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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Adeline or Zosia

34 replies

marshallzumarubble · 04/09/2015 12:52

We had our baby girl a week ago and,having had a shortlist of 12 going in to hospital, have managed to get it down to these two.

And now we are stuck!

We have pros and cons for each -

Adeline, pros: love the nickname Addie, it was the front runner for a long time so seems harder to reject. Cons: worry about spelling and pronunciation; we would say Aduh-line, not Aduh-lynn or Aduh-leen, we don't like either of those, not keen on any other nickname either, I worry it is going to leap in popularity and get a bit daddy.

Zosia, pros: it was the only name I loved immediately when I was pregnant, love all the nicknames and would be happy if she decided she wanted to call herself Zoe in the future. It means 'wisdom' which I like as well. Cons: again, worry about spelling and pronunciation; it is pronounced Zoh-sha which I imagine many people would get wrong to start with.

Both go equally well with the middle names we have chosen and our surname.

What is the general consensus? What would you think if you met a small baby called each of these?

The other name in the top three which we just discounted as it is a bit grown up is Zelda.

Thank you!

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RiverTam · 04/09/2015 16:07

Adeline

winnybella · 04/09/2015 16:02

Hmm, don't think I got the sounds right. It's more like shee, not shi as in shine. But even then it's a bit difficult to explain, I don't think the same sound exists in English. But deffinitely not sh-a.

coveredinsnot · 04/09/2015 16:01

I have two Zosias in my family, both pronounced zoh-sha. Lovely name. Much prefer it to Adeline which is lovely but getting very popular.

winnybella · 04/09/2015 15:57

Zosia is Polish, diminutive for Zofia. It's pronounced zo-shi-a, not zo-sh-a.

Sophronia · 04/09/2015 15:42

I prefer Adeline, and I'd pronounce it aduh-line as you do.

I'd assume you were Polish if you used Zosia.

MishMooshAndMogwai · 04/09/2015 15:19

Adeline zosia is very pretty :)

I too assumed it was zoh-see-ya which I didn't like but your pron is v nice. Prefere adeline though

manicinsomniac · 04/09/2015 15:13

I have no heard of Zosia and also thought it was Zo-see-a (which I quite like). I like Zoh-sha and it's really exotic sounding and unusual.

I like Adeline.

But I think I would go with Zosia - I actually think you might have found that kind of unique name that so many look for on here. I've certainly never ever come across it, in real life or in a book.

fairyfeatures · 04/09/2015 13:13

I thought it was Zoh-see-ah which I hated immediately. I much prefer Zoh-sha. However you will for certain have spelling/pronunciation issues with that.

Adeline I would pronounce Aduh-lyne so I think it easy for pronunciation. However, had you said it to me fist and asked me to spell it - I would have spelt Adelaine/Adeleine.

That's just the problem you get with unusual names.

Depending on your surname, if I definitely couldn't pick (and this was my last child) - I would go with Adeline Zosia

I think both are fine for newborn and adult life.

Dislike Zelda personally but I am from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch era!

CarmenMonoxide · 04/09/2015 12:55

Love Zosia now I know how to say it. I think you will encounter pronounciation problems with both thb, so just decide which you like best.