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AIBU?

To pronounce this name differently

321 replies

babynameconfusion · 01/01/2017 12:19

DH and I like the name Felicia. But we would pronounce it 'Fuh-liss-ee-a'
rather than like Feleesha. What would you think if you saw a baby with this name? Would people always pronounce it wrong?

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SuburbanRhonda · 01/01/2017 12:20

Could you change it to your spelling? It might look a bit odd but there would be no mistaking how it should be pronounced.

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CherryChasingDotMuncher · 01/01/2017 12:21

I would think it was pronounced Fell-ee-sha

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MiddleClassProblem · 01/01/2017 12:22

Fe Lee see ah but only because it's my Nana's name.

It just depends if you will be annoyed/she will be annoyed when people say it differently

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Reality16 · 01/01/2017 12:22

You would be landing your child with years and years of correcting people.

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dudsville · 01/01/2017 12:23

I think she'd get both pronunciations throughout her lifetime. How much does that matter to you? I have a surname that if people see it they mispronounce it and if people hear it they misspell it. As I like my name it doesn't bother me.

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twinkletash · 01/01/2017 12:23

As long as you don't mind correcting people I think it's fine. My daughters called Evelyn and we pronounce it Ev-Lyn not Eve-Lyn and we just correct people if they say it the other way, I always figure if the people who matter know how it's pronounced it doesn't really matter

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dudsville · 01/01/2017 12:25

Oh, and I just am in the habit of saying "[my name] spelled, and then I emphasise the letters people usually get wrong.

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LindyHemming · 01/01/2017 12:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

VeryBitchyRestingFace · 01/01/2017 12:25

It's Anais all over again. Confused

In my accent, if I wasn't taking care to enunciate clearly, I can see how Felicia could be perceived as Fu-lee-sha.

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PotteringAlong · 01/01/2017 12:26

Don't give your child a name you are going to deliberately mispronounce.

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category12 · 01/01/2017 12:30

You'd be the ones pronouncing it wrong and complaining about it when people got it right. Grin

Pick another name. Call your next cat Felicia.

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someonestolemynick · 01/01/2017 12:32

Don't do it. People will use the correct pronounciation mispronounce her name for all her life.
Either use the common pronounciation or give her a different name.
I have a name that has one common pronounciation in my home country, but can be pronounced at least 4 ways in English. I have a favourite pronounciation and try to stear people that way.
It's annoying even though I have chosen this nonproblem by moving to London. I would find it even more annoying if my parents had chosen to land me with that problem.

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NannyR · 01/01/2017 12:33

As much as I hate creative spellings, maybe there is a case for spelling it Felissia if you definitely want that pronunciation. I think most people would pronounce it fel-ee-sha (I can only hear it in an aussie accent in my head, from priscilla, Queen of the desert!)

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PolarEspresso · 01/01/2017 12:36

I think names like Felicia, Alicia and Marcia can legitimately be pronounced Felisha, Alisha, Marsha or Feli-see-a, Ali-see-a, Mar-see-a. I have a feeling it might be a difference between American and English pronunciation? Or maybe the 'sha' pronunciation is more modern? I think the actress Alicia Silverstone is an Ali-see-a and I have a great aunt Marcia who is Mar-see-a.

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MaeveMillay · 01/01/2017 12:39

It's just going to put her on the back foot for the rest of her life. Constantly having to correct people she meets.

I know someone who practiced yelling a potential child's name across the park to see if she felt a bit daft. Perhaps you could make a hair appointment or go to a job interview and when they say 'take a seat Helen' you can say 'it's pronounced Hullen'.

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babynameconfusion · 01/01/2017 12:39

I don't mind correcting people, but I don't want future DD to hate me for it! I just can't grasp the felleesha pronunciation.

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useyourimagination · 01/01/2017 12:41

I know one Felicia and she pronounces it the way you like. She only had to introduce herself once for us all to get it.

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NicknameUsed · 01/01/2017 12:41

Erm, I thought it was only pronounced Fe-liss-ia anyway. I know someone who has that as a middle name and that is how she pronounces it.

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someonestolemynick · 01/01/2017 12:42

I was once on a bus with a mother and son were talking ( as in the not called her 'mum'). The son was called Yves which the mother chose to pronounce I-veSS (as in St. Ives finished with a sharp s-sound at the end).
I felt sorry for the boy. I can just imagine the mother at parents evening.
Teacher: I was really pleased with Yves' progress...
Mother: I-veSS
Teacher: I'm sorry?
Mother: I-veSS. My son is called I-veSS.
Teacher: So sorry. Yes, Yves.... I mean I-veSS.. .

Don't do it.

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NannyR · 01/01/2017 12:43

What about felicity if you like the felissi sound?

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TheThingsWeAdmitOnMN · 01/01/2017 12:44

I'd hate you for it.

You can't go using a name and choosing your own random pronunciation for it and not expect your child to be properly pissed off with you. There are millions of names, choose one you actually like the sound of.

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jayisforjessica · 01/01/2017 12:45

Felicity is closer to the sound you want, is just as pretty, and eliminates the confusion?

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babynameconfusion · 01/01/2017 12:46

NannyR I like Felicity but one of DH's friends daughters has that name so it's a no from DHSad

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jayisforjessica · 01/01/2017 12:47

And yes. You're sitting there tossing names about between yourselves, and yes, you're naming your child, but at the end of the day, what is more or less an academic exercise for you is going to be something your daughter has to live with for the rest of her life (or until she turns eighteen and scrapes together the money for a name change). Don't do it.

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Floggingmolly · 01/01/2017 12:47

I don't mind correcting people. But your child will have a lifetime of it, both correcting people and having them assume she's a little bit thick in not knowing how to pronounce her own name.
Pick a name you're happy to pronounce correctly, fgs!

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