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[Facts] Pronunciation question...
Would/could you pronounce "-leigh" (or the ending "-eigh" in general) (as in Caileigh, Kimberleigh, Leighton, or even Sidneigh) as "EE" or "AY"? Does it depend on the name, or is it set in stone as either "EE" or "AY"? What about the actual name "Leigh"? Could I pronounce that as "LEE" or "LAY"? And would "Leigh" be acceptable as a unisex name, or strictly a male name?BTW, I prefer Caileigh as "KAY-lee", Kimberleigh as "KIM-bər-lay", Leighton as "LAY-tən", Leigh as both "LEE" and "LAY", depending on the gender, and Sidneigh as "SID-nee"

This message was edited 5/5/2012, 1:17 PM

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In my experience living in the U.S., Leigh as a given name is always "Lee." I have never come across the idea that Leigh can be "lee" or "lay" depending on gender. Virtually all of the time, when people use -leigh as an alternative spelling in names, it is intended as just a fancier version of -lee or -ly. So, for instance, I would expect Kimberleigh and Ashleigh to be identical in pronunciation to Kimberly and Ashley. In Great Britain Leigh may sometimes be pronounced Lay (and the place name/surname Leighton is LAY-tun). Here is an earlier thread about this subject: http://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/667455 .
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It's worth noting though that the 'LAY' pronunciation for Leigh is extremely rare in the UK, and it would never be found at the end of Ashleigh, Kayleigh etc. They're definitely -lee names.
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