Thread: Speaking of stage names...help "El-Yah" :)

Helloooo!

I have been dancing for around 7 years and perform pretty regularly...

I usually go by the stage name that I decided on when being introduced,
El-Yah, but I wanted some opinions about the name from people that I don't know...

So, what do you think about it

Easy to pronouce? (just like it looks), mysterious, etc...whatever the qualifications ARE for a good stage name! ;p

It's close to my Hebrew name (best translation I could give)..it SHOULD be one word but Elyah seemed to be harder for people to figure out...

Thanks!

(: Lia :)

I like it...softly rolls off the tongue. What does it mean?

Lia, this might be confusing to Arabic speakers. El is the definite article (like el raqs = the dance) and ya is the vocative particle and would be used when addressing someone, to get their attention. Ya Lia = "hey, Lia..." (as in "want to get a cup of coffee?"). But then again, my knowledge of Arabic is limited, so maybe there's another meaning.

Thanks! :)
It came from my godfather's Hebrew name, who I was named after...the name itself derives from "Eliyahu/Elijah", the prophet.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Lia, this might be confusing to Arabic speakers. El is the definite article (like el raqs = the dance) and ya is the vocative particle and would be used when addressing someone, to get their attention. Ya Lia = "hey, Lia..." (as in "want to get a cup of coffee?"). But then again, my knowledge of Arabic is limited, so maybe there's another meaning.

And THAT is a great point as well...how it translates!!!

I don't want to be confusing or rude or calling myself "little pale chubby one" or something ;p

hmmmmmm.......

Originally Posted by bintbeled

Lia, this might be confusing to Arabic speakers. El is the definite article (like el raqs = the dance) and ya is the vocative particle and would be used when addressing someone, to get their attention. Ya Lia = "hey, Lia..." (as in "want to get a cup of coffee?"). But then again, my knowledge of Arabic is limited, so maybe there's another meaning.

I speak some Arabic, and this was what I thought of too. Arabs will be like "THE Yah"? Wtf?" ..l;,
I really like the name though, Elyah, Elyah...it`s really nice. But in one word would be better in my humble opinion

I agree with what bintbeled said above re: Arabic articles. I wondered if 'Yah' was a noun I was not aware of, with 'el' as the definite article.

I'll be honest--it makes me think of someone saying 'hell yeah!' with an accent (a common phrase of agreement in my area). But I suppose it could be positive if someone hollered that at a dancer, so maybe it's a good thing. :)

I do think it is pretty, though, and the derivation is nice/meaningful. I also think Elyah would be easy to figure out phonetically, but I work with folks from all over the world and have gotten pretty good at saying names that are very foriegn to me (so might not be the best judge).

How about Aliyah? It's close to your real name, and a real Arabic name too....

Aliyah is nice
plus it has a good meaning in Hebrew as well.

Wow...everyone is SO helpful!
I'm *amazed* to get any responses...and these have really made me think! :P

Though, I kind of like the "hell yeah" idea...heh heh... :)

I do like Aliyah (a LOT) but there are already a lot of dancers with that name...and I do want something kind of original...and it DOES have a great meaning to Jews!

I think combining it into one word is a good idea for many reasons...
That way it's not like 2 seperate words, which kinda limits the article problem (it's the same way in Spanish!) and the name itself really isn't supposed to be seperated like that.
I just thought it would be hard on a "regular" group of folks :P

From my understanding, it's actually supposed to be like Eliyah, with a VERY soft 'ih' for the "I"...but that's really hard to get across w/o making it "eli-yah", which isn't right.

I did some "googling" for the name and found 2 interesting quotes:

1. By the same token, a name like (Elyahu) or (Elyah), misleadingly spelled "Elijah" in our KJV English Old Testament, does not mean "Yah is my God, but rather "Yah is God."

2. The most benificent Angels, of course, are messangers of El (god). Not of Jehovah, the God of Moses. El Elyah of Genesis, the God of Abraham, was a loving creator God whose name was also used among some early Canaanites. Some early Jews and Canaanites believed that God did not wish any harm on any living creature, and that this God (El Elyah) was symbolized by the letter Lamed at the center of the Cananinte and Hebrew alphabet (both of which have 22 letters) - just as the True God of Love is at the center of the universe.

Very interesting...

Now...I'm thinking about Eliah (mainly b/c I dislike "y" for some reaon :p) and that's actually closer to the real word...but only if it's said correctly!

Is that too difficult? Too masculine?
It has my real name in there too, which is cool... :P

So: Elyah, Eliah, Eliyah...or ANY other variation that you can think of???

I love you guys for helping and thanks again!!!

(: Lia :)

Hello hello!
One more shot...HELP PLEASE! :)

I really want to get my website up before I dance next week so I can put the info on the flyer.

Here is the main idea- Which dance name do YOU like:
Elyah, Eliah, Eliyah...or ANY other variation that you can think of???

Thanks SOO much!
I'm a terrible decision maker and would LOVE some help from 'dance vets'! :P

I know you said you don't care for Y but I think the only spelling you're likely to get the 'El-Yah' pronunciation from is "Elyah."

The others are all going to cause people to say a long, accented i sound in the middle. (like Elijah without the J)

Actually, I think you'll get a little of that even with 'Elyah' but with the other spellings I'm afraid no one will ever pronounce it correctly.

Just to help the decision making process....My vote is for Elya or Elyah - I think they are the simplest to read and pronounce as you wish. But then, I'm from Oz and may well pronounce it differently than your local audience!

I agree with Latifa and Monica that it might be confusing to Arabic speakers. I would suggest that you use "Elyah" (i think that spelling would be least confusing as some others have said). Then if you're dancing for an Arabic audience tell whoever is introducing you to say "Aliyah" which I suspect is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew "Eliyah". The differences between the two names is that the Arabic version is the feminine form of "Ali", AFAIK, and it begins with the consonant "`ein" before the short "a". Of course, that could mean they come from different roots in the different languages ... mutter, mutter, mutter ... Where's a linguist when I need one?!..c::

WOW! Can I just say that I love Bhuz and all you amazing folks?

Elyah it is!

Thanks SOOOOO much everyone!!! You guys made points that I never even considered!

AND you can all say 'yeah, I helped name her' when I'm a crazy big star ;p

*hugs hugs*