[kay-zhuh]

Khaysia.

To me it is a very simple name - a nice combination of our names, Kamal and Tasha. A silent tribute to our love of asian cuisine.

When Kamal thought of it - I instantly fell in love with its elegance and told him that I would choose the spelling (and it would contain a "Y").

Now, I realize to eleviate some confusion I could have simply spelt it: KASIA. But when I studied and wrote it out, I found myself wondering, "Where is the pizzazz - the little something special that makes it unique?"

I even did a small informal usablity study testing the readiblity (yes i am a Microsoft nerd)-so I can not pretend like I did not know what I was creating for her -- she will constantly be educating people to the correct pronunciation of her name.

But alas, I am a designer. And for me, sometimes athestics must win over usablity or functionalty. Having had a very easy-to-pronounce name before marriage -- I have become accustom to correcting, double checking and spelling my last name. (Even borrowing Kamal's handy saying: "Lutfi - 'loot' like money and 'fee' like you pay"). So by bestowing my daughter with a 'unique' name, essentially I am saying: "Welcome to the family!"

I am amazed at the various pronunciations people have created: Key-shuh, Ky-ee-shuh, Kah-shuh, Kay-shuh (like gey-shuh - this one bothers me the most because people think they are saying it correctly)

Its simple, really: Khaysia [kay-zhuh].

When she is in school her introduction to the class will always entail: "My name is Khaysia: 'asia' with a 'K' in front, Lutfi: 'loot' like money and 'fee' like you pay."

But it builds character, right?