Regretting the name we gave our baby

I wouldn’t over think it. My half French daughter has the name Camille which in France people who speak English always presume she is Camilla because I am English the in England everyone thinks it’s pronounced Cameel with the nickname Cami. No matter what you do some people will get it wrong even if they are not unheard of names like Alexandra or Camille.

You'll have to get the book: ¡Por fin duermo en mi camita! It's about a child called Alex who gets their own bed in their own room.

My impression of Spain is that older people generally have very little experience with other languages and virtually everyone in their cohort will have had a traditional Spanish name, whereas most young people speak and understand English well, and so when your daughter grows up and makes friends, they will have no issues getting her name right.

My name can have 2 different first letters doesn't bother me that I get asked what version of spelling.

Non issue am afraid.

We are English but our DD was born in Spain, so we naturally wanted to giver her a Spanish name & chose one that we both loved.
It’s a very common name in Spain, very simple spelling & one that we thought would be very easily pronounced in English. How wrong we were! She has spent most of her life correcting people’s prononciation & spelling but she still loves her name & that fact that no one else in her school has the same name, which is rare these days. Embrace it !

I'm English, but I live in a Spanish speaking country. We also have an issue that getting our daughters names right is hard for people (even though we chose names that are pretty similar in their English and Spanish form)

Once your daughter is a little older, she'll start using a nickname anyway, and people will give her nicknames which you don't get a say on. If I was you, I wouldn't change the name.

My son has a very traditional English name, his Zimbabwean Dad and family used to always call him by the Zimbabwean version when he was little. It never bothered him

Both versions of the name are lovely and I think you are right that Alexandra is more international (though I imagine she’ll get Alessandra a lot too). I don’t think you can avoid the different pronunciations so just embrace it.

My SIL is Spanish, lives in Spain and her name is Alexandra. She’s never had any major problems and is generally called Alex. I don’t think it’s as big an issue as you think.

None issue and beautiful name

One of my kids has a name that is constantly mispronounced. It annoyed me when teachers couldn't get it right yet were able to remember names of different nationalities.

Child is now a teen and is resigned to people not proouncing the name. Doesn't even bother to correct people anymore which makes me feel quite sad tbh.

I think you should just call your daughter Alex which is the name you love anyway.

My name is German and very similar to an English version, I get called the English version all the time. The actual name has a sound that isn’t really used in the English language, so even when it’s said the way it’s spelt, people usually still don’t get it ‘right’.
It doesn’t bother me at all, it did when I was a moody teenager, though!

My name has a different pronunciation in Arab countries. I used to work with students in UAE and I loved hearing their pronunciation. As long as you call her Alexandra at home, she'll be used to it.

Maybe you should introduce her to other people as Alex.

My name ends in a ‘e’ but it’s common in Spain and other countries for it to end in ‘a’ (I have lived in several European countries and went to a Spanish school), I answer to either the e or a version. I do an activity led my a Ukrainian teacher who always says the a version, it doesn’t bother me. Not sure if it ever bothered my mum that at times my name got changed.

At 1 this is a non issue.
If it bothers HER when she is older she can choose her own nickname (not that Alexandra needs one as it is a great name) or correct people.

I'd just accept that her Spanish family call her Aljandra or Alexandra interchangeably, and her English family call her Alexandra. So nn Ali or Alex.

Hoenstly, I'd try and chill and just accept it as a nickname.

DS is Xavier. Italian relative only ever calls his Za-vi-air instead of Zay-vee-ur. It's special in its own way

Hi. You are way overthinking.
I think it's great.
She will be bilingual and so is her name!

Embrace it.
X

I am English and my parents gave me a foreign name with a foreign spelling. People can rarely pronounce it or spell it easily nd I’ve had people call me the wrong name for years. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It certainly doesn’t ‘exhaust’ me to have to correct people. It’s a lovely name and it’s always been a great talking point.

I wouldn’t worry, my friend called her daughter a name pronounced completely differently in England and in her native language, she accepts both. It’s not a mispronunciation really to me, it’s more like an adoption of the name into people’s own language or accent. If your daughter minds later she can tell everyone.

Completely fine, I've known Alejandros that go by Alex. I've not known an Alexandra with the X pronounced as J but then you have names like Xaviera and so on. Think it's totally fine family affectionately calling her Alejandra, both are beautiful names.

I wouldn't worry my GS has a Spanish name but lives in the UK many people get it wrong at first it hasn't bothered him at all and he says he likes his name

I have a name like this. My name has an A on the end but the typical UK version does not. Think Louisa and Louise but not that! It is annoying but I correct people and then they say it right. It's not a big deal for me. It bothers my dh more actually!

I don't think you need to change it. Think of it as a pronunciation difference rather than the "wrong" name. I know an Elizabeth whose English mum pronounces it the English way and her French dad pronounces it the French way (El-ees-a-bett). She happily answers to both!

I have Spanish/English children the two sides of the family, including DH their father and I, use the correct pronunciation for their language, the children just accept it as normal.

I disagree with the majority. I think you were wrong to give her a name with a sound that isn't natural to many native speakers and it's hardly surprising they have nativised the name to change the X to a J. Just like if you'd raised her in England and called her Alejandra - 8/10 native English speakers would pronounce it wrong and even if they did attempt the J sound it wouldn't be a proper Spanish inflection.
I don't think you can change it now but it was badly thought out.

Does it actually bother you that people call her Alejandra? Our kids have always been called different names by different family members as some of my husbands family are from a different country. It hasn’t caused any issues at all. I quite like it. It’s a nice link to their heritage. Both Alexandra and Alejandra are lovely and are very similar.