Why are names like Aaron and Aaliyah spelled with 2 A’s? How does that double A affect the pronunciation?

Question

Why are names like Aaron and Aaliyah spelled with 2 A’s? How does that double A affect the pronunciation?

In: Culture

Answer 1

Traditionally Aaron is pronounced ‘air-on’. It derives from the Hebrew ‘Aharon’. Thus, the double a is from the loss of the ‘breathy’ second a. ‘Aaliyah’ is spelt with two as presumably to show the long a sound in the Arabic original.