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Baby names

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Original poster

Names you love that don’t work in English

156 replies

MangosteenSoda · 13/04/2021 19:54

A name on another thread made me think about this...

I love Manon in a French speaking environment and I like Belen in Spain, but think neither work well in an English speaking environment.

Are there any names you feel like this about? I’d occasionally come across a name in my expat (and childbearing) days and think YES, then, oh no.

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Iris2020 · 21/04/2021 15:06

Lou is a really lovely name but clearly doesn't work in English...

Oneeyeopen · 18/04/2021 06:55

@KirstenBlest yes exactly.
The gn makes a gentle y sound in Agnes. Its barely there.

Edenember · 17/04/2021 22:48

Aurelie - I thought it was the prettiest name I’d ever heard while in French class. When the ‘Orally’ penny dropped after a few seconds I was devastated.

FirstTimeMumma2021 · 17/04/2021 22:06

Lily ... In a Scottish accent it just sounds like Luly so would never use it!
(We're Scottish though)

SwedishEdith · 17/04/2021 11:48

@mammmamia

I have never heard Xavier pronounced like that in English. I know one who pronounces it Zay-veeyer. And another who pronounces it the French way, so Zaveeay.
I've heard it like that when talking about the school St Francis Xavier. Don't know if just local pronunciations though and usually just called SFX.
LaMadrilena · 17/04/2021 11:35

I've had to choose a Spanish girl's name that is also pronounceable for my parents who are capable of mangling even the simplest foreign words... We've gone for a 3-letter one. What could possibly go wrong...?

Spanish girls' names are generally pretty universally pronounceable (at least, that's what I though till I heard my DM say "Inés"), but boys' seem to me to be trickier - lots of Js and rolled Rs that are harder for anglophones.

LadyEloise · 17/04/2021 10:45

Thank you @Oneeyeopen
So I've been pronouncing the shop ( called after its owner ) AgnesB all wrong for years. Blush
It's An yesB not AgnesB

How do you pronounce Keir ?
Is it Keer or Kerr ?

mammmamia · 16/04/2021 20:12

But the Spanish queen is Leonor, not Lenore. They’re different names. One sounds like a fabric conditioner, the other doesn’t.

Sometimesonly · 16/04/2021 19:45

And Nicolas (French, male) and Nicola (Italian, male) are pronounced the same.

Are they? I always thought that Nicolas was stressed on the first syllable whereas Nicola is stressed on the second.

Notgotanyidea · 16/04/2021 19:41

Elif. I think it’s beautiful.

mommybunny · 16/04/2021 19:36

The next queen of Spain will be Leonor, for what it’s worth.

toffeebutterpopcorn · 16/04/2021 18:29

I can’t hear Lenore without thinking ‘ Once upon a midnight dreary...’ squawk!!!

KirstenBlest · 16/04/2021 18:13

I know a Lenore, and it's fine.

mammmamia · 16/04/2021 18:10

I haven’t heard Lenor but I think Léonore works in English

thiswaythat · 16/04/2021 17:57

I love the name Lenor but it doesn't work in English, not due to pronunciation difficulties but due to fabric softener

KirstenBlest · 16/04/2021 17:11

Oneeyeopen, if you hear an italian say lasagne it isn't quite lasahnyuh.
The g is almost imperceptible - it's sort of swallowed.

Oneeyeopen · 16/04/2021 16:52

@LadyEloise in French its pronounced An yes.
If you think of the gn in lasagne then it gets a similar treatment in Agnes.

Oneeyeopen · 16/04/2021 16:41

I know a Danielle, very common in the UK.
But her parents pronounce it Dan yell.
Ruins it for me.

Thewinterofdiscontent · 16/04/2021 16:33

@mammmamia

I have never heard Xavier pronounced like that in English. I know one who pronounces it Zay-veeyer. And another who pronounces it the French way, so Zaveeay.
X Men? Anything popular like that filters through.
ladycarlotta · 16/04/2021 16:11

I thought the Arabic name Rafia was lovely but then I suddenly realised it's basically 'raffia' and it wasn't so appealing. Shame!

mammmamia · 16/04/2021 16:00

I have never heard Xavier pronounced like that in English. I know one who pronounces it Zay-veeyer. And another who pronounces it the French way, so Zaveeay.

WildCherryBlossom · 16/04/2021 11:49

Weird all the kerfuffle over Saskia. I always think of it as quite a good and safe "Euro-name" as the pronunciation is pretty similar in all European languages.

I like Javier / Xavier in Spanish but it sounds slightly brutalised with the Ex-AY-veer pronunciation in English

Blyatiful · 15/04/2021 22:43

I used to work with a Danish man called Bent-Willy. That’s not good in any language!

I have Hungarian family. None of the women have pretty sounding names. Eufrozina sounds like an ointment. Ildiko is awful too.

Pinchoftums · 15/04/2021 22:19

I have a Dutch friend called Saskia. Definitely not Saarskia. That is how you would say it if trying to be posh but failing.

IBelieveInAThingCalledScience · 15/04/2021 22:10

Inês
Marta
Benedita
Sebastião

All lovely in my native language, terrible sounding with English accents.