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Baby names

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Original poster

Diaeresis

89 replies

MauriceTheMussel · 13/10/2025 11:08

Any experience with a name with diaeresis, please? Is it a pain on forms? Does a passport exclude them etc?

Secondly, would it be “correct” to have diaeresis on Raphael?

OP posts:
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IslaVarran · 13/10/2025 12:35

@HostaCentral , it's Raffaello in Italian. What do you mean by Raf-ai-el, Raph-ay-el or Raph-eye-el?

@MauriceTheMussel , the Raphaël spelling is the French version.

APatternGrammar · 13/10/2025 12:32

You can't use it on a passport.
(UK gov guidelines)
So you'd have to be careful about not using it when booking flights, but it's way more likely to be forgotten than added in.
Saying that, I'm not sure I'd put the child to the trouble for a name like Raphael. Zoë feels (irrationally) to me like it benefits from the decorätion because it's short.

Names: names that cannot be used in passports (accessible)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/names-names-that-cannot-be-used-in-passports/names-names-that-cannot-be-used-in-passports-accessible

PastaFasool · 13/10/2025 12:09

MauriceTheMussel · 13/10/2025 11:57

Hmmm, I’m hoping his passport was a German one and thus their authorities were/are more equipped for diacritical marks on names?

Show quote history

His passport was German, and I think the US machine recognised the umlaut correctly - but someone else had booked his place ticket and missed out the umlaut when booking. So I think what I'm saying is: U is a different character to U-umlaut for software, so where anyone else has to type in your name, there's going to be more risk that it gets messed up.

Mumof2heroes · 13/10/2025 12:04

ComfortFoodCafe · 13/10/2025 11:17

Sounds to much like diarrhoea, that poor kid will have the piss taken out of them at school. Dont do it.

Why don't you read the OP? 🤦🏼‍♀️

Original poster
MauriceTheMussel · 13/10/2025 11:57

PastaFasool · 13/10/2025 11:53

It's about 10 years ago but I had a German boyfriend whose name had an umlaut in the surname - but the u-umlaut was mis-booked on a flight as u-no-umlaut, and we nearly missed a flight in New York because the check-in terminals didn't register his passport name the same as his flight name.

Hmmm, I’m hoping his passport was a German one and thus their authorities were/are more equipped for diacritical marks on names?

OP posts:
Original poster
MauriceTheMussel · 13/10/2025 11:56

BauhausOfEliott · 13/10/2025 11:50

You don’t need to use diaresis in English at all. If you wanted to preserve the original way of writing a name in another language, or need to make the pronunciation of a name clear, you can use the typographical markers for that if you like (like the example a PP gave for writing an Irish language name). But if you are using an anglicised name you don’t need to (although you can if you particularly want to).

Either way - you really don’t need one for Raphael; it’s not standard to use one for that name and it wouldn’t affect pronunciation. There are certainly some names where diaresis might clarify pronunciation in English but Raphael isn’t one of them.

Agree with this - in English, Raphael is very obviously pronounced as two separate sounds at the end. However, like a PP said, the diaeresis inclusion, to me, makes it “correct” and whole, present, and accounted for!

I’ve gathered the diaeresis spelling is the standard French spelling, and we are not French.

If anyone is called Zoe or similar, is your name naked in your passport and other official forms and you use the diaeresis when handwriting etc?

OP posts:
RawBaby · 13/10/2025 11:54

34ransum · 13/10/2025 11:36

Most forms struggle with things like that, but just leave it off when you have to.

My daughter has an ó in her name and even her British passport wouldn't allow it

The name seems naked without it!

Yes, my fada cannot be accommodated on many UK forms. Which irritates me, as it isn't there for decoration -- words mean entirely different things depending on whether there's a fada or not. Seán is a male name, 'sean' without the fada means 'old' etc.

If you're going to use a name with a diaresis, OP, I'd accept that it will be omitted a lot. If that will drive you mad, I'd think again.

JoyintheMorning · 13/10/2025 11:54

Dear Mrs Umlaut-Circumflex,
In your opinion will this thread make it to Classic status?

PastaFasool · 13/10/2025 11:53

It's about 10 years ago but I had a German boyfriend whose name had an umlaut in the surname - but the u-umlaut was mis-booked on a flight as u-no-umlaut, and we nearly missed a flight in New York because the check-in terminals didn't register his passport name the same as his flight name.

KnickerlessParsons · 13/10/2025 11:52

Yes to a Diaeresis on Raphael, though I don't know how to do one on my laptop keyboard, so that's telling. I can do one on my phone though.
The name that really cries out for a diaeresis to me is Anais. My friend's grand daughter's name is pronounced "Annay" 😧

BauhausOfEliott · 13/10/2025 11:50

You don’t need to use diaresis in English at all. If you wanted to preserve the original way of writing a name in another language, or need to make the pronunciation of a name clear, you can use the typographical markers for that if you like (like the example a PP gave for writing an Irish language name). But if you are using an anglicised name you don’t need to (although you can if you particularly want to).

Either way - you really don’t need one for Raphael; it’s not standard to use one for that name and it wouldn’t affect pronunciation. There are certainly some names where diaresis might clarify pronunciation in English but Raphael isn’t one of them.

stickygotstuck · 13/10/2025 11:48

OP, people are generally too lazy to use any diacritics in this country (plus, granted, they can be hard to find in keyboards and some English language electronic formats won't accept some symbols).

But it would simply do my head in to see the name misspelled. So in your shoes, I'd use the diaeresis, teach the child to use it, and accept that it will be missed often in practice.

Bumcake · 13/10/2025 11:48

HostaCentral · 13/10/2025 11:29

No-one will understand what the dots mean anyway in terms of pronunciation, so they are not useful in any way. Don't bother.

Raphael is a lovely name. I would pronounce in the Italian, but that's due to my heritage. How do you want it to be pronounced?

I would say Raf-ai-el

I think that’s how everyone would say it. I’m not Italian, but I know a ninja turtle.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 13/10/2025 11:45

@ditavonteesed
@Filofaxforlife

Is it not obvious from the way the OP is worded that this isn’t a name for the baby? Even if you don’t know what the word means .

FuckoffeeBeforeCoffee · 13/10/2025 11:45

I only clicked on this thread because I knew people would think it's a name...

Cinai · 13/10/2025 11:42

I feel this might become a ‘classics’ thread with half of the people discussing diaeresis and the other half discussing whether diaeresis is an acceptable name 🤣🤣

TeenToTwenties · 13/10/2025 11:41

We decided not to bother as people would know how the name was pronounced without anyway and it would be a pain forever. Don't regret it.

Filofaxforlife · 13/10/2025 11:40

RaraRachael · 13/10/2025 11:13

Never heard of it before. Sounds too much like diarrhoea for it to be a name.

🤣

ditavonteesed · 13/10/2025 11:40

Always a problem on computers

IslaVarran · 13/10/2025 11:37

They're all out today. Smile Call the baby Umlaut or Fada instead,
@MauriceTheMussel
Raphael is perfectly fine. It doesn't need a diaeresis.

34ransum · 13/10/2025 11:36

Most forms struggle with things like that, but just leave it off when you have to.

My daughter has an ó in her name and even her British passport wouldn't allow it

The name seems naked without it!

Dolphinnoises · 13/10/2025 11:34

What do you want to do where it doesn’t get used? Is the plan for it not to be used at all, or for an e to go in? Eg if it was Müller (which I know would be an odd first name), would you prefer Muller or Mueller?

Kary26 · 13/10/2025 11:33

ComfortFoodCafe · 13/10/2025 11:17

Sounds to much like diarrhoea, that poor kid will have the piss taken out of them at school. Dont do it.

It's not a name, it's 2 dots above a letter eg to tell you Zoe is pronounced Zoey not Zo.

DaisyChain505 · 13/10/2025 11:32

Miss read the post. Thought you were using it as a name! I was echoing what others said about diarrhoea 🤣

JoyintheMorning · 13/10/2025 11:31

Set your keyboard to a font/alphabet with other characters, Danish? My Polish friend sometimes uses my computer and changes the settings to get the Polish alphabet.