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Baby names

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

Original poster

Everyone is getting my baby's name wrong

433 replies

Laura3091 · 08/07/2025 11:19

So my baby girls name is Emila - It is pronounced as Em-ee-la.

Everyone keeps calling her Amelia and can’t get their head around Emila. Don’t think it’s that hard to grasp tbh but I know she is going to have trouble as she grows up with people mispronouncing her name.

Do we just shorten it to Mila? (Mee-La) to make it easier for everyone?

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cocoonscriticupgrading · 09/07/2025 14:56

notahappycabbage · 09/07/2025 09:40

Genuine question, why would you think Mila would be pronounced as Miller!? Or M-eye-ler?

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Genuine answer: it's just how my brain pronounces what it sees on the page. I do not automatically see the 'i' being pronounced as 'eeee' but more, the other two ways - a mere, 'say what you see' and I see Miller or M-eye-ler, Meela would not not occur to me.

Emanwenym · 09/07/2025 14:42

@Portugal1987 , you are rude.
Half the people on here probably don't say Emilia as Emillia.

What is the correct pronunciation (of Emilia)? Is there one?

Whether or not you are a native speaker does make a difference, as does whether or not you speak more than one language?

Portugal1987 · 09/07/2025 14:16

LovingLimePeer · 08/07/2025 13:01

"mil" and "mill" are homophones in English, meaning they are pronounced the same way. Both are pronounced with the /mɪl/ sound, rhyming with "bill" and "still."

ChatGPT agrees with me. I'm a native English speaker.

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Then half the people here who would say Emilia would also say Emillia

it’s just silly reading honestly. Being a “native speaker” has nothing to do with the fact that people can’t pronounce a name correctly

BluenoseGers · 09/07/2025 12:19

I have an Amelia and lots of people say E instead of A and my biggest pet hate is when they say Amelya so I'd expect for them to say Myla instead of Mila if you did

Phoenixfire1988 · 09/07/2025 10:46

Trendyname · 08/07/2025 21:45

But in this case, there is no cultural reference or history. It is a made up name, which looks like a typo of a popular name with missing I. In your case, unusual name makes sense because of cultural reference.

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It is a name in its own right of Italian descent apparently but even Google ai was reading it as Emilia 😂😂

Phoenixfire1988 · 09/07/2025 10:38

Laura3091 · 08/07/2025 12:05

I’m not changing her name fully for the purpose of lazy readers lol but thinking of how to shorting it for her to maybe go by it by her friends etc. it’s not a weird name, it’s just uncommon in the uk…and it’s not ‘poor baby’. It’s pretty and better than being a boring Olivia for example which has been done a million times over

Dropping the i doesnt make the name special unique or different it literally still sounds the same as Emilia (which is a very common and boring name ) only it sounds like a kid that can't talk properly yet is saying it . I honestly don't know why parents do this to their kids are you actually Italian OP?

Phoenixfire1988 · 09/07/2025 10:29

I'm surprised that your surprised this is happening 🙈
Kids in for a lifetime of correcting people and having to spell her name out constantly, poor child

Cadenza12 · 09/07/2025 10:24

She'll probably call herself Em when she gets tired of correcting people.

notahappycabbage · 09/07/2025 10:21

SemperIdem · 09/07/2025 09:53

@notahappycabbage I’ve actually come across a little girl Miller. Did wonder why the parents had made that particular choice, we live in Wales so have non-rhotic accents, it would sound exactly the same as Milla (which everyone assumes it is initially).

I can see that when you say Miller and Milla out loud it does sound the same.

SemperIdem · 09/07/2025 09:53

@notahappycabbage I’ve actually come across a little girl Miller. Did wonder why the parents had made that particular choice, we live in Wales so have non-rhotic accents, it would sound exactly the same as Milla (which everyone assumes it is initially).

notahappycabbage · 09/07/2025 09:47

DappledThings · 09/07/2025 09:43

To rhyme with Camilla. It's not a huge difference between Mi-la and Mee-la. The double l would usually shorten the vowel but not universally.

Maybe this is a rhotic/non-rhotic element of confusion I've introduced. Milla and Miller are the same to me.

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Ok, English is not my first languange and I know quite a few children called Mila (pronounced with Scandinavian i, so not even Meela). I don’t think I’ve even heard the name Miller tbh.

DappledThings · 09/07/2025 09:45

notahappycabbage · 09/07/2025 09:40

Genuine question, why would you think Mila would be pronounced as Miller!? Or M-eye-ler?

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And Milo is is pronounced with the first syllable rhyming with eye so no reason Mila couldn't be

DappledThings · 09/07/2025 09:43

notahappycabbage · 09/07/2025 09:40

Genuine question, why would you think Mila would be pronounced as Miller!? Or M-eye-ler?

Edited
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To rhyme with Camilla. It's not a huge difference between Mi-la and Mee-la. The double l would usually shorten the vowel but not universally.

Maybe this is a rhotic/non-rhotic element of confusion I've introduced. Milla and Miller are the same to me.

notahappycabbage · 09/07/2025 09:40

cocoonscriticupgrading · 09/07/2025 07:47

I don't! If I saw Mila written down my brain would pronounce it as Miller or M-eye-ler.

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Genuine question, why would you think Mila would be pronounced as Miller!? Or M-eye-ler?

Emanwenym · 09/07/2025 09:21

Milla Jovovich isn't Mila

ChocolateGanache · 09/07/2025 09:08

cocoonscriticupgrading · 09/07/2025 07:47

I don't! If I saw Mila written down my brain would pronounce it as Miller or M-eye-ler.

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It’s quite a well known name.
Mila Kunis? Mila Jovovich?

midgetastic · 09/07/2025 08:33

“People should learn “

i think there are lots of things people should learn from basic maths / ratios / probability & risk ( PLEASE ) but I accept that sone just can’t

people also don’t learn that people’s minds are different

they alsp can take decades to learn that you can’t change a bad man

cocoonscriticupgrading · 09/07/2025 07:47

ChocolateGanache · 08/07/2025 21:50

Don’t be ridiculous! Everyone knows Mila is pronounced MeeLa 🙄

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I don't! If I saw Mila written down my brain would pronounce it as Miller or M-eye-ler.

PutThe · 08/07/2025 22:01

Panicpanicpanicpanik · 08/07/2025 21:55

We’re going to have to agree to disagree

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Looks like it.

Emanwenym · 08/07/2025 21:59

@Panicpanicpanicpanik , My Sri Lankan colleague has a long surname but fortunately the first name is unusual enough.

Some people struggle with names. I've seen it many times, and it so often isn't the names you'd expect people to find difficult. It's usually a name that has a sort of similar name, maybe like constantly calling Shashi Sasha or Janice Janet.

Panicpanicpanicpanik · 08/07/2025 21:55

PutThe · 08/07/2025 21:51

Mine was only about whether its comparable to someone using an ethnic minority name. It's not really.

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We’re going to have to agree to disagree

PutThe · 08/07/2025 21:51

Panicpanicpanicpanik · 08/07/2025 21:42

I don’t want to derail with personal anecdotes but my kids have names uncommon South Asia but very common in the levant but we’re from South Asia, so does happen.

my point was rather the rhetoric and responding to a poster who said IF someone is from a cultural background they should change their child’s name if it’s too similar to a British name to make it easier for white brits

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Mine was only about whether its comparable to someone using an ethnic minority name. It's not really.

ChocolateGanache · 08/07/2025 21:50

DappledThings · 08/07/2025 11:22

Not sure that would help. People won't know if it's pronounced like mee-la or miller

I've never seen Emila as a name before and I suspect people are so used to Emilia or Amelia they are skim reading and adding in the i between the l and a to change the pronunciation. It won't always happen, you just need to politely correct people.

Don’t be ridiculous! Everyone knows Mila is pronounced MeeLa 🙄

Taytayslayslay · 08/07/2025 21:48

Panicpanicpanicpanik · 08/07/2025 21:42

I don’t want to derail with personal anecdotes but my kids have names uncommon South Asia but very common in the levant but we’re from South Asia, so does happen.

my point was rather the rhetoric and responding to a poster who said IF someone is from a cultural background they should change their child’s name if it’s too similar to a British name to make it easier for white brits

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Tbh my daughter is Lyla (very "normal' common name) and she gets called different names like Layla, Isla 😂

Trendyname · 08/07/2025 21:45

GAJLY · 08/07/2025 13:33

Yes I'm aware of that. But their names mean something to me culturally. The children love their names and the fact they link to our history. They're fine with it and are glad they're not one of many Elizabeth/ lilly/Amelia.

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But in this case, there is no cultural reference or history. It is a made up name, which looks like a typo of a popular name with missing I. In your case, unusual name makes sense because of cultural reference.