Name of the Week: Isla

Origin:

Isla is a modern Scottish name taken directly from Scottish geography.  Though there are a few small rivers named Isla in Scotland (one in Moray and in Perthshire), the name most likely arose as a variant spelling of Islay – the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides. It is worth noting that both the rivers Isla and the island Islay were named Ìle in Gaelic (EE-leh) and both are pronounced the same in modern Scotland: Ī-lə (rhyming with tyler). The Isle of Islay is known as "The Queen of the Hebrides" thanks to its beautiful landscape and is famous for a single malt whisky produced there.  The meaning of the island's name is unknown and much debated. Older forms of the name include Ili, Yle, Ila, Yla and Ilay. The 's' became more common in the 19th century as an anglicised form, perhaps to make it similar to the English word island which is similarly pronounced.  A.D. Mills in The Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names attributes a possible meaning of 'swelling island' though admits that the actual meaning is likely pre-Celtic. This was probably influenced by W.J. Watson's The Celtic Placenames of Scotland (1926) in which he wrote: "The name [Ile], anglicised as Islay, occurs often in Irish records and literature, usually as Ile, sometimes Ila; the modern Gaelic form is Ìle, which would represent an old Iliä. If the name is Celtic it might be compared to the Gaulish Ilio-marus, a man's name, in which Ilio- may be some part of the body, like Latin ilium, ilia, the flanks of a man or animal: Ilio-maros would thus mean 'big-flanked' or 'big-buttocked.' The Welsh verb ilio, 'ferment,' may be compared: the route notion is 'swell'. The perculiar shape of the island lends itself to such an origin for its name; compare the Irish Aru, the Isla of Aran, from aru, gen. árann, 'a kidney'." The "swelling" idea certainly would explain the rivers named Isla, but, for the Isle of Islay, a Celtic route ignores a glaring point: the -ay (-a) ending of Islay is one that is shared by the vast majority of Scottish islands. In the Inner Hebrides alone, the islands Canna, Colonsay, Eriska, Gigha, Gometra, Jura, Kerrera, Lunga, Oronsay, Raasay, Rona, Sanday, Scalpay, Shuna, Soay and Ulva all share this same suffix which comes from the Norse -ey/-øy "island". Islay then probably represents _(Il)_+ey. The most convincing theory is that the first element represents the Norse name Yula – therefore "Yula's island." Though it isn't certain what Yula's origins are, it most likely comes from the Old Norse jól "Yule", the Norse mid-winter festival.  Folk-lore on Islay itself actually specifies this Yula. In some versions, she is a Danish princess, in others, she is a Norse goddess, but either way, the story goes that Yula left Denmark in search of her lost love with an apron full of stones. As she travelled, the stones fell out one by one, forming the Hebridean islands. When she died, she was buried on the Isle of Islay which was named for her.  This, of course, is wonderfully fanciful, but often folklore derives from a kernel of truth. Perhaps there was a Danish woman who inspired the story who was named after the island, or the story arose as a way to explain the island's name.  As a given name, Isla may also have been influenced by the name Ailsa (also the name of a Scottish island) which was also pronounced Ī-lə in Scotland. See more information here.

Usage:

Like other Scottish island-names such as Ailsa and Iona, Isla's use as a given name dates from the 19th century. Both Isla and Islay were used as spellings, and it was originally a unisex name, though always more common for girls. On the 1891 UK census, for example, 7 males were named Isla and 14 Islay; for women, 37 were named Isla and 7 Islay.  Queen Victoria named one of her dogs – a Skye terrier – Islay. In her diary, on 13th March 1839, she wrote: "I am charmed with my new little dog, whom I have called Islay. He is so gentle, so good-natured and friendly and so funny, for he begs delightfully."* He was, apparently, the Queen's favourite pet, and even has his own talking statue outside the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Australia. [Interestingly, in the recent ITV series Victoria, Islay is erroneously referred to as "her"] Birth records from both Scotland and England & Wales show how the name was uncommon in the 19th century but gradually grew in usage by the turn-of-the 20th century.        Scotland   England & Wales   Isla  Islay Isla Islay 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 0 births 1 birth 0 births 1 birth 0 births 2 births 6 births 17 births 39 births 43 births 80 births 101 births 153 births 0 births 2 births 4 births 3 births 2 births 7 births 9 births 3 births 8 births 16 births 9 births 15 births 10 births 0 births 0 births 2 births 2 births 9 births 18 births 30 births 58 births 62 births 50 births 61 births 37 births 84 births 1 birth 0 births 2 birth 1 births 3 births 8 births 9 births 6 births 15 births 9 births 7 births 12 births 11 births Leslie Dunkling's sample for girls named Isla in every 10,000 births  in England and Wales shows that the name spiked in the 1960s, the late 70s, and then increased in popularity in the early 1990s  1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990   -   -   -    -    -    1    -   -   1    2   -   4 Some of the name's increased use in the 1970s could possibly be attributed to actresses Isla Blair and Isla Cameron and singer and TV presenter Isla St Clair. St Clair became a household name in 1978 when she became co-host of the BBC's The Generation Game. She was co-host until 1982, and during this time, appeared on prime-time TV shows such as Morecambe and Wise, The Royal Variety Show, Parkinson and Blue Peter, so this would certainly explain the spike in 1980.  In Scotland, Isla ranked consistently between #120-#230 (18 to 45 births) every year from 1974 to 1995.  It broke into the top 100 in 1996, when it shot up from #138 (34 births) in 1995, to #95 (59 births). Some of this may have been thanks to actress Isla Fisher starring in Australian soap Home and Away from 1994-1997, which was popular viewing in Britain at the time.  Isla rapidly moved up the Scottish top 100 from that point, reaching #25 in 2005 and #5 in 2010. It has been in the Scottish top 10 ever since.  In England and Wales, Isla was later to pick up popularity, but once it did it also rose rapidly. From 1996 to 2002, the rank was quite consistent, having no more than 150 birth registrations per year. In 2003, its steep rise started when it jumped to #200 (233 births) and was #125 (432 births) two years later in 2005.  It broke into the top 100 at #93 in 2006, was #30 in 2009 and #5 in 2013. It has been in the top 5 ever since.  Isla ranked #4 (391 births) in Scotland in 2016, and #4 in England and Wales (3474 births) in 2015.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Isla Cameron (c. 1930–1980), Scottish actress and singer. * Isla Blair (born 1944), British actress. * Isla St Clair (born 1952), Scottish actress and singer * Isla Fisher (born 1976), Australian actress. * Isla Traquair (born 1980), Scottish broadcast journalist. * Isla Phillips (born 2012), great-granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. Literature and Other Media: * Isla Forsythe, character on soap Emmerdale from 2005-2006.  * Isla and the Happily Ever After (2014), novel by Stephanie Perkins. * Princess Isla, character from Across a Star Swept Sea (2013) by Diana Peterfreund. * Isla the Ice Star Fairy, character in Rainbow Magic book of the same name (2011) by Daisy Meadows.

Variants:

Islay, Iyla

Pronunciation:

Ī-lə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Ily

Sibling Names:

Sofia     Ava     Ruby     Freya    Esme     Olivia   Noah     Max     Oliver     Leo     Teddy     Finlay

Name Lists:

Short and Sweet   Cosy Celtic   River Names

 

If you like Isla you may also like:   Orla, Maya, Layla, Ivy, Skye, Iona, Aria, Eilidh, Violet, Ella

Thanks to Danielle for requesting this name.