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Baby names

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Original poster

Would you tell someone they’ve misspelt their baby’s name?!

259 replies

CaptainCabinets · 08/11/2018 16:02

A colleague has recently announced the birth of ‘Pheobe’ on Facebook and have since referred to the baby as ‘Pheobe’ several times.

Would I be awful to gently suggest the correct spelling or just hope it’s picked up on when they register the birth?!

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IStandWithPosie · 09/11/2018 14:50

English is a horrible language! 😂😂😂 anyway, I think it’s clear there isn’t just one way to spell the name.

lebkuchenlover · 09/11/2018 14:46

If people is pronounced as peeple, then Pheobe can be spelled Pheobe?

LasMeninas · 09/11/2018 14:46

Yep, goes and does are good examples of exceptions.

TatianaLarina · 09/11/2018 14:46

The pronunciation depends on the language it derives from and the etymology!

Latin œ, rendered in English as oe is not the same as o followed by e. As in oboe. Which comes from French hautbois.

lebkuchenlover · 09/11/2018 14:45

Goes?

LasMeninas · 09/11/2018 14:45

People?

I believe the discussion is on the pronunciation of "oe", not "eo".

LasMeninas · 09/11/2018 14:44

But more importantly, English is historically influenced by so many languages that there are very rarely definitive rules on pronunciation. So talking about how something looks like it should be pronounced is usually pointless.

There are, however, conventions on how most individual words and names are spelt. And Phoebe, conventionally, is spelt Phoebe.

lebkuchenlover · 09/11/2018 14:44

People?

LasMeninas · 09/11/2018 14:43

Before another consonant or not is the difference you're looking for here.

lebkuchenlover · 09/11/2018 14:40

Toe isn't pronounced tee..!

IStandWithPosie · 09/11/2018 14:31

Oboe = oh bow not oh bee.

MyHairyToe · 09/11/2018 14:21

@cosmoa I thought it was Jamie for a boy and Jaime for a girl?!

lebkuchenlover · 09/11/2018 14:18

No, oe in English is ee as in phoenix and diarrhoea.

But there's People and Hideous where eo is pronounced as ee!

Kewqueue · 09/11/2018 14:14

I once asked someone if they meant to call their son Rueben. Turns out they really did want Reuben and they changed it.

TatianaLarina · 09/11/2018 14:08

Pheobe (fee o bee) is phonetically closer to the actual pronunciation of the name than Phoebe (fo e bee)

No, oe in English is ee as in phoenix and diarrhoea.

Comes from the Latin oe which is a rendering of Ancient Greek oi.

Lweji · 09/11/2018 12:35

You could mention the "unusual" spelling and point out that the child will spend her whole life correcting other people and reading her name spelt "wrong". Maybe also mention hating her parents for it.

IStandWithPosie · 09/11/2018 12:30

Pheobe (fee o bee) is phonetically closer to the actual pronunciation of the name than Phoebe (fo e bee)

TatianaLarina · 09/11/2018 12:27

People is from Latin, populus, via old French.

Phoebe is from Greek, like Niobe.

Santaispolishinghissleigh · 09/11/2018 12:25

Neighbour had an Annaleace as the df registered her and didn't know how to spell Annalise...

IStandWithPosie · 09/11/2018 12:23

As opposed to Fo e bee

lebkuchenlover · 09/11/2018 12:22

If Pheobe was Fee o bee, then people would be pronounced Pee o pl ConfusedGrin

TatianaLarina · 09/11/2018 12:18

That would be pronounced Fee o bee.

BlackberryandNettle · 09/11/2018 10:59

My DH has corrected a friend's spelling of his daughters name in reply to a texted birth announcement. He wrote 'Congratulations - isn't it usually 'correct spelling'?'. No reply but they do now spell it the usual way.

headinhands · 09/11/2018 09:30

What you mean is 'would you tell someone they've spelled their child's name different to how you would spell it?'

No I wouldn't.

ThomasRichard · 09/11/2018 09:04

@BendydickCuminsnatch Phebe is the correct spelling in the KJV Bible at least.

I’d say something. It doesn’t affect you but the child will be grateful when she’s older!

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