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Which name do you prefer: Inès (with or without the accent) or Mia?
We are a French/English family, living in England, so the name needs to work in both languages. I think Mia is easier to pronounce and spell. I worry that a lot of English speakers might struggle with Inès?
(Don't even know whether I'm expecting a girl yet - it's very early days - but I'm struggling with first trimester exhaustion, nausea and anxiety, and shortlisting baby names is cheering me up )
Meant to add, with the accent, it’s clear you are using the French spelling and pronunciation with the -ess sound at the end, and not the Spanish pronunciation.
So many Mia, Maiya, Maya around. People always have trouble remembering which way round to pronounce them. I don’t think you’d have much more issue telling people how to pronounce Ines.
Thanks all. I'm surprised by the preference for Inès actually. I guess Mumsnet tends to prefer more unusual names. I'm just dreading the spelling / pronunciation issues when one of the surnames (DH's!) is also difficult for English people to spell and pronounce.
We'll have to wait and see how we feel about the names if it's a girl. Only about 15 weeks to go until we find out 🙈
(PS Chocolate no need to apologise, it is helpful to know when people don't immediately know how to pronounce it! I didn't when I first heard it years ago.)
Hmm. I didn't realise Mia was quite so common. In 2018 it was ranked fifth in my region, more than 300 of them.
It took me absolutely ages to even find it but Inès is 574th with only 72 in the whole of England and Wales. Inez is right at the bottom of the list with only 17.
My son's name is similarly unusual. In the year he was born it was ranked 730th with only 47. In equal place with Olaf (It's a much nicer name than Olaf, honest!)
I've never heard Ines rhymed with finesse before (would say in-NEZ), but as a French pronunciation that makes perfect sense. It's elegant; I definitely prefer it to Mia which is quite overexposed.
Ines is lovely, but you will have issues with Anglo pronunciation. Also I would avoid anything with an accent in this country because online systems will sometimes struggle..
I would definitely use the Inès spelling and "In-ess" pronunciation, which I prefer to Inez / "In-ezz".
I don't like Agnes at all I'm afraid.
I'll keep thinking in case I come up with something else I like that works in English and French. It's so tricky! I love the name Lyra but it's unheard of in France and doesn't really work in a French accent.
Ines is a beautiful name OP. I have a name, which is heard of, but not very common, with a standard spelling. I've had it misspelled in a variety of different ways, mispronounced on occasion and I've been called other names which start with the same letter. I wouldn't worry about it because it can happen with what you might think is a very straightforward name.
I think I'm leaning more towards Inès now. I wasn't sure about DS's name at first but it grew on me (love it now) and I wonder if Inès will be the same.
I'm surprised actually by just how much love there is for Inès and how little there is for Mia! I think Mia is a lovely name even if it's very popular atm. I suppose it's not one of those popular but classic (and slightly boring) names that seem to meet universal approval on here
Ines definitely. Mia can be pronunded My-a or Me-a There was a Mia and Mia in my class both pronounced differently and the teachers (and class) definitely stuggled to say the least!
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(It's a much nicer name than Olaf, honest!)