Information & Speculation About The Names "Zaila Avant-garde", The Name Of The First African American Winner Of The Scripps National Spelling Bee

Today, July 9, 2021

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Zaila Avant-garde wins Scripps National Spelling Bee

Guardian News, July 9, 2021

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Notice that the name "Zaila" is pronounced zai-EE-lah (or zah-EE-lah) in these video clips.  

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a Today show clip of fourteen year old Zaila Avant-garde, the first African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, July 8, 2021.

The focus of this post is information and speculation about the sources or inspirations for this fourteen year old's name "Zaila" and "Avant-garde".

The content of this post is presented for cultural and onomastic, purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Congratulations to Zaila Avant-garde for her historic achievement. Thanks also to all the finalists in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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DISCLAIMER
I am not an expert in the study of names. The information presented in this post is gleaned from various online articles. That information may not be accurate or may not be totally accurate.

While some online articles provide information about the name "Avant-garde" for this Scripps National Spelling Bee winner, I've found no information about how or why Zaila Avant-garde was given the name "Zaila" or what she was told that name means.  This post includes my guesses about one or more names that may have inspired the name "Zaila" and the particular pronounciation of that name that this spelling bee winner uses.

This pancocojams post also includes my speculation about whether "Avant-garde" is actually Zaila Avant-garde's  official surname. 
 
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THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME "ZAILA"
My guess is that the name "Zaila" is a contemporary (1960s on) African American originating female name that is inspired by the spelling (but not necessarily the pronounciation) of one or both of the female names "Laila", "Jaila", and/or "Jalilah". The name "Zaila" has no fixed meaning. 

Here's information about the name  LAILA from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_(name)
"Leila (Persian: لیلا‎, Arabic: ليلى‎, Hebrew: לילה‎) is a feminine given name in the Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew) and Persian languages.

Etymologically the word comes from proto-semitic layl-, which gives לֵילְיָא (lēləyā) in Aramaic, לילה (layla) in Hebrew, لَيْل (layl) or لَيْلَة (layla) in Arabic, and ܠܹܠܝܵܐ (lēlyā) in Syriac.

In Hebrew and Arabic the word Leila or Laila means "night", "dark"[1] and the name is often given to girls born during the night, signifying "daughter of the night".[2]

In Judaism, the identification of the word "night" as the name of an angel originates with the interpretation of "Rabbi Yochanan" (possibly Yochanan ben Zakkai, c. 30–90 AD) who read "At night [Abraham] and his servants deployed against them and defeated them" (Genesis 14:15, JPS) as "by [an angel called] night" (Sanhedrin 96a).

The story of Qays and Layla or Layla and Majnun is based on the romantic poems of Qais Ibn Al-Mulawwah (Arabic: قيس بن الملوح‎) in 7th century Arabia, who was nicknamed Majnoon Layla (مجنون ليلى), Arabic for "madly in love with Layla", referring to his cousin Layla Al-Amiriah (ليلى العامرية).[3] His poems are considered the paragon of unrequited chaste love. They later became a popular romance in medieval Iran,[4] and use of the name spread accordingly. The name gained popularity further afield in the Muslim world, amongst Turkic peoples and in the Balkans and India. Variant spellings include Laela, Laelah, Laila, Layla, Leïla, Leighla, Lejla and Leyla.

In the Nordic countries, Laila or Lajla (pronounced lie-lah)[needs IPA] is derived from the Sami name Láilá, the Sami variant of Helga which means "holy".[5]"...

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Here's information about the name JAILA  & JALILA (JALEELA)

Excerpt #1

From https://imuslim.name/6357-meaning-Jala-muslim-arabic-names.html
"The name Jala (Arabic writing : جالا) is a Muslim girls Names. The meaning of name Jala is " Bringing to light, shining "

[...] 

Similar Muslim Names :

Name    Arabic   Meaning

Jala         جالا         Bringing to light, shining

Jaleela  جليلة       Glorious, Magnificent

Jaleesah               جليسه     Companion

Jalila       جليلة       Great, exalted, magnificent

Jalilah    جليله       Splendid, lofty"

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.ebabynames.com/#!meaning-of-Jaila

"The meaning of Jaila is unknown.

Its origin is "Arabic; Variant of the English name Jayla".
Jaila is a form of Jayla and is generally pronounced like "JAY lah".

Recently this name is mostly being used as a girls name, but historically it's a unisex's name. Last year it ranked 3,299th in the U.S. Social Security Administration list of most popular baby girl names...

Jaila is a variant of Jayla, a Modern English creation which is a combination of the English names Jay and Kayla.

Jay, within the context of the English language, has traditionally been used as a nickname for any name beginning with J. Common names using Jay as a nickname include Jason and James. Its use as a full given name refers to various birds known as jays.

Kayla is a Modern English short form of Michaela, the feminized version of Michael.

Jaila is also used as an Arabic name. Its meaning is not known."

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HOW ZAILA  AVANT-GARDE PRONOUNCES HER FIRST NAME

Pancocojams Editor's Note:

The information about the pronounciation for the name "Zaila" is meant to refer to the way that Zaila Avant-gard's name is pronounced and is not necessarily the way that that name is usually pronounced.

The Today show video clip given above in this pancocojams post and other video clips about the July 8, 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee document that  Zaila Avant-gard pronounces the name "Zaila" this way: "zah-EE-lah" (or "zai-EE-lah", assuming that there is an additional letter "i" in that name).  The "za" (or "zai") is pronounced to rhyme with the English words "by", "my", "sky",  etc.).  

This is NOT necessarily how other people who may have that name would pronounce it.  Instead, it's likely that more African Americans (and other Americans) would pronounce the name "Zaila" to rhyme with the female names "Layla" and "Jayla" since it appears that those two female names are becoming increasingly popular in the United States, particularly among African Americans. i.e. "LAY" and "JAY" rhyming with the English word "day").  

Zaila Avant-gard's pronunciation of her first name "Zaila" seems to borrow most strongly from the Arabic name "Jalila" (jah-LEE-lah) than from the name "Jayla" or its contemporary adaptation "Jaila".

The Arabic female name "Zaira" may be another possible inspiration for the name "Zaila".
Here's information about the name "Zaira" from  https://quranicnames.com/zaira/
"Zaira

A Quranic Name for Girls

Zaira is an indirect Quranic name for girls that means “visitor”, “guest”. It is derived from the Z-W-R root which is used in the Quran in verse 102:2."

Coincidentally, Zaila Avant-gard's pronounciation of the name "Zaila" is quite pronounced very much like the name "Akeelah" which is the name of the lead character in the 2006 American movie about an African American girl participating in the Scripss National Spelling Bee.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akeelah_and_the_Bee
"Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer), an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother (Angela Bassett), her schoolmates, John Calloway and Virgina Wildman, and her coach, Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne). The cast also features Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael Afable, Erica Hubbard, Lee Thompson Young, Julito McCullum, Sahara Garey, Eddie Steeples, and Tzi Ma.

The film was developed over a period of 10 years by Atchison, who came up with the initial concept after seeing the 1994 Scripps National Spelling Bee and noting that a majority of the competitors came from well-off socioeconomic backgrounds. After completing the script in 1999, Atchison won one of the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting in 2000, which attracted producers Sid Ganis and Nancy Hult Ganis. After an initial inability to secure funding, the project got a second wind as a result of the success of the 2002 documentary film Spellbound. Lionsgate Films undertook the production in 2004 and in the following year it was filmed in South Los Angeles on a budget of over $6 million.

Atchison remarked that his theme for the film, deemed an inspirational film, was about overcoming obstacles despite difficult challenges along the way. "...
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The name "Akeelah" is a (probably African American originated) variant spelling for the Arabic female name "Akilah".
Here's information about the name "Akilah" from https://quranicnames.com/akilah/
"Akilah is variant of Aqeelah and has the exact same meaning and pronunciation (see below for full meaning). You can use either Akilah or Aqeelah, both are correct and acceptable. If you like this variant more and you'd like to pronounce it the way it is spelled (different than the original name), this is perfectly acceptable. For more details please see the main entry at: Aqeelah. https://quranicnames.com/aqeelah/

Full Meaning of Akilah

Akilah is an indirect Quranic name for girls that means “very wise”, “very discerning”, “sensible”, “reasonable”. It is derived from the AIN-Q-L root which is used in many places in the Quran."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPELLING BEE WINNER'S "AVANT-GARDE" NAME
Excerpt #1:
From https://news.yahoo.com/zaila-avant-garde-breezes-national-021044126.html "African American spelling bee champ makes history with flair" by Ben Nuckolss,  July 8, 2021
..."her [Zaila Avant-garde’s] dad gave her the last name Avant-garde in tribute to jazz musician John Coltrane."…
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Here's information about John Coltrane's album entitled "The Avant-Garde" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avant-Garde_(album)
"The Avant-Garde is an album credited to jazz musicians John Coltrane and Don Cherry that was released in 1966 by Atlantic Records. It features Coltrane playing several compositions by Ornette Coleman accompanied by the members of Coleman's quartet: Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell. The album was assembled from two unissued recording sessions at Atlantic Studios in New York City in 1960.

[…]

Released - 1966

Recorded - June 28, 1960; July 8, 1960

Studio - Atlantic Studios, New York City

Genre- Free jazz, avant-garde jazz"...

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Here's a definition for the term "Avant-garde" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde
"The avant-garde (/ˌævɒ̃ˈɡɑːrd/;[2] In French: [avɑ̃ɡaʁd][3] 'advance guard' or 'vanguard', literally 'fore-guard')[4] are people or works that are experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.[4][5][6] It is frequently characterized by aesthetic innovation and initial unacceptability.[7]"...

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IS "AVANT-GARDE" ZAILA'S ACTUAL SURNAME?
Here's an excerpt from https://starsoffline.com/zaila-avant-garde-wiki-parents-siblings-height-school/ "Zaila Avant-garde Wiki, parents, siblings"etc.
..."Zaila was born to her father “Jawara “Spacetime” Heard and her mother Alma Venice Heard in her hometown of Harvey, Louisiana in the United States. In honor of the jazz artist John Coltrane, her father had named her “Avant-garde"

[...]

Zaila Avant-garde reportedly has three siblings for brothers. They are Sol Heard, Zwe Heard, and Wonder Heard.

Not much information has surfaced for her siblings."
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Note that the name "Heard" is given as a last name for other members of Zaila's family. That  leads me to wonder if "Avant-garde" is a middle name, or nickname for this spelling bee winner or if "Avant-garde"  is her "stage name" and her actual "government" (birth) last name is "Heard". 

For what it's worth, the https://news.yahoo.com/zaila-avant-garde-breezes-national-021044126.html article "African American spelling bee champ makes history with flair" by Ben Nuckols, July 8, 2021 10:10 PM gives "Spacetime" as Zaila's father's last name, while the starsoffline article quoted above gives "Spacetime" as his nickname:

 ..."Many of top Scripps spellers start competing as young as kindergarten. Zaila only started a few years ago, after her father, Jawara Spacetime, watched the bee on TV and realized his daughter's affinity for doing complicated math in her head could translate well to spelling. She progressed quickly enough to make it to nationals in 2019 but bowed out in the preliminary rounds."....

This article also gives "Spacetime" as Zaila's father's last name:
From https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/07/09/who-are-zaila-avant-gardes-parents-inside-national-spelling-bee-2021-winners-personal-life/  by Shania Wilson, July 9, 2021
...."WHO ARE THE SPELLING BEE WINNER’S PARENTS?

Reportedly, Zaila’s parents are named Alma Heard and Jawara Spacetime and the family live in Harvey, Louisiana.

 According to this source, the teen’s father, Jawara Spacetime, is actually the reason that Zaila got involved in Spelling Bee contests.

 Although many spelling competitors start from a young age – some as young as Kindergarten – Zaila only started a few years prior. Apparently, Jawara Spacetime saw the bee on television and it struck him that his daughter’s ability for calculating maths problems in her head could translate well into spelling. Well, the rest is history!

 Obviously, Zaila’s parents are extremely proud – who wouldn’t be? Jawara Spacetime was spotted in the crowd at the National Spelling Bee."....
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Either way, if "Avant-garde" is Zaila's "stage name" or it's her actual last name, I'm all for it.

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