# How is the name Ilan pronounced? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021 "2008-09-24T17:31:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnsonlnl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@johnsonlnl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnsonlnl)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/1 "2008-09-24T17:31:43Z")
I have a meeting coming up with a person of Jewish descent whose name is Ilan. We’ve only communicated via email to this point. I’m not 100% sure how to pronounce his name. Anyone have a certain answer on this? I would lean toward ‘ee un’, but I’d hate to look like an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/2 "2008-09-24T17:34:01Z")
Stupid post deleted. Edit to ask: why would the [L] be silent? What language does he / she speak? (Hebrew, English, Yiddish?) What’s the last name (which would help with a fraction of the ancestral ethnicity that might have supplied the name)? ---
**Author:** ![Dreamy\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dreamy\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreamy_B)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/3 "2008-09-24T17:46:08Z")
This guy pronounces his name e-lon. [http://video.bravotv.com/player/?id=37593](http://video.bravotv.com/player/?id=37593) Of course, you could always just ask him, I’m sure you wouldn’t be the first person to do so ---
**Author:** ![johnsonlnl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@johnsonlnl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnsonlnl)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/4 "2008-09-24T18:32:32Z")
He speaks English. The nature of our meeting (job interview) and the level and type of job I’m seeking would dictate that I should just ‘know’ how to pronounce his name. If nothing else, I can resort to the old shake his hand and say my name first… ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/5 "2008-09-24T19:12:03Z")
I used to work with an Ilan, he was born in Israel and spoke Hebrew as his first language, English as a second language. He pronounced it in a way that sounded to my ears like “EE-lahn”, as did all our co-workers and I. He never corrected anyone’s pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/6 "2008-09-24T19:12:50Z")
Ilan is a common name in the Hebrew language. It’s pronounced “ee-lahn”. It rhymes (almost 🙂 ) with the english words “sea lion” or “bee line” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/7 "2008-09-24T19:18:26Z")
> [@johnsonlnl](#): > > He speaks English. The nature of our meeting (job interview) and the level and type of job I’m seeking would dictate that I should just ‘know’ how to pronounce his name. > > If nothing else, I can resort to the old shake his hand and say my name first… Or the respectful “Mr. —” followed by his “Please, call me Ilan.” ---
**Author:** ![johnsonlnl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@johnsonlnl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnsonlnl)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/8 "2008-09-24T19:21:30Z")
Thanks for the help! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/9 "2008-09-25T02:30:15Z")
Like pretty much all modern Israeli names\*, Ilan (which I would pronounce as ee-LAHN; the accent in Hebrew is almost always on the last syllable) is nature based name, btw. It means “tree”. I picked the feminine version, Ilana, for my Hebrew name. \*I’ve read that Israelis’ names makes them sound like American Indians in old Westerns, which cracked me up when I realized how accurate it was. A perfectly ordinary name in Israel would be something like “Zev Ben-Dov” which means “Wolf Son of Bear”. Common girl names are Yael (fawn), Aviva (spring), Keren (ray of light), Tamar (date), Shaked (almond), etc. and so on. Hell, take the silliest sounding hippie name in English, translate it into Hebrew, and it’s perfectly reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Armageddon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Mister\_Armageddon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Armageddon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-name-ilan-pronounced/465021/10 "2008-09-25T04:41:41Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > \*I’ve read that Israelis’ names makes them sound like American Indians in old Westerns, which cracked me up when I realized how accurate it was. A perfectly ordinary name in Israel would be something like “Zev Ben-Dov” which means “Wolf Son of Bear”. Common girl names are Yael (fawn), Aviva (spring), Keren (ray of light), Tamar (date), Shaked (almond), etc. and so on. Hell, take the silliest sounding hippie name in English, translate it into Hebrew, and it’s perfectly reasonable. That explains Wolf Blitzer, I guess.