To pronounce this name differently

[babynameconfusion]

DH and I like the name Felicia. But we would pronounce it 'Fuh-liss-ee-a'
rather than like Feleesha. What would you think if you saw a baby with this name? Would people always pronounce it wrong?

Pick something else. Have you heard of 'Bye, Felicia'?! knowyourmeme.com/memes/bye-felicia?full=1

DH loves the name Felicia (I admittedly like it as well).
DH also loves Millicent, Fortunata, Josephine, Oriana and Basilia.

It seems like DH and you may have similar tastes, OP. Anything you like on that list? ;)

georgiegirl123, yes I have heard of 'bye Felicia' but I don't really think it'll be relevant by the time DD would be old enough for it to matter. I don't get why some posters are saying it's close to fellatio? It's no closer than Felicity and none of you seem to have a problem with that. It doesn't seem like anyone can agree on what the 'correct' pronunciation is either...

sorry, cross post!

Perfectly pretty name and you'll be telling people her name (and so will she) rather than writing it down and for them! Fel- is-ia is the standard Anglo/ European pronounciation (following the Latin derivation of the name) while Feleesha is Americanised. Your choice - posh princess or pop princess?

That film reference is so old and obscure, I shouldn't worry about it.

I had actually never heard of the film reference until recently when I started looking at the name Felicia

I'd pronounce it your way OP, fe-leesh-a sounds wrong to me.

Also my DD has a name that is pronounced one way in the country we live in, and a different way in English - she just got used to the two different ways of pronouncing it and we don't bother correcting people (we use the local pronunciation but when we're visiting the UK we don't care that people pronounce it in the British way)

I'd say Fel ISS ia too, as I'd say Alicia as Al ISS ia.

I have the simplest name and people still mispronounce it. So much so, that when I moved house I reverted to using my nickname. And no one gets that wrong.

Omg, don't do it. Have you not heard of "bye, Felicia!" It's like such a put down nowadays. Look up on urban dictionary

Oh sorry, never realised that was already mentioned. I just couldn't though. A name that has a similar vibe is Felicity, girl I went to school with had that name and everyone called her Flic which was cute

I used to work with someone called Alicia (Ali-see-a) and people called her Aleesha on a daily basis, she used to get really cross. Just saying.

We have named our 6 month old Alicia so the pronunciation issue is the same. It's meant to be pronounced Alissia and not Alisha or Aleesha. It's similar to Alice and we want it pronounced in a similar way too.
So many people get it wrong though and it really annoys me. If they are unsure they should ask and not just assume.
But you shouldn't have to change the spelling just for other people. I am glad we chose it because it's a bit different, and my 3 year old is very good at correcting people even before I do!
If you love the name, stick to your guns. The people who matter will pronounce it correctly and that's most important.

Marissa
Alissa
Elisa
Annalisa
Clarissa
Melissa

Loads of names with a similar sound that would stop any confusion.

People pronounce my daughters name wrong her name is katlin pronounced Kate Lynn some pronounce it cat Lynn!

I would pronounce it Fe-lee-sia, so if you like it that much go for it! Same with Marcia in terms of pronunciation. Because if it's meant to be 'Marsha' why not write it that way?

But if I saw Alicia, I might be torn 50/50 as to how to pronounce it.. Mainly cos of the Good Wife character 'Alicia Florrick'!

A significant amount of your child's classmates will not be from 100% English-speaking families so there's a higher chance of them pronouncing it the more European way - your way.

People (for example GP receptionists) rarely pronounce my name correctly, they tend to be British people who are not well traveled or who don't speak a second language. There's an 'A' in my name that most non-English languages always pronounce as an open A-sound 'Ah', which is the way it should be pronounced..

I don't resent my mother for choosing it one bit! I'm so happy with the unusual name she gave me. In fact it's entertaining for me to see if someone is going to pronounce it right or not when they call me up.

My classmates never had a problem pronouncing it btw. Once they're told, that's it forever.

I'm sure that there is a Mumsnetter called Feliciajollygoodfellow or similar. I wonder if that is her name and how she pronounces it ....

It's not pronouncing it incorrectly; it's a preference. I've heard the name Felicia pronounced both ways: 'Fuh-liss-ee-a' and Feleesha, more often as your preference, in fact. Perhaps it depends where you live?
My own first name is frequently mispronounced, just be polite but firm about your preferred pronunciation. My husband, my sons and myself all have our first names and surname spelled incorrectly and no, they're not 'made-up' names.
I have 4 kids called Louis in my class (teacher) - three of them pronounce it 'Lewis' one says 'Looee'

wankers

DD is Clarissa. And the answer is 'yes' and no.

As long as you're in the UK there are no issues. But my nonna pronounces it differently than mynGerman speaking father. My French relatives pronounce it differently than my originally Swedish grandmother.

I don't there's a name that only has a single acceptable pronunciation. Which is why I personally don't understand why this is such an issue?

Simply correct people if you don't like their pronunciation and that's it..?

I hadn't realised the 'bye Felicia' thing was old - I heard it several times this year - I wouldn't assertive it'll go away - and it only takes on kid at school to hear it again, and everyone will be saying it and making her life miserable.

I had a surname which was associated with a much more obscure literary reference, but a couple of older kids found it out from somewhere and spent a happy couple of years tormenting me! Personally, I wouldn't pick a name with an obvious teasing potential, kids are pretty resourceful!

Yes people will always pronounce it in the traditional way. Can't you change the spelling? Felissia? I know a Felicia but she's always been called Felix! Sometimes you just can't win!

People pronounce my daughters name wrong her name is katlin pronounced Kate Lynn some pronounce it cat Lynn!

Maybe because of the very many ways to spell Caitlin, that isn't one of them :)

I'd pronounce it Cat Lyn spelled like that. There is nothing in that spelling that makes the "a" change from a "ah" to rhyme with bah sound, to an "ae" to rhyme with hay sound. You can obviously pronounce it however you want, but the spelling is wrong for the sound you want.