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HelpRe: Help me like Alice, please.
in reply to a message by erb816
As a Brit I have to sadly inform you that because of Alicia Keys, everybody I've ever heard speak the name says "a-lee-sha".
The one sole exception is the young witch Alicia from Moomins (1990) which was dubbed in Britain. That- that's it. That's the only time I've ever heard a-lee-see-a.
Alicia isn't actually a common name in my experience. Maybe it is in other parts of the UK, but not where I'm from. Perhaps if I met somebody who is older named Alicia, it would be "a-lee-see-a" but I have not
(Personally I prefer a-lee-see-a and I'm not keen on a-lee-sha at all)
Alice, on the other hand, I have experienced many of and each has been an entirely different personality. I can't even stereotype the name
The one sole exception is the young witch Alicia from Moomins (1990) which was dubbed in Britain. That- that's it. That's the only time I've ever heard a-lee-see-a.
Alicia isn't actually a common name in my experience. Maybe it is in other parts of the UK, but not where I'm from. Perhaps if I met somebody who is older named Alicia, it would be "a-lee-see-a" but I have not
(Personally I prefer a-lee-see-a and I'm not keen on a-lee-sha at all)
Alice, on the other hand, I have experienced many of and each has been an entirely different personality. I can't even stereotype the name
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Replies
This is genuinely surprising! I first heard the a-lee-see-a pronunciation in the pilot episode of Rosemary & Thyme (shot in the early 2000s), so I thought that was how Alicia was pronounced there. Though if it was an affectation, that would've admittedly fit the character.
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I'm convinced the switch was Alicia Keys.
I'm 26 and was born in 1994. According to Wikipedia, Keys' career started the very same year.
I can't tell you how popular Alicia was before then as the database only goes back to 1996, but according to the England and Wales chart, it ranked #98 in 1996 and has dropped to #231 since then with the sharpest decline occurring from 2005.
In 2001 Keys released her first album that hit the UK Album charts at #6 and the R&B charts at #1. Her second album in 2003 also hit the R&B charts at #1, but the Album charts at #13 (which is still significant). The rest of her albums follow similar trends, almost consistently hitting the #1 spot in R&B and her 4th album #1 on the Album charts.
My point is Alicia Keys is a VERY POPULAR ARTIST in the UK.
My guess for the decline of the Alicia-name popularity was due to Keys as she is literally the only association for many people, if not the most prominent figure in pop culture with the name. I love Ariana, I got it from Harry Potter, but I can't stop associating it with Ariana Grande despite not knowing her music or knowing what she's like as a pop figure. I don't want people to make the assumption that I named my baby after her because I don't know who she is.
So basically kids growing up around this timeframe, including myself, would read "Alicia" and hear "Alicia Keys" and not "a-lee-see-a" and it's just become one of those modern celebrity names.
Suppose you could compare Britney (Spears) which also seems to follow a similar pattern of dropping in use after Spears' career made it into a "celebrity name". (ranked #148 in 1999 and fell completely off the chart by 2003, but admittedly the England and Wales charts don't go further than top 500, but that's still a significant change)
I'm 26 and was born in 1994. According to Wikipedia, Keys' career started the very same year.
I can't tell you how popular Alicia was before then as the database only goes back to 1996, but according to the England and Wales chart, it ranked #98 in 1996 and has dropped to #231 since then with the sharpest decline occurring from 2005.
In 2001 Keys released her first album that hit the UK Album charts at #6 and the R&B charts at #1. Her second album in 2003 also hit the R&B charts at #1, but the Album charts at #13 (which is still significant). The rest of her albums follow similar trends, almost consistently hitting the #1 spot in R&B and her 4th album #1 on the Album charts.
My point is Alicia Keys is a VERY POPULAR ARTIST in the UK.
My guess for the decline of the Alicia-name popularity was due to Keys as she is literally the only association for many people, if not the most prominent figure in pop culture with the name. I love Ariana, I got it from Harry Potter, but I can't stop associating it with Ariana Grande despite not knowing her music or knowing what she's like as a pop figure. I don't want people to make the assumption that I named my baby after her because I don't know who she is.
So basically kids growing up around this timeframe, including myself, would read "Alicia" and hear "Alicia Keys" and not "a-lee-see-a" and it's just become one of those modern celebrity names.
Suppose you could compare Britney (Spears) which also seems to follow a similar pattern of dropping in use after Spears' career made it into a "celebrity name". (ranked #148 in 1999 and fell completely off the chart by 2003, but admittedly the England and Wales charts don't go further than top 500, but that's still a significant change)
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