tralita

I've had a little trouble with that one myself, but settled on "tra-lie-tah", with accent on "lie". Not sure if it's right or not.

Also wondering what in the heck it means, lol!

Just looked it up and Trahlyta was the name of a woman in a Cherokee legend who lived in the North Georgia Mountains.

Vickie

I've been pronouncing it Trah lee tah.
Remy

It's Trah - lie - tah. The story behind the daylily and the pronunciation used to be on the Internet somewhere. The daylily was named after the woman on the Cherokee legend.

Debra

It's pronounced Tra-lie-ta...Ellie

Thanks, all! I would've guessed Tra-lee-ta, but it seems the general consensus is Tra-lie-ta. Interesting legend!

I don't know the answer for sure. If the day lily is named for the Indian Princess, try taking a look at the link below. If you type in Trahlyta, it returns a Phonetic Romanization "Tiwalita". Another interesting site is http://www.native-languages.org/cherokee_guide.htm. It mentions that in Cherokee, "R" is pronounced as "L". I grew up in North Georgia and we have lots of places with Cherokee names. I was racking my brain trying to think of one with a typical "R" sound or a "TR" sound and couldn't think of one so "Tiwalita" made sense to me.

It's 97 here at 3:45PM, with heat index of 101 and expected to go to 99 / 106. Too hot to be outside gardening. (Heck, it was too hot at 8AM this morning!). I prefer the outdoors but to survive, we have to stay inside in the air conditioning :~).

I enjoyed looking for an answer to your question.

Here is a link that might be useful: Your name in Cherokee

Well, I thought if anyone knew for sure it would be a Georgian - but I guess we'll have to hear from a Cherokee! I assumed "Trahlyta" was a phonetic spelling of the Cherokee name, and if you check that box on the "Your name in Cherokee" link, the Phonetic Romanization comes back "Trahlyta".

Now I get this reply from the Georgia gardening forum:

The Park Rangers in Vogel State Park pronounce it Tra-Lee-ta. The Trahlyta lake and waterfalls are in their park. The water falls is very pretty. Hope this helps.

frankielynn

"You say Tra-lee-ta, I say Tra-lie-ta..."

Very interesting. I would think those park rangers would have the correct pronunciation. Thanks for doing all the research.

Debra

That's one that I'm going to have to put in my database because I will not remember that it is pronounced that way! But I am so happy that Sue found out from a reliable source. Thanks!

Vickie

Oh for goodness sake. I've just spent ten minutes typing in the names of all my family and neighbors--and pets. My dog's name in Woniwini.

Wetaliwatisi

The emphasis is on the first syllable/Trah/lee/ta. The name takes a beating in pronunciation here in the south, but is beautifully enunciated by Europeans! I actually met another woman with my name; she was a Brazilian living in Cannes, in the South of France! Her mother had given her the name, as mine did, after hearing the legend of the American Indian, Trahlyta, who lived near Dahlonega,Ga.

That's so cool. Thanks Trahlyta for posting. I have always said Trah Lie Ta but I can see the Lee instead of the Lie. I am going to have trouble with putting the emphasis on the Trah part though instead of the Lee! Knowing it is a name though I will really try!
Debbie