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Baby names

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

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Original poster

Is it ridiculous to spell Louis, Louie?

84 replies

HabboHabbo · 29/06/2019 21:54

Everyone I've told the name over text has remarked "Like Louie, or Lewis?" DH had a childhood best friend called Louis, pronounce Lewis so he doesn't like it spelt that way. It's the only name we agree on but we just can't agree on how to spell it. We both want to avoid pronunciation issues.

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TinklyLittleLaugh · 30/06/2019 11:26

Louie just makes me think of the song.

Louie Louie oh no. Covered by loads of people. But I think its about a girl.

anothernotherone · 30/06/2019 11:17

Lois is a different name - from Alois.

Biancadelrioisback · 30/06/2019 11:05

I knew a Louis who actually spelt it Lois.
I think that was a genuine error on the parents part though

fancynancyclancy · 30/06/2019 11:05

Louis = Loo-e as in lots of Kings of France, William & George’s 2nd names, Louis Vuitton, Prince Louis.

Lewis = Loo is as in Lewis Hamilton or CS Lewis.

I didn’t know people confused the two? or used Louie

BackOnceAgainWithABurnerEmail · 30/06/2019 11:00

Louis. Definitely. Don’t like Louie at all.

Think DH’s mate’s spelling is irrelevant. Spelling it differently properly also means the mate doesn’t think baby is named after him.

anothernotherone · 30/06/2019 10:59

Inspector Morse doesn't pronounce Robbie Lewis' name Loouhs even after a beer/ whiskey... Grin

Nonnymum · 30/06/2019 10:58

I would say Louis is pronounced louee and Lewis pronounced with the spelling it louie doesn't seem right but it's your choice

anothernotherone · 30/06/2019 10:56

Lewis the surname isn't pronounced "Loouhs" except after a liver endangering amount of alcohol...

OhTheRoses · 30/06/2019 10:51

It's the phonetic pronounciation. It sounds like Lewis the surname.

formerbabe · 30/06/2019 10:46

Louis/Louie is Louis/Louie

Lewis is Lewis

Louis/Louie is not Lewis

I prefer it to be spelt Louis rather than Louie

anothernotherone · 30/06/2019 10:42

OhTheRoses I've never heard anyone pronounce Lewis (either the surname, the place name or as a forename) Loouhs - that sounds hideous! It needs a defined sound towards the end (lew-iss) otherwise it's loose and slurry, the way someone fall-over drunk would pronounce it!

MNHQ
LilyMumsnet · 30/06/2019 10:18

We're just moving this over to baby names for the OP. Flowers

OhTheRoses · 30/06/2019 08:35

I thought so. Both versions English badtardisation with the second much worse than the first. On a par with Louie.
These incorrect spellings button a child in the same way that Wayne, Jayden, Chardonnay do.

Louis is a lovely name if correctly spelled and pronounced. Spell it Louis, pronounce it Louie. Similarly the name Lewis, pronounce it Loouhs.

If you think the people in your child's life will be confused then perhaps chose another name.

PattedPlont · 29/06/2019 23:13

OhTheRoses

Shaun, or Shawn?

MollyHuaCha · 29/06/2019 22:41

Louis is pronounced Lou-ee (nice name).

Lewis is a surname.

OhTheRoses · 29/06/2019 22:40

001 what is the alternative to Sean?

Kashali · 29/06/2019 22:40

Yes, one is lewis and the other is Lewie.
Totally different names as Lewis Armstrong was keen to inform Grin
when people called him Louis, if that makes sense.

cricketmum84 · 29/06/2019 22:39

I think it's just one of those names where people will ask the pronunciation. And yes I think Louie looks wrong, like you have misspelt it.

FEIW DS (14) has 2 friends called Louis and Louis (Lewis and Louie!) it gets cobfusing Grin

OhTheRoses · 29/06/2019 22:36

Yes.

I don't know anybody who would mispronounce Louis. It is a French name and most people have studied the French revolution and know about Louis xvi at the very least. Also Lord Louis Mountbatten let alone Prince Louis.

Perhaps you should reconsider the name. Have a chat about it over tea and cake if there aren't funds for bread.

anothernotherone · 29/06/2019 22:35

Louis is originally french but used internationally - it was very popular in Germany a few years ago and all the teen and pre teen Louis I know in Germany (at least 10 of them) are pronounced Lewis.

That might not matter in the UK, but it depends where you live and whether other countries your neighbours/ his potential school classmates and friends might originate from use the Lewis pronunciation.

Louie looks made up and nickname like though. Like naming your child Billy or Freddie or Joey as their birth certificate name...

I think more British people would read Louis as Louie given the Prince and Louis Vuitton... Grin

thefavourite · 29/06/2019 22:33

Name it after the Hebridean island and call him/spell his name Lewis

superram · 29/06/2019 22:31

If you want Lewis spell it like that, if you want Louie spell it louie or Louis and hope for the best!

RainbowMum11 · 29/06/2019 22:29

At DDs school there is a Louie (who's mum gets annoyed with an 's' on the end) and a Louis (which sounds with the s)
It's the French/Spanish difference.

00100001 · 29/06/2019 22:25

"I can’t stand Louie, it’s Louis"

Louie is as valid as Clare or Sean

applepieicecream · 29/06/2019 22:23

I can’t stand Louie, it’s Louis.

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