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Baby names

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Original poster

Easy to say in English?

41 replies

MamaLoLo1 · 25/08/2020 22:55

I'm debating a French name due to family links and wondering if these are easily said aloud by British/English speaking people... By that, I mean that the name is said smoothly and pronounced well rather than fumbled over!

Marguerite
Coralie
Apolline
Solène

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bridgetreilly · 26/08/2020 12:18

Solène is lovely, and although not everyone will pronounce it correctly first go from the written form, it's not a hard name to pronounce for people with English accents. I much prefer it to Coralie or Apolline. I do like Marguerite, though.

QueenBlueberries · 26/08/2020 12:17

'If people are unfamiliar with any of them then they’d surely need only to be told once.'. My guess is that you have an English name!!

Some people, including family members and work colleagues, pronounce my French name wrong consistently, despite correcting them, and the spelling gets massacred regularly. I'm not complaining about as such, I love my name and live with the mispronunciations and misspellings, but don't expect that it will be easily rectified...

BooteusMaximus · 26/08/2020 12:04

Coralie
(I also like Sylvie)

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 26/08/2020 11:57

The film is Coraline.

JanewaysBun · 26/08/2020 11:43

Coralie is the easiest. The last one people will get confused by the accent

Coralie easy to say because of the film!

BikeRunSki · 25/08/2020 23:48

Coralie is probably the best from your list, but @QueenBlueberries lost had some great ideas, to which I’ll add Stella, Anna and Gabriella.

ZoyaTheDestroyer · 25/08/2020 23:47

People will say sol-een instead of sol-en, especially as the accent will frequently be dropped.

I think the others will mostly be pronounced correctly as long as you are ok with the fact that the stress will be different - so whereas a French speaker will emphasise each syllable of Coralie fairly evenly, a native English speaker will say COR-a-lee.

JollyGiraffe12 · 25/08/2020 23:43

Coralie is best

Bowerbird5 · 25/08/2020 23:38

Margarita is my middle name.
I have only come across one Coralie.

Not sure of the other two.

Cindie943811A · 25/08/2020 23:38

I think they are all lovely and should not present any real problems re pronunciation. If people are unfamiliar with any of them then they’d surely need only to be told once.
Good luck

DramaAlpaca · 25/08/2020 23:37

I think all those will be pronounced easily enough by English speakers, but don't expect any of them to sound as nice as they do in a French accent.

Lackadaisically · 25/08/2020 23:37

I can't see anyone getting the first 2 wrong.

Appoline is more unusual but seems easy to say.

Solène might trip me up. I've never seen it before so might check how to pronounce it. Pretty sure I'd get it right though!

Pretty names!

QueenBlueberries · 25/08/2020 23:35

I have a French name and have to spell it every time I say it to someone over the phone. It's a pain, but hey I'm French so I can live with it. Marguerite is a long name and your daughter will have to spell it all the time. Amelie, Emily, Emma, Clara, Alice, Chloe, Claire, Zara, Marianne, Sophie/Sophia, all good names that sound great in French and in English, and much easier to spell.

Bravefarts · 25/08/2020 23:34

Pronounced:
mar gar eat (a pizza?)
Coh ra Lee
Aa Pol I-n or eee-n?
Sol-een?

The last two I'd have to ask how to pronounce correctly.

Coralie is pretty. People may say Cora-lee.

Tillygetsit · 25/08/2020 23:33

I love Apolline and can't see any problems with the pronunciation of any of them.

Fifthtimelucky · 25/08/2020 23:30

I'd have thought that the first two would be the easiest. I'd go for Marguerite, which I think is very pretty.

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