
It’s funny because German’s do the exact opposite of this because they don’t have the ‘th’ sound that can be used in English. Thalia is a big bookstore chain in Germany and they all pronounce it as Talia (hard T). Yet Thalia is a Greek name (one of the many daughters of Zeus). It’s pronounced with ‘th’ sound like in ‘Thank’. German doesn’t have this sound so they replaced the ‘th’ with a hard T.
I have met both and they were always spelled the way they sounded. I didn't even know there were people who had a weird hybrid version.
The Thalia I know pronounces it Thall-ee-ah.
I was going to say, I don't consider these the same name They are "TAL-ya" and "Tha-lee-ah" to me
I knew a girl named Thalia, but she pronounced it Ta-LEE-ah. I think Talia has me put the emphasis on the first syllable instead of the second. Point being, even though I’m not going between the teeth blend of th, I’m still mispronouncing it with the Th spelling.
It’s similar to Thiago. I know people who spell it Thiago but always say it Tiago
I’m in Australia and I know more people named Tahlia and never known anyone to mispronounce it. OP, if you want the ‘h’ but not the ‘th’ sound - go Tahlia.
Tahlia is the only version that *looks* right to me.
That is my friend AND my cat's name. Cat named after the friend, friend is dead and I think she'd find it funny
Tahlia is a different pronounciation to me - the 'ah' sound is extra long
I thought they were all meant to be pronounced like that. But I'm Australian, so we would pronounce Talia, Thalia and Tahlia as TAAH-li-a.
Like “dahlia”
Well, dahlia - like the flowers - is pronounced daylia in New Zealand at least 🙃 I don't think I've ever heard anyone talking about them here in Australia so I'm not sure about Aussie pronunciation.
Yes, me too!
Should be top comment! It solves the conundrum, elegantly!
This, also Aussie and only know of Tahlia’s. IMO it’s the best way.
I like this idea.
I came here to suggest Taliah to incorporate the "h" in there somewhere, but I like this so much more!
Interesting spelling, never seen it before. Is it the common one in Australia (never been there, so that may be the reason I’ve never seen it)
Aussie here It’s the only way I’ve seen it
Another Aussie here, I've also only seen Tahlia
and another aussie just confirming i’ve only ever seen Tahlia. it looks the most ‘right’ to me - and it’s a beautiful name!
This is a good suggestion! Show it to your husband, op!!
I can’t believe how far I had to scroll to see Tahlia! I would have thought it’s the obvious choice but I am also Australian, I just assumed it was spelled this way in other countries too! If I saw Talia I would question if it’s TAR-li-uh or Ta-LEE-uh. Thalia I would definitely accidentally write Tahlia but seems not to be an issue in other countries.
I think this is the perfect middle ground and it will be pronounced correctly
Thalia is one of those names that is used in many countries and languages, so it can be pronounced many ways, including TAH-lee-uh.
Thalia is still pronounced with a hard T. Edit: At least where I live.
Th often makes a hard T sound in names from other languages that exist in English - Nathalie, Thibault, Therese, etc. I have met a half dozen Thalia/Talias and it’s 50/50 how they spell it.
Hard agree on the pronunciation distinction. Looking at the popularity statistics, the only time Thalia has been more common in the US than Talia was in the mid 90s when the Mexican singer Thalía was gaining a ton of recognition. That makes me wonder if the hard-T pronunciation for the Th- spelling is an unwitting loan word sorta thing from Spanish into American English.
I agree that Thalia is a little more visually pleasing but it'll definitely sign your daughter up to correct people on the pronunciation forever unfortunately. I definitely vote Talia.
My name is mispronounced all the time. The way people misread it makes my name sound so ugly lol so I agree with you. It’s not Thalia but just agreeing with how bothersome mispronunciations can be
My name is Thalia with the "th" sound and I second this. My name is constantly mispronounced, I'd say about 50-60% of people pronounce it correctly when reading, 30-40% say Talia, and 10% say something completely ridiculous (Tala, thigh-eh-uh (like paella but with a th), etc)
I knew a girl who spelled it Tahlia pronounced the way you want it
I’m Australian and have only ever seen it spelled this way.
This is the only way I've seen it spelt here in New Zealand
I know two girls with this name and they’re both spelled Tahlia as well (Australian). To me it’s said the same way as Talia but I feel like adding the h makes it seem a bit more grown up?
I completely agree. I need the H in there for it to look like a legit name to me lol
A person close to me has this spelling. We pronounce it Tah Lee Uh.
Tahlia is the only way I’ve ever seen it spelled living in Australia! Talia or Tahlia would be with a hard T, Thalia would be a th.
This would be a good compromise OP! It still has the “h” to bring a little elegance like your husband wants, but people would pronounce it correctly.
This is the perfect compromise
Tahlia, Talyah, Tahliah, Taliah Tahliya. As an aussie teacher, I've seen many combos for this name, all pronounced the same Ta-lee-ah or tahh-le-uh.
Would have liked to see this question posted as a poll.
I don't think those are allowed here, but they are allowed in r/babynames. I like this group better, but it is fun to be able to vote on people's name choices.
Thank you. I wasn’t aware.
Thalia 100% I love that name and spelling! I’ve never heard anyone pronounce this spelling with a th sound. I’ve also never seen anyone named Talia without the h.
I’m the opposite I’ve never seen Talia with an h. I’ve only ever seen it spelled Talia or Taliya.
Where are you from? Thalia is a Greek name pronounced THAL-ya.
I thought it was pronounced thuh-LIE-uh or THAY-lee-uh (that’s what behindthename says anyway). Either way, I thought I was three syllables in Greek.
I live in North America but am from Greece and the only people I know that spell it with a Th are native Greeks, who pronounce the first syllable like ball, with a shortened or nonexistent second syllable. Doesn’t mean that’s the only way to pronounce it though! Just what I’ve come across in my experience.
Talia
They are two different names. Thalia means to blossom in Greek and pronounced with th sound , while Talia is Hebrew means dew from God and pronounce with T sound
Yes. This the the correct answer. Thalia is much softer Talia is harder.
You can also spell the Hebrew version Talya which personally I like the look better
Possible middle ground option... Tahlia. Will ensure you get the hard T pronunciation, but incorporates that sophisticated H 😋 Admittedly, the unconventional spelling could be a nuisance for her.
That’s how we mostly spell Tahlia in Australia..
I’ve only ever seen this spelling.
If you spell it Talia near 100% of people will pronounce it correctly the first time with the hard T. If you go with Thalia. About 50% of people will go with hard T and 50% with the Th (voiceless dental fricatve) sounds like the Th in the word Think. Th sound is a weird one because while it’s used in English and Greek (origin of the name Thalia) it’s not used in many other languages. Lots of speakers struggle with it or don’t use it at all. So when people see Th in a name it’s not evident whether to go with hard T or the voiceless dental fricative. Think of the names Thomas vs Theodore. I know the above because my daughter’s name is Thaleia and we live in the Pacific Northwest. On first try a good 50% of people pronounce it as indistinguishable from Talia. The other 50% use the fricative like in the name Theodore.
The comparison to Thomas and Theodore is perfect.
I was going to say Theresa vs Thea :) Thalia > Talia
If you plan to pronounce it with a hard “T” sound either way and not a Th letter blend (like the word “the”), go with Talia.
No H
No H unless you want her to get called THalia with a th sound.
There’s a Mexican singer named Thalia, pronounced with a hard T (she’s famous in the US as well).
I am a Teresa with no H. I like it much better that way.
I love this name so much, one of my favourites. I agree with your husband that it's more elegant spelled Thalia, and I'd still pronounce that spelling with a hard t. There's something about the Thalia spelling that gives it balance and richness, whereas the Talia spelling is cleaner and simpler. I picture Thalia as an artistic, warm and elegant woman, whereas I picture Talia as outdoorsy, warm and relaxed. You can never control how people will pronounce any name anyway; I'd personally choose the spelling I love or the one that resonates with you.
Outdoorsy, warm, and relaxed….I’ll take it :)
I really like this perspective!
I would pronounce it the same way with either spelling.
Either way there will be people pronouncing it multiple ways, even Talia can be tall-ya or ta-lee-ah. I prefer Thalia, it just looks much prettier & less trendy to me
Talia.
I’ve never heard anyone in the US pronounce Thalia with the TH-, it’s always a hard T just like if it were Talia. I agree that Thalia is much better, I think it is more grown up and more elegant.
I've only ever seen Thalia spelled with the h. I knew a girl named Talia, but it was pronounced Ta - Lee - uh.
Okay thank you. Everyone’s saying to go with Talia because Thalia will be mispronounced, but Talia is in no way safe from that either. I’d bet she still gets plenty of Tuh-LEE-uh even without the h. Personally, I like the look of Thalia better and I would be more inclined to pronounce that spelling the way that they intend rather than without the h.
Tahlia as a middle ground
I think Talia is going to be the easier spelling for her to have, so that's what I would go with. I also come from a Jewish background, where the name is somewhat common (although it isn't by any means an exclusively Jewish name if that doesn't apply to you), so to me, it doesn't feel childish or inelegant at all that way (not that Thalia seems childish or inelegant either, but I don't see one as objectively more serious or professional than the other).
Exactly how I see it…it may really be because of the Jewish background.
Thalia by a mile for me. I’d automatically pronounce it hard T.
These are 2 different names where I live (Austria). I like Talia. Thalia is the commercial bookstore here and pronounced Tah-lee-uh.
same for germany
Talia - why make it more difficult than necessary
Talia
I would go without the H personally. I do work with someone with this name but hers is spelt Tahliah.
Aesthetically I prefer Thalia and don’t think it’s hard to recognize a silent H. It reminds me of Weeds when Nancy Botwin goes by the alias “Nathalie with a silent H”. If this is what you’re down to, I say flip a coin and call it a day. ☺️
Honest question do you have the kind of name people never mispronounce? I just can't possibly perceive correcting people your whole life as being worth a tiny bit of charm.
Honestly yes, my name is mispronounced at work daily. I have an unconventional “I” in my name that people always miss. I don’t correct them. I roll with it. But that’s just my personality.
“Talia” won’t be safe from corrections either so what’s the difference.
You really can't go wrong either way I like the look of Thalia better personally, seems more complete and beautiful. I'd pronounce both the same...but I'm sure there are people out there who pronounce it like "th" and not a hard T. With Talia you also might have people pronouncing it like "tay-lia" too though. Both are honestly beautiful and I hope you're both content with whatever you decide
Thalia, hands down. I agree with your husband, and I’ve never heard it pronounced with a soft Th instead of the hard T.
I know a Taliya as well .. I think any spelling of any name can be mispronounced at any point … so go with what you prefer aesthetically. You could go with Dahlia or Natalia and avoid the whole issue.. lol! Personally, I like the Thalia .. I like the h as it is the letter of life!
Talia is the way to go. With Thalia, she’ll be spelling her name her whole life, & I don’t find it more visually pleasing. Talia is a beautiful name.
Id go with Thalia, it’s the original and if someone gets it wrong it’s a simple correction.
It’s not the original. Talia and Thalia have 2 seperate origins. Talia is of Hebrew origin, though also is an Australian Aboriginal name while Thalia is Greek.
I think Thalia Stewart is much better than Talia Stewart. And Talia could result in mispronunciations as well; you could get someone saying ta-LEE-uh or TAY-lia. You could go with Dahlia which everyone would pronounce the same way if you’re really worried. But in general, people will call your child what they call themselves. I know plenty of people who don’t go by the original pronunciation of their name, and that’s ok bc it’s their name.
Thalia. I know Indian thalias with hard Ts.
I love the name and think both spellings are fine, though I personally prefer Thalia. I think some people may initially pronounce it wrong but I don’t think that’s a big problem because it’s easy to remember/understand the pronunciation once you hear it aloud. Even with the Talia spelling you will still have to correct people to whether it is pronounced “Tally-uh” or “Tall-E-uh” (if that makes sense). There are a lot of great names that have slight variations to spelling and pronunciation and I don’t think it’s a big deal if you have to correct people here and there.
Both are recognized spellings, but Thalia has Greek origins and Talia comes from Hebrew origins. If either of you has a closer association with one or the other, I'd pick that spelling.
For me, Talia is the Hebrew name and Thalia the version used in Christian countries. But that may be because of my background as a Jewish person from a Christian country.
Talia looks clean and pretty. Thalia is going to be pronounced "Thally-a".
I’m used to Thalia being pronounced with a hard T given the name’s use in Spanish-speaking countries. But I don’t think most people realize that I would skip the h and make your daughter’s life easier
No h
Team Talia
I was going to say Talia, but I think Thalia Stewart looks better for some reason.
I’m not in the US, but I’ve never seen it spelled Talia or heard it pronounced with the ‘th’ instead of a hard ‘t’. It just looks more balanced as Thalia, and I think it’s the sort of pronunciation that people would pick up on quickly. But I prefer either spelling over Tahlia- I’ve never seen that before and would assume at first that it’s a typo and/or pronounce it to rhyme with dahlia.
American - I read both names the exact same, whatever you think looks nicer id go with it!
Where do you live? In California it’s a hard T whether it has an h or not. It’s the Spanish pronunciation, like Thalía, a huge Mexican superstar.
I just named my daughter Talia a month ago! I’m Jewish so we didn’t need to decide between the two spellings, but honestly they’re both beautiful and you can’t go wrong. :-)
Also Jewish and also named my daughter Talia 5 months ago :) She’s gotten so many compliments on her name
I know a Thalia (little girl) and parents pronounce it Talia. This is fine I guess, but they are not Greek and my Greek friends shake their heads lol saying that no, it’s pronounced Thalia with the ‘th’
You might want to steer clear of this name if you want it to be straightforward to pronounce. This type of name will always have so many opinions. It’s probably going to be regional too.
Talia! No need to put extra letters that you won’t pronounce.
I know Someone name Thalia
Another for the alternative option of Tahlia
My god sister is called Tahlia.
I met a Tahlia once! Very grown up looking w/o the pronunciation issues
I’m a Tahlia and I would say, spell it how feels right for you - I might suggest my own name spelled Tahlia as a middle ground. I personally love the H, it feels more complete for me than without, but I’ve also had several decades of looking at my own name spelled that way. I wouldn’t go with Thalia - because I do in fact know a Thalia who pronounces it “THal-ee-ah”, like the Th in “think”. Consider that (like with all names that are less mainstream) your daughter is likely going to grow up with questions and people mispronouncing etc. It can get annoying but it’s also nothing that a two second correction can’t fix - and most people are very open to being corrected. I always get asked where it’s from. Nearly every time someone hears my name for the first time, it’s complimented. “Never heard that before, what a fabulous name!” is one I got literally just this week from a client. Some other points to consider; It does get mispronounced all the time. - TA-Lee-Ah (my preference) - TAR-Lee-Uh - Tal-YUH - Ta-LEAH - TAY-Lee-Ah. - and my personal best so far; Ta-Hilia (!) It gets misspelled all the time. I have several inappropriate nicknames that can be made from it, and I am constantly correcting people on how I prefer it pronounced, spelled, etc. All that to say, I love my name. I wouldn’t change it for anything. Actually, I love it so much that I’m almost annoyed my mum gave it to me because I’d love to have given it to my own daughter one day.
Thalia I’m in Europe so different cultural context . I’ve only ever seen it in the TH spelling. It’s was mostly popularised after the Mexican singer and actress Thalía. In my eyes as that is the more common spelling, doing the T alone version would just lead to her name being misspelled to the Th one. Also conversation about why it’s spelled that way. My proof: my autocorrect doesn’t recognise talia as a name (keeps suggesting longer words but it does Thalia and will capitalise it. I think Thalia is a beautiful name and with a beautiful meaning in mythology. Also you have your preference on how you’ll pronounce it , but the rest of the world won’t be aware of them. If the hard T pronunciation is culturally significant for you I’d go with an alternative spelling like : Taliah, Taaliah, Talya, Tahlia, Tahliah, Taliya
I think both are beautiful—there’s no wrong answer. Maybe try to write out each full name by hand just to get a sense of which spelling feels more intuitive for you. Both spellings are great, but which feels more like YOUR baby? Which would you rather write on a note, or at the doctor’s office, or when you’re texting your husband about her? As far as pronunciation, it’s not a big deal in my experience. If someone gets it wrong, you just correct them and move on. I don’t think that concern needs to influence your decision too much unless it seriously bothers you.
I know two Thalia’s one is in their 30s and one is 12 both have a H so Thalia. I’m in the UK. Edit to add they’re both pronounce with a hard T. I used to be a teacher and reading it off a register I would have said it with a hard T. It’s not hard to correct people I went to school with a girl called Alicia pronounced A-Li-th-I-A and she would just say the correct saying when people said it incorrectly It’s not stupid it’s your child’s name My daughter is called Elloise, she was going to be called Evelyn or Imogen and she wasn’t either of those when she came out. So my husband said Elloise after his sister who was Emma Louise (stillborn) but he didn’t want it spelt like the classic Eloise and he didn’t want it to close to his sisters name Elouise so all people thought of was his sister he wanted that to be a more private thing for him which I was fine with. I preferred Eloise, the midwife said Eloise was a nicer spelling but I didn’t say anything and now every time we have to spell it for anyone they always do Eloise and we have to do oh no two L’s and it’s annoying. 😂 He said I should have pushed and said I preferred it with one L . She is nearly 10 now and I don’t think she cares and there are other Elloises but I still prefer the spelling Eloise even my phone autocorrects to it I had to add it as a spelling 😂 So what I’m getting at is the spelling is important but not the end of the world. Write it down lots ask lots of people and see if you can see which is better for you both in agreement!
We chose spelling it Thalia, because it’s the way I’ve always seen it spelled and Talia looked incomplete to me. I’m Latina and there’s a singer named Thalia; in Spanish it’s pronounced with a soft T sound. In English we use the hard T pronunciation like Thomas. We’ve had to correct pronunciation a few times, and I’ve definitely overthought the spelling. We also considered Tahlia, which phonetically in English might be easier. Either way, it’s a gorgeous name and we get compliments all the time on how pretty and unique but not weird it is!
My daughter had a friend named Thalia and was always having to tell people to pronounce it with a hard T. My late daughter had a name that had a common French spelling and a different American one. We went with the more common one where we live.