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Baby names

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

Original poster

Upset over baby name

63 replies

Namechangedsothere · 22/12/2017 16:28

My 6 month old daughter is called Evelyn. I like her name but I feel like I’m saying it wrong and now every time I say it out loud I am cringing and it’s really making me doubt her name. I’m saying it a bit like ‘Ev-uh-Lin’ when my sister keeps saying it’s Ev-lin (two syllables) out of interest how would you say it and does ‘Ev-uh-lin’ sound wrong to you?

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Zaya71 · 22/12/2017 21:16

I only know Evelyns that are either really old or really young. In my experience the older Evelyns pronounce it Eeev -lin but the young Evelyns pronounce it Ev-eh-lin.

froshiechipandbrickie · 22/12/2017 21:14

Ev-lin and ev-e-lin are both legitimate pronunciations imo. They’re both nice :) but you named her... so you get to correct people (imo).

kaytee87 · 22/12/2017 20:36

I would pronounce it ev-eh-lin

Lovely name

BackforGood · 22/12/2017 19:47

There are different legitimate ways to say it, but if you have named your dd it, then it certainly isn't for your sister to tell you it is wrong.

I've know an

Ev - lin (where 'ev' rhymes with 'Kev' )
Ev-a-lin (again, ev rhyming with kev)
Eve-lin (like Christmas Eve)
Eve-a-lin

You just need to tell people which it is, in your dd's case although there will be years of people using different pronunciations when they first read it, over the next 90 yrs of her life. Or, let her go by 'Eve' or 'Evie'. Wink

hungryradish · 22/12/2017 19:40

I think you can say it either way but I much prefer your pronunciation & would say it that way myself.

Original poster
Namechangedsothere · 22/12/2017 19:36

Thank you! I YouTubed it and it seems I am right!😂 I phoned her straight away to tell her! Thank you for all of your replies, I feel a bit better now, I think my hormones are still all over the place!

OP posts:
Sugarpiehoneyeye · 22/12/2017 19:21

Your DS is very much mistaken.
Rest easy, your pronounciation is correct.
Lovely name, by the way. 😄

HangryHanderSonOfGod · 22/12/2017 17:23

3 syllables and it is a lovely name

Even more lovely when pronounced by Pierce Brosnan. Going to have to rewatch that movie now.

Cattenberg · 22/12/2017 17:11

Evelyn Waugh appears to have pronounced his name EVE-lin.

Cattenberg · 22/12/2017 17:09

I thought it was pronounced EVE-lin for boys, EV-er-lin for girls. I can't check this properly though, as the microphone on my laptop is broken.

AmethystRaven · 22/12/2017 17:02

I think the Rachel Weisz character in The Mummy is Ev-uh-lin although I might be wrong! It's a lovely name and I don't think it really matters; I know a Cheryl who pronounces it Ch rather than Sh like Cheryl Cole does.

thatcatpidgeon · 22/12/2017 17:01

Maybe just use Evie - pretty and no dilemma. There are a few names that are open to interpretation when it comes to pronounciation (Sara as Sara or Sarah, people calling Louis 'Lewis' - thanks to bloody Louis Smith and the Olympics, which is actually wrong, not just different ). She'll be fine, it is only annoying when strangers do it, everyone who knows her will pronounce it the way you've decided.

pipilangstrumpf · 22/12/2017 16:56

Like Carolin or Mandolin, Evelin, all 3 syllables

PandaCat · 22/12/2017 16:55

We are naming this baby Evelyn, I am having a constant wobble over the pronunciation but we're pretty set on it otherwise. We say it similar to how you say it.

pipilangstrumpf · 22/12/2017 16:55

It has 3 syllables Eh-veh-lin.

MadameJosephine · 22/12/2017 16:52

Beautiful name. I would pronounce it Ev-er-lin but surely whatever she or I think is irrelevant, she is your daughter so her name is pronounced the way that you want it to be pronounced

Buglife · 22/12/2017 16:50

I’ve mainly heard it pronounced as Eve-Lin but I wouldn’t think it was odd to hear it as Ev-Lin or the way you say it, I’ve just heard it less.

biffyboom · 22/12/2017 16:45

As I read in my mind, I pronounced it the same way as you op.
Regardless though, it should be pronounced the way you, as the name giver, say.

Lucked · 22/12/2017 16:39

Correct her yours is a correct pronunciation, I think hers is too but you get to pick.

I think there is a Pierce Brosnan film called Evelyn and it is pronounced with three syllables perhaps show her that.

helpmum2003 · 22/12/2017 16:38

I would pronounce it like you do - had an aunt called Evelyn. I think it's a pretty name.

I would be chilled about how other people say it if it's stressing you out. Just say how you do and hopefully they'll learn! Not long til your dd will be telling them off for saying it incorrectly! !

DryHeave · 22/12/2017 16:37

I’d say Eve-lin for a female with the name. Eve-uh-lin is too wedded to the male version of the name for me.

Gizlotsmum · 22/12/2017 16:35

Either works we us ev-uh-lin but got asked if it was that or Eve-a-lin

WillowWept · 22/12/2017 16:35

I would pronounce it with two syllables

NotMyMonkees · 22/12/2017 16:35

It's a lovely name, I say it like you do but it there people do say ev-lin or eve-lin. Nine is right or wrong as far as I know. Correct your sister, she's your dd!

ItsChristmoose · 22/12/2017 16:34

I say Ev-Lin but I think you have to consider that the pronounciation of this particular name is based on accent to some extent. Strange your sis says it differently unless she knows other Evelyn's (or you do!) in real life who have influenced how she pronounces it.