Leah

原My name is Leah (pronounced Lee-ah); however, on first meeting me people do tend to think it's pronounced Lee or Lay-ah. I've even had someone respond to an email I've sent them (where my name was all over it) spelling it as Leigh.On the nickname front, I have several but the one I was mostly called when I was younger was Lee-Lee, which eventually morphed into Lily which I get called now.

原Leah Clark is an American voice actress and ADR script writer/director working for Funimation. She has provided numerous voices for Japanese anime series and video games. Some of her major roles include Suzuka Asahina in Suzuka, Saki Morimi in Eden of the East, Eri Sawachika in School Rumble, Blair in Soul Eater, and Minami Shimada in Baka and Test.

原A suggestion would be Lila if you're looking for a name that is a little less common/more exotic sounding,

原I think this name is super pretty but it's just too plain. I want to find a name that has a similar feel but not as plain and boring.

原Leah Lawson is 2016 Miss South Carolina. She was also in the top 15 at the Miss USA 2016 pageant.

原Pretty, but plain. Along with Isabella, Audrey, Katherine, Emily, the list could go on and on. It is still a great name, but due to the popularity I prefer something like Leanna or Lena with Leah as a diminutive.

原I like it. Simple and pretty.

原My name is Leah. It means cow in Hebrew, and in another language but it means 'meadow.' My dad teases me about the meaning of my name, saying, "In one language, it means cow, and in another, it means cow food." It's annoying, but it's better than say, banana...When I was in Grade 7, people would call me Leia (like in Star Wars) and it annoyed me to no end...

原I think pp meant Hael, who in folklore is an angel that inspires beauty, art and kindness.

原Leah spelled backward is Heal which makes me like the name even more.

原I really like this Old Testament name pronounced Lee-uh.

原Shimmer and Shine is a cute cartoon with a character named Leah. Leah's best friends are genies and she also has a pal named Zach.

原I think it's a lovely name for a strong girl or woman, but I also hate hearing it so often due to its popularity.

原Leah is a girl's name. I also don't really like the spelling "Leigh" as it seems too frilly. Lee would be good for females as well. At least no one is saying Lisa is a boy's name. Over 99.9 percent of Leahs are female. Don't spell it Leigha because Leigh is the feminine spelling. Seriously, how many boy's names end in -ah or a. GirlsAmanda, Jessica, Anna, Rosa, Lydia, Liana, Diana, Julia, Alexa, and many more.Boys-I cant think of sny.

原Leah is the name of the green eyed, blonde girl on Nick Jr.'s animated children's television series, Shimmer and Shine. The series premiered in August 2015 and is centered on Leah and her secret genies, Shimmer and Shine, who help her when problems arise.

原I've always pronounced it/ heard it pronounced "Lee," and found it kind of unremarkable and dull... nothing terribly against it other than that.

原Love this name! It's my cousin's name I call her LeeAnn, LeeLee, Lead, Leen, (so many nicknames, lol) I love her name and I love her lots! Her brother is named Jake which is more common but it's not that bad. I don't know many Leah's though. Lea Michelle is an actress. (like the Leah spelling).

原Beautiful, sweet name.

原Ugly name. Looks like diarrhea to me.

原Leah is such a cute name for a little girl. It's popular in Norway where I am from.

原My name is Leah and I am swedish. I love my name. It is unique and pretty.

原My name is Leah. (Pronounced lee-a) I am Welsh.The name is brilliant and I wouldn't change it for the world!

原Nice name hut not a fan of its meaning as it means 'sleep head' or 'sleepy one' something like that.Nice name but wouldn't use it because of that.

原My name is Leah. I didn't like it before but I've grown to love it now. I am English and the name is pronounced Lee-ah here but I prefer it as lay- ah. I love my name a lot and when I researched the meaning I got that it meant 'gift'. Though it has other meanings that doesn't matter because I choose to present myself as a gift to my family and society. So I love my name though it's simple, because being simple is the best, especially in the sight of Christ. I love my name and thank god for that.

原Leah is my name.. Yes, one of the meanings is "weary". But nobody has actually looked at why it means weary. If you know the Bible story of Leah and Jacob, there is a part at the end that says "she cried so much she made God weary with her tears". That is probably not an exact quote, but you get the drift. I like my name, growing up there were hardly any Leah's about, but now it is much more popular.

原Leah McFall is a Irish singer-songwriter, born (1 July 1989) in Newtownabbey, Ireland. She was a runner-up on the second series of the BBC talent show The Voice.

原Leah is a sweet and pretty name. =)

原I live in Southern California and have met 3 little girls named Leah. All 3 were intelligent, funny, cute and sweet. It's a great name.

原Beautiful name. Short and sweet.

原Biblical name: Hebrew origin, meaning "Gazelle" which is "beauty and grace", "also worthy cow" as in the biblical days cows were very valuable and treasured.

原Leah de Wavrin is a famous model with this name. Beautiful name. My little girl will be called Leah Rose.

原Beautiful name that works well on a little girl or mature adult. Reminds me of someone sweet, fun loving, and adorable. Yes, it means weary, but what successful person isn't weary? Leah is a hard worker who doesn't rest on her laurels.Also has great historical significance. In the bible, Jesus is the descendent of Leah's tribe.

原There is no masculine spelling of Leah. It's a feminine name. And anyways, 'Leigh' would be pronounced "LEE", not "LEE-a".

原My name is spelled a little differently, "Leigha" (the male spelling of Leah with an 'a' to make it feminine again)Same name, my mother was just disagreeing with my dad's chipper name choice. (I don't blame her! After 12 hours of labor she deserved the right to pick my name altogether!) :P.

原Wow, seeing all these comments, it never ever occurred to me to pronounce it LEE-ah. I've always said it Lay-uh. That's how I've always heard it pronounced. But yeah, I think Leah is such a pretty name but I don't like the pronunciation of it in "English" at all. (Since a lot of English and Americans pronounce it LAY-uh, too, I wouldn't exactly call it English.) I like how it can be shorted to Le' (pronounced like lei) in the way that the other pronunciation can't.

原I love this name! It's so pretty, and it ages well. I was pleasantly surprised by its popularity, I've only met one person named Leah in my life. It's an awesome name!

原Leah is the name of one of the four main characters in the bestselling novel "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. In the novel, Leah and her sisters move to the Congo during the 1950s for their father's work as a preacher. Leah ends up marrying a man from the Congo, and lives there for the rest of her life.Leah Messer is a reality television star who appeared first on "16 and Pregnant" and again on "Teen Mom 2." Leah had twin girls with her boyfriend Corey. She and Corey got married, then divorced, and most recently Leah, now 20, has gotten married again, this time to Jeremy Calvert.Another Leah from the same franchise is the young daughter of Amber Portwood, one of the stars of 'Teen Mom.'

原Leah Remini (b. 1970 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress.

原Simple, pretty girls name.

原I know a girl whose name is spelt this way, yet it is pronounced as lay-uh. Something to consider.

原My name is Leah (pronounced Lee-uh) and no one has ever pronounced it like Lay-uh. I like my name. I think it's simple, but not boring and pretty. My friends sometimes call me Princess Leia, but no one has ever said that to make fun of me. Also, I like the spelling Leah a lot better than Lea and Lia. (I never think of Leah as Lay-uh. Leia is Lay-uh and Leah, Lea, and Lia are Lee-uh.)

原This is very pretty, one of my favorites.

原I have a friend named Leah at school. She pronounces it as "LEE-uh," and I prefer that pronunciation. However, substitute teacher always pronounce it as either "Lay" or "Lee." I still don't get why, though. I always though the name was easy to pronounce.

原I know twins, a boy and a girl named Luke and Leah. It's really sad because their parents didn't even realize it until like 3 years later.

原This is my aunty's name and it's pronounced (lay-ah) sometimes I hear this name with other people but it's pronounced (lee-ah) haha. I like this name because it sounds mature and also can be used for a younger girl too.

原Leah is a cute name, very soft and sweet. I've never met one before.

原A friend of mine pronounces it LAYah not LEEah which I've never heard before.

原A new, up and coming, name in Israel is Leah/Liya spelt Lamed Yud Alef. It literally means, God is mine/God is for me.

原In addition to pronouncing like LEE-ah, many people also pronounce the name like LAY-ah, which is the traditional Hebrew pronunciation. (I know this because this is my sister's name, and we are Jewish.)

原Aww. I love the name Leah! It's just so sweet sounding! (:

原This is my Hebrew name, and it is pronounced Lay-uh. I actually attempted to go by this in high school (although, spelling it Leyah), but it didn't catch on. I really like this name and it's on my consideration list for a daughter, or possibly her Hebrew name.

原My name is Leah and I've somehow picked up the nickname Elle. I love my name now. My not so nice nicknames growing up: Leah-peah-diarrhea, Leahtard, Heuh-Leah (I matured late.)

原My mom named me Leah then went on to name my younger much more beautiful sister (although she is the one with bad eyes) Rachel. Talk about depressing. I still love it.

原I really have come to love this name. I do like the spelling Leah, and I even like Lia, but my favorite spelling is Leigha. That's probably because my middle name is Leigh. I just think the spelling "Leigha" is so much prettier and classier than "Leah" or "Lia". Maybe because they look too short to me. I like longer names so I guess that's why Leigha just appeals to me more. I like both pronunciations of Lee-ah (or Lee-uh) and Lay-ah (or Lay-uh). But I would use the pronunciation Lee-ah. And about the meanings: I've heard it means "cow" or "weary" but if you use the spelling Leigha it's more like Leigh which means "meadow". I've found one meaning, "Light of the Sun" in Irish Gaelic.

原Leah Reminihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leah_Remini#Personal_life

原I love the name Leah, it's really sweet, pretty and an overall classy name. I love the way it's spelt and how it sounds. I could never get tired of this name, I love that it's biblical and everything about it.

原Response to post on 6/19/09: I'm also jewish. Either pronunciation is correct. It's just a matter of whether someone prefers the Hebrew pronunciation or the English pronunciation. Below are some well-known jews named Leah, all of whom pronounce their names "Lee-uh". Leah Kauffman - singer/songwriter, wrote and sang several popular viral videos, including "I Got a Crush on Obama", which has nearly 26 million views on YouTube. Leah Siegel - singer/songwriter with band Firehorse, daughter of NPR broadcaster Robert Siegel. Leah Remini - actress, leading role on CBS sitcom "The King of Queens". Her mother is jewish of Austrian origin.Leah LaBelle - R&B singer and recording artist, 12th place finalist on Season 3 of American Idol. Her parents are Bulgarian jews.

原My wife and I are Jewish and live in the U.S. We named our daughter Leah and we pronounce it "Lee-ah". We know of many other Jewish people that pronounce it "Lee-ah" as well. The traditional Hebrew pronunciation is similar to "Lay-ah", whereas the English pronunciation is more commonly "Lee-ah". Both pronunciations are perfectly acceptable. My wife and I personally preferred the pronunciation of "Lee-ah", especially since Leah is our daughter's first name, not her Hebrew name. Also, we asked an important Orthodox Rabbi about how we should spell the name, we told him we are pronouncing it "Lee-ah" and we were debating whether to spell it "Leah" or "Lea". He said it's very good to spell it "Leah" because the letter H in the Hebrew alphabet ("Hei") represents God.

原This is extremely frustrating to me, as a Jew, because I have always been taught that the pronunciation is Lay-ah. Also, the Hebrew on this very site is pronounced that way. To me, pronouncing it as Lee-ah is disrespectful to Jews and a blatant disregard for the Hebrew language. Personally, I am insulted. I am sorry if I hurt anyone with this comment I just needed to say these things.

原Leah is a very sweet name.

原I think this is a very cute name for a little girl, a good normal name for a teen, and a sophisticated name for an elderly lady. You can't go wrong when you name your little girl Leah!

原I have always felt a close personal connection to the biblical Leah. I am less attractive than my sister, so I can understand what she must have felt like. I am happy that God had compassion for her and blessed her with many children, as well as allowing her to be an ancestor of Christ. No matter how you pronounce it or what it means, Leah is a graceful and lovely name.

原In the Bible, Leah was the first wife of Jacob, and the older sister of Rachel. When God saw that Jacob did not love her as much as Rachel, he blessed Leah by giving her many children. Through her son Judah, she is one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. It is thought that Jacob eventually grew to love and respect Leah, and the two were buried in the same tomb together.

原Leah Miller, host of So You Think You Can Dance Canada? and a host of MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand. She pronounces it LAY-uh.

原LEAH was the first wife of JACOB. I see the plot of a Twilight fanfic being developed, here!

原To that anonymous user up there that mentioned Jon and Kate plus 8: That little girl is not Asian, pal. She's American. And, no, the dad isn't Asian, either. He was born and raised in America and is half European American anyway.

原I love the name Leah (Lee-ah). If I ever have a little girl, that is what I will call her. Also, my favorite TV show is Jon and Kate plus 8, and they have a cute little Asian daughter named Leah.

原Leah Isadora Behn (born April 8, 2005) is the second daughter of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and husband Ari Behn. She was born at the princess's summer residence Bloksbjerg at Hankø island, in the municipality of Fredrikstad.Leah Isadora is the 6th in succession to the Norwegian throne, after her sister Maud Angelica. Leah Isadora is a grandchild of King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway.

原The Hebrew pronunciation of this name is LAY-uh.

原I love the name Leah, but I often use a respelling, adding in a silent y. Lyeah is a beautiful spelling to me, along with the original Leah.

原Leah Larson is the creator of Yaldah, a magazine for Jewish girls, by Jewish girls!

原I really like this name. I live in Holland and here people pronounce it LAY-ah which I like better than LEE-ah. I don't mind that it apparently means cow 'cause I love cows. They're really sweet animals and why anyone thinks it's a bad meaning is beyond me.

原The pronunciation LAY-uh is not at all derived from Star Wars! LAY-uh is the original Hebrew pronunciation, it is older then LEE-uh which is the Anglicized pronunciation. Leia is just a different spelling of Leah, with no etymological background I don't think.

原Leah is pronounced the way it is written: Lee-ah. Of course I'm sure some people prefer it pronounced Lay-ah (most likely derived from Star Wars' Leia) but generally speaking, it's not.I love this name, it's the name of my youngest cousin and she really suits it. I think it's a good name because it can suit a girly girl or a tomboy (I know one of each with this name).

原Leah Dizon is a model/singer/actress/TV personality in Japan; she is of mixed Chinese, Filipino, & French. She was born in Nevada, USA.

原My given name is LEAH, pronounced "LEE-ah" - emphasis on the first syllable. I was named for Princess Leia of "Star Wars" fame - my father thought it was short, feminine, sweet, & simple. I did not like my name as a child, but have grown to love it for it's simplicity and mature sound.

原I love the name Leah. It is so beatiful. I would have loved to be named Leah. I think this name is beautiful no matter what it means. This name is in the Bible.

原Leah Clearwater is a female werewolf in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

原I really like this name, but prefer the spelling Lia.

原Leah is my name, pronounced Lee-uh, and I've always had a love/hate relationship with it. I've only ever met a handful of people that actually pronounce it right and the Star Wars jokes got old at about age 5. By the time I got to high school I stopped correcting people and still don't so most people think my name is Lee or Laya(Leia). But all in all, I do like my name and I think it is sweet and unique. On an interesting side note, I take Spanish and whenever the teacher tells our class to read something, I think she is calling on me, lol. Also, I too look up whenever I hear some shout "Yeah!"

原Pronounced Lay-a.

原Leah Farash Karp is a real estate agent and is included in the new book In Their Shoes by Deborah Reber.

原My name is Leah (Le-uh) and I adore it! It is a beautifull traditonal Jewish name and is always so sweet sounding! I however hate it when people pronounce it Lay-ah, in high school everyone started confusing my name with Lay-ah and bugged me sooo much! Lay-ah is not Jewish and will always make people think of the princess from "Star Wars". If you name your daughter Leah it is likely she will be blessed with fantastic comments about her name throughout her life!

原Leah is one of the cute little Asian girls on Jon and Kate Plus 8.

原I have to say I LOVE this name. Both of them LEE-ah and LAY-ah, I think I prefer LAY-ah though. I might spell it "Layah" but I don't know.

原Interestingly, in the Bible, Leah was the mother of Judah, who is an ancestor of Jesus. And if you read Genesis carefully, you'll find that Jacob held Leah in very high regard. I've read also that Leah from Genesis was not ugly (which one automatically assumes when reading that Jacob loved Rachel because she was beautiful) - the Hebrew apparently can be interpreted to mean that Leah just had weak eyes.

原And to many of you above - I agree - Leah is a remarkable unique name (although it's gained popularity over the last two decades)! When I was little, I longed to have the name Jessica or Nicole or Kristin instead of Leah, but now I love it and am proud to have this name.

原I was told that the true Hebrew pronunciation of this name was not "LAY-ah", but instead "lay-AHH", with the emphasis on the latter syllable.

原The name itself is awesome (though sometimes it makes me think of Princess Leia), but the meaning 'weary' ruins it all. If it could just have a different meaning!

原I really think Leah is a name that is common. I don`t like common names. I only like rare and uncommon names. If I had to choose any short form of Leah it would be Lia.

原Leah is a beautiful name. I really like it. If I was about to get a dog or cat I would name her Leah. If it was a boy dog/cat I would name him Lee.

原My friend's daughter was named Leah and I was thoroughly impressed by her good taste. Then I discovered that she spelled it Leigha and I felt completely disappointed in her. This cutesy spelling ruins a beautiful, classic name.

原My name is Leah, pronounced lee-ah and I like it now. I often get compliments on it. As a kid however I was called names like Leahtard and Leah pee-a diarea. I hated it and wished I had a pretty, fancier name.

原Someone mentioned that the meaning of Leah includes "little eyes" but there is some debate over what "little eyes" actually means. Some theologists and linguists say that it could very possibly mean that she had weak eyes, not small. Weak eyes meaning she was perhaps blind or did not have perfect sight. I believe most versions of the Bible do not use the actual term "little eyes."

原I love the name Leah. It's my name and I think it is beautiful. I hate it when people pronounce it Lay-ah. I've never met anyone with the name Leah that pronouced it that way. I have always heard it pronounced Lee-ah.

原Leah is one of my favorite names. However, I prefer the spelling "Leigha". For everyone who says the pronunciation is 'lay-ah', wouldn't it make more sense to spell it "Leia" (yes, like the princess on Star Wars) instead?

原My name is Leah (Lee-ah). I come from a clergy family so I was named after Leah from the book of Genesis. I too have gone through a love/hate relationship with the name. Now that I am older, I love it again. Leah is one of those names that sounds like you are singing it and not speaking it. Only certain situations when someone shouts, "Yeah," it can sound similar to Leah, that is a bit frustrating. But really, think how lucky we are. We are never going to have the same situations as people named Katie, or Jenny, or Becky. More often than not you will be the only Leah in a crowd, and to me that is pretty amazing with the poplulation crisis. It is different enough that people remember who you are, yet "normal" enough that it isn't completely mangled when pronounce. How lucky we are! To be named Leah.

原I like this name. I think it is very pretty. This is one of my friend's name and is also my aunt's name. I don't like any alternative spelling. I like this spelling the best!

原I personally consider Leah to be a terrible name; it always makes me think of an incredibly bland, dull, dumb person.

原I heard somewhere that this name means "to weep", but I'm not sure whether that is true or not. I've never heard it anywhere else.