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Baby names

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

Original poster

I love a baby name but worried about mispronunciation

111 replies

MsSnow · 24/09/2022 08:43

I love the girls names Georgiana
pronounced George - ee - ar - nah
I know a lot of people say George - Jay - Nah due to the film with Keira Knightly. I know some people believe this the true pronunciation and others say it was an affection nickname used by very few and one being the Duchess.
I only like the first pronunciation (like in bbc pride & prejudice)
I know there is no other way I can spell it.
What do you think? Do you think it would get often mispronounced or not? Does it matter? Curious what thoughts are.
My other name i’m considering is Eliana.
thanks!

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cyclamenqueen · 24/09/2022 14:30

I have only known George-jay- nahs but I think both pronounciations are fine and it’s a very pretty name. If you love it then go for it .

Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 14:29

bcc89 · 24/09/2022 14:06

Georgiana and Georgina are two different names. I think you've got yourself confused.

No I know that, Georgiana has two pronunciations. Georgina has been a name mentioned a lot, which is a very lovely name but I prefer Georgiana as I enjoy the ‘Ana’ sound. I was just asking about the George - ee - ah - nah vs George - jay - nah pronunciation.

Now I also have to worry about Georgie - Anna (which I don’t like 😂)

OP posts:
Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 14:25

WildfellAnne · 24/09/2022 13:02

I think the pronunciation of Georgiana your way is fine and as common as the other pronunciation. It’s a nice name and much stronger than Eliana.

Thanks! :)

OP posts:
Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 14:25

Purpletopaz42 · 24/09/2022 12:56

I'd go for Georgiana, I think it's lovely and I would pronounce it the same way you do. Georgie is a great nickname. I also really like Georgina. I prefer Georgiana to Eliana personally and I imagine Eliana could also be pronounced in different ways so I think stick with the name you love.

Thank you :)

OP posts:
Pemba · 24/09/2022 14:20

I think YOU are confused. OP is not talking about Georgina, she is talking about the two different pronunciations of Georgiana.

bcc89 · 24/09/2022 14:06

Georgiana and Georgina are two different names. I think you've got yourself confused.

WildfellAnne · 24/09/2022 13:02

I think the pronunciation of Georgiana your way is fine and as common as the other pronunciation. It’s a nice name and much stronger than Eliana.

Purpletopaz42 · 24/09/2022 12:56

I'd go for Georgiana, I think it's lovely and I would pronounce it the same way you do. Georgie is a great nickname. I also really like Georgina. I prefer Georgiana to Eliana personally and I imagine Eliana could also be pronounced in different ways so I think stick with the name you love.

Pemba · 24/09/2022 12:54

We've had this before. The 'jor--Jay-na' pronunciation is not ' correct', it was just a temporary fashion amongst a clique of upper class people around the time the film 'The Duchess' was set. Not everyone said it that way most Georgians and Victorians would probably still have said 'George-ee-ah-na'. Which is logical by the spelling and matches other names ending 'ana'.

Anyway OP, TBH I find it a bit too long and fussy. I prefer Georgina which flows beautifully and no pronunciation ambiguities. Second to that, Georgia.
You will get Georgie whatever you do.

DuchessOfSausage · 24/09/2022 12:38

@eleanorsmellstrop , Georgaina woud be Jor-Gay-na.

I would read Georgiana as George-ay-na or Georgie-ah-na.
Some will say it as Georgie-Anna.
Some will get the letters mixed up.
Eliana is insipid and will be yet another Ellie

Georgiana is too long and will get shortened. All the Georginas I know are Gina or George

fallfallfall · 24/09/2022 12:25

I know it’s regional but there’s no R.
4 syllables George Ee Ann Ahh
Georgee-Anna

xyzzyx · 24/09/2022 12:20

I read it as you pronounced it. It may get shortened but you should correct people who do shorten it. Unless obviously you want a nickname for her like ana. I knew an Eliana and it was forever getting mispronounced as Ellie Lana, Elaina, EelyLana Confused

Y7drama · 24/09/2022 12:12

I think Georgiana is beautiful and the George-ee-ar-na pronunciation makes more sense given the spelling

Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 12:09

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 24/09/2022 10:09

Don't worry about it. I have a name that (allegedly 😉) can be pronounced in 2 ways. I don't correct people unless they ask which version I'd prefer. I do tell people the correct way when we first met (obviously).

I have never understood why people shorten someone's name 'automatically'. I think it's really rude. Thank goodness my name doesn't have an obvious nickname. Although, I do remember a teacher trying to shorten my name (why?!) she asked if it was ok to call me her (horrific) shortened version of my name. I politely said no.

OP The name you have chosen is beautiful. Call your baby Georgiana and pronounce it how you prefer and correct people on her behalf (until she can do it herself) if they say it any other way.

When she gets older it will be up to her if she wants to shorten her name or not. But don't let people shorten her name now.

Thank you for your advice :)

OP posts:
Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 12:08

lannistunut · 24/09/2022 10:03

It will be constantly misspelt and mispronounce as Georgina. You have to accept that and decide on that basis.

maybe you are right but only by acquaintances or random people in talking, not by family and friends. If you correct them they would use the right name. I still like Georgina though so it wouldn’t be a terrible issue, I just prefer Georgiana.

OP posts:
Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 12:05

@MyneighbourisTotoro george - ee - nah is Georgina, I like the name Georgiana (George - ee - ar - nah) but I get they look very similar. Love your username btw :)

OP posts:
Original poster
MsSnow · 24/09/2022 12:03

@MintyGreenDreams i don’t really like how it doesn’t sound English to me (which I know is weird because my other choice is Eliana which doesn’t sound British 🤔) but I think Gianna sounds too Italian maybe, plus I like the Georgie bit, I think I’d prefer Eliana to Gianna but thanks for the suggestion, I love the nn Gigi for Georgiana

OP posts:
dream28 · 24/09/2022 10:44

Duchess of Devonshire actually changed pronunciation of her name when she got married. So pronunciation difference was a thing even back then.

I would say it Georg-ee-a-na, but I vastly prefer Georgina.

BungleandGeorge · 24/09/2022 10:35

I think your pronunciation is the common one. I agree that she is more likely to have it mispronounced as Georgina if people glance at the name. I thought the other pronunciation was peculiar to the duchess and not the common form at the time but I guess it depends on which historian you read! Lots of older names of places and people are not pronounced as written phonetically. Times have changed enormously with much higher literacy rates and recording of spoken sounds, mass media etc!

washingbasketqueen · 24/09/2022 10:30

I would pronounce it Georgie-Anna.

grayhairdontcare · 24/09/2022 10:22

I'm have a Georgia.
She was George till teenage years then it was shortened to G .
She is now just G!

Dotcheck · 24/09/2022 10:22

eleanorsmellstrop · 24/09/2022 09:19

It is silly, because it makes no sense.

You just need to look at the spelling of Georgiana to know that the second syllable CAN'T be pronounced 'jay'. If there was even a chance for it to be correctly pronounced 'jay', the whole name would need to be spelled differently.

The 'gia' spelling can't possibly be correctly pronounced as 'jay'. Unless maybe if it was spelled 'Georgaina'.

Georgiana is pronounced 'George-ee-ar-nah' or at worst 'George-ee-anna'. But it's really not a problem to use a name with two pronounciations. You just simply introduce your child/they introduce themselves and ... done. People know how to say it.

If anyone ever does mispronounce it, a simple 'Sorry, it's _' will suffice.

I will never understand why MN tries to make out like it's SO HARD to have a name with a couple of different pronunciations.

I much prefer Georgiana to Eliana, the latter of which just seems dull as it fits in too well with all the El- names as well as the frilly vowel names.

'

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Doesn’t make sense to put a stray r in there either

pamshortsbrokenbothherlegs · 24/09/2022 10:17

I admit, I'm one that considers the Jor-jay-na pronunciation to be the "correct" aka older pronunciation. For instance, it always amuses me in adaptations of Pride and Prejudice when Mr. Darcy's sister is George-ie-ah-na. As I've always understood from an acquaintance of mine who is a historian, it likely would have been the other pronunciation at the time.

Having said that, if I met a little Georgiana today, I'd go in with your preferred pronunciation OP. Similar to how I tend to assume any little Ralph I meet uses the modern/Germanic/American pronunciation instead of the old English Rafe. Things change and names change too!

This is also why I don't think it's helpful to point to typical English grammar rules to ascertain the "correct" pronunciation of a name. There are so many commonly used names that we'd consider mispronounced when viewed through this lens. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mummysharkargggggggg · 24/09/2022 10:15

Well with my accent neither of those names sound like anything like you pronounce them 🤷‍♀️
If it's going to bother you so much I'd use a different name 🤣

ClafoutisSurprise · 24/09/2022 10:12

MintyGreenDreams · 24/09/2022 09:58

What about Gianna, Gigi for nn

This name is a higher risk for mispronunciation than Georgiana, I think. Adds in the complication of deciding at the outset whether you want to pronounce it as an Italian would or as most English people will. This is before you get into more inventive pronunciations that people are bound to use (zhee-arna, etc.).

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