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Baby names

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Original poster

Baby 10 days old and doubting our name choice

152 replies

OutOfSortsToday · 17/10/2021 16:17

Before she was born we had a shortlist of 3 for a girl, when she arrived DH admitted one of them (my favourite) he just couldn't get on board with as a first name. That has become the middle name (Cecilia)

Of the other two options we were totally undecided but eventually went for Elise, a name we've always really liked.

We've now discovered that lots of people pronounce it Eh - leess (with second part as 'lease' like in leasehold). We had always thought it was Eh- leez, and we much prefer that.

We've found that almost everyone so far has pronounced it Eh - lease with a soft s.

  1. are we wrong to pronounce it eh-leez?

  2. should we change it if we're finding the different pronunciation a bit annoying? Maybe I'm overthinking it?

Please be gentle, I'm feeling pretty rotten physically after the birth and have found picking her name really stressful from the off.

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Cotswoldmama · 17/10/2021 17:38

I would pronounce it eh- leeze I think that is the European way. My friend is french and her daughter is Elise pronounced as you and I do. My middle name is Anneliese after my German grandma and it's pronounced with the eeze sound. I feel like the lease sound is the Americanised version. A bit like Americans spell cosy with a z not an s.
I would keep it it's a lovely name.

PaolaDiLorenzo · 17/10/2021 17:38

I've only ever heard it pronounced Eh-lease.
You could change it to Eloise,as previously mentioned. I think it's a lovely name.

Cruiser123 · 17/10/2021 17:36

Funny to run across this thread. 😂 We're expecting a girl in February. We originally chose "Elise" as a name. I'm from Germany and it sounds beautiful pronounced the German way. We however didn't like how people in the UK pronounced it so we're going with "Rose" now.

Yespresh · 17/10/2021 17:33

How about Eloise? Then hopefully it’ll be pronounced how you want it.

gamerchick · 17/10/2021 17:31

If you want a z in it then you'll have to spell it with a z in it.

It doesn't matter what you call them, they all end up with nicknames anyroad.

CatWarbler · 17/10/2021 17:29

What the E on the end is for, I mean

CatWarbler · 17/10/2021 17:29

I'd pronounce it the same as you, with the z sound.
Same as Louise. It's what the E on the end, as far as I'm concerned.

Such a pretty name!

Kite22 · 17/10/2021 17:25

Yes, everyone I've ever come across with that name is "Eh-lease"

Yes, if you don't like that, then change it.

HerRoyalWitchyness · 17/10/2021 17:24

I'd say eh-lease too. Maybe Eloise as suggested or just change the spelling to Elize?

Goldbar · 17/10/2021 17:22

I would pronounce it Eh-leez.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 17/10/2021 17:20

I’d always thought it was pronounced Ehleeze.

Probably influenced by the v popular piano piece Fur Elise, but I think in that case it’s Ehleeza, I.e. the German pronunciation.

Seraphina1993 · 17/10/2021 17:14

My name is Elise

You'll find she'll get called Elsie a lot by strangers/teachers/receptionists by mistakenly reading it fast

When people pronounce it your way Eh-leez it drives me mad because it's incorrect to me.

It's pronounced like Eh-lease

user1495885821 · 17/10/2021 17:10

How about Cecile? Similar to Cecilia but has the same "flow" as Elise/Elize.

TheCheeseBadge · 17/10/2021 17:06

If you like the "Z" sound, could change it to Eliza? Still very pretty and most people would pronounce it correctly?

tiredanddangerous · 17/10/2021 17:06

Change it to Eliza?

Lilyargin · 17/10/2021 17:02

The French pronunciation is with a z sound, not an s sound @DramaAlpaca.

Tobchette · 17/10/2021 17:01

I know a French Elise pronounced El-eez

thislifetoo · 17/10/2021 16:57

My sister is Elise and we've always pronounced is Eh-leeze version, there's not many people I've come across that pronounce it the other way, but she may have a different view of that!

Kitkat151 · 17/10/2021 16:54

Ps ... they both get called Elsie a lot....people get mixed up🙄

factis · 17/10/2021 16:53

I would pronounce it with the 'z' sound, as in France.

Spelling it with a 'z' would look very odd though, to me anyway.

Kitkat151 · 17/10/2021 16:53

There’s 2 in my grandaughters class....both pronounced elease.... I also know a 45 year old Elise who also pronounces her name the same

MsSquiz · 17/10/2021 16:51

I would say if you wanted the "z" sound, it would be "Elize" rather than Elise

ShuddaBeenMe · 17/10/2021 16:50

The issue with Elize is that you'll have people saying E lies

toastofthetown · 17/10/2021 16:46

I’d pronounce it with soft s sound too. If you don’t like that pronunciation then I would probably change it. Most people will pronounce it with the s sound and while you can correct people and most will change their pronunciation, it will probably get annoying. She might decide later that she can’t be bothered to correct people and adopt the softer pronunciation.

lescompagnonsdeloue · 17/10/2021 16:44

That's how it is said in France, with a Z. I don't know. If it bothers you, change the spelling, not the name.

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