Frances? Does it matter if we pronounce it differently?

I say it in a different way to both you and your husband - Fran-ses. Not Frarn- and not -sis.

I really like the name anyway. I used to work with a young Frances who shortened it to Ces.

ETA - realised I didn't answer your question. I don't think it matters that she'll hear her name said in different accents, that's just part of life.

If you put the stress on the first syllable, then I think that is unusual. Most people will assume the stress is on the second syllable.

I am from the North and would say
Fransess.
Francis is a boys name pronounced Fransiss

I think it’s a lovely name - and I really don’t think it matters a scrap if you and your family say it one way, and DH and his family say it another way. My DH is from farther up the map than me, so he says one of my DD’s names differently from me, and it really doesn’t worry me a jot.

My dd is called Sofia and we all pronunce it Sof-ee-a but a lot of people pronounce it So-fee-a which annoys her lol. Would I have let it put me off naming her that? Absolutely not

We vetoed Natalia because our accents meant we couldn't agree on how to pronounce it. We had other options though so it depends how attached you are to the name.

My childrens' names have more than one pronuanciations. It's really not an issue.

As long as your DH and his family are not going to moan every time you pronounce it your way, and vice versa, it will be fine. Your DC will soon have to get used to different accents for hundreds of words. It's part of being a north/south family.

Your husband's fears are unfounded.

Babies/ toddlers are fully capable of absorbing and blowing right past differences in accent.

As she grows, she will surely encounter many other words that sound different in the two accents in her home. Depending on where she lives, one is probably going to become dominant.

I have an Irish accent and my DCs have an American one. There are certain words that made me cringe when they said them - one being France - and they quickly learned to emphasize certain vowel sounds just to see me grind my teeth :-)

One of them has a name that sounds like another name altogether (imo) in some American accents but she had no difficulty understanding that people were talking to her, even at a very young age.

My name includes the letter r in the middle. People with rhotic accents pronounce the r, those with non-rhotic accents don't. It has never bothered me. I expect your Frances will get used to the different pronunciations of her name as well.

BTW I love the name Frances.

Ah I had this dilemma with DS2. He is Alexander, I’m southern but DH is northern and we live up north.

I actually hated it for many years and used to cringe at myself every time I said his name. I think people thought I was trying to be posh 🤣 I did have serious baby name regret, but luckily as he got older he just became Alex and now I love it again.

She’ll likely end up being Fran so all will be well.

This is just a regional pronunciation thing. I would never say your way because I’m Scottish and it would involve putting on a fake English accent and sounding absurd/like I was taking the piss.

DH is English and we pronounce lots of stuff differently. Just how it is.

The second letter of my name is A.
People from home, ie the north pronounce it like bath and path.
My southern friends pronounce it with a long A ie barth , parth.
It really doesnt matter - its just different accents

How does it currently go at "bath" time? Or if you want to feed the "ducks" in the park? Are you able to communicate? Obviously the best thing to happen would be the northerner learns to speak properly.

I think it's fine to pronounce it differently depending on your accents. The same would happen with lots of names and you can't rule them all out!

I think it’s lovely either way.

I’m Scottish and only heard it the Ses way

It’s an awful name though so old fashioned and the shortenings Fran/Fanny are just terrible

my husband is from Liverpool. We'll never say words the same. You just have different accents

I do love Frances as a name.

As a southerner in the north im now practising both accents on it 😆

I dont think it matters. There must be tonnes of words you pronounce differently (bath, castle...). Your children will adapt and choose whichever pronunciation they prefer whilst taking the micky out of the other one.