How would you pronounce this name?

[Chocolation]

We have just had our new DD. We have called her Mila (to rhyme with smiler). There has been alot of confusion with family and friends on how to pronounce it. Some have been saying it with an 'i' sound as we intended. Others say it with an 'ee' sound (like Meela). Should we change the spelling to Myla instead before we register the birth so there is less confusion? Or AIBU to keep the spelling Mila and she has to keep telling people how to say her name all her life. Do you have a name that other people keep mispronouncing and does it do your head in or do you like having a more unusual name?

I know two children called Mila

One pronounced Miller and one Meela none pronounced Myla. I’d honestly go with Myla.

Meela - without an r sound at the end, but I’m Canadian so we don’t do that. I think you would be correcting people a lot, so Myla might be a good idea.

I would pronounce it with smiler.

Please change the spelling... I have a name shared with a now fading American celebrity which also happens to have a slightly different pronunciation to how she says it. 'Mine' actually makes sense, but hers doesn't - I can only assume no one told her mother the correct pronunciation, and thanks to her daughters 'fame', I'm suffering. I've spent my life correcting it and it gets absolutely f**king exhausting. I once got engaged to a guy who mispronounced my name wrong but I was too embarrassed to tell him. Finally my sister did. Im not the most confident person but I think my name has made it worse

Why do people give their children names they don't know how to pronounce? . And then wail "everybody's saying it wrong!!"

Would’ve pronounced it Miller.

confused there is no r in it!

The r in Miller is only pronounced in a few regional accents in the UK.

Who do you pronounce miller?

I would say Mill UR

I would also say smil UR not smil Ah

My daughter has a name which has similar issues. About half the time people don't pronounce it the way it's meant.
I do sometimes wish I'd made a spelling change which would have ensured only the correct pronunciation, but so far I'm not too bothered.
My daughter is only 2 so doesn't really notice. I'm hoping it's not going to annoy her when she's older.

Ximena I can manage having lived in a Latin American country.

Mila = Meela in my mind.

I think the reason why people pronounce it meela generally is because that's how it sounds in slavic countries where the name originates from eg Russia. I've heard it pronounced half way between meela and miller (without the r!) but definitely not pronounced myla.

NotTheQueen - it's not Demi, is it?! I know a Demi who says her name as Demmy, but thanks to Demi Moore she started to get "Duh-me"...

Or Mariah?

Myla is s a luxury underwear brand.

I have a name that has variations in both spelling and pronunciation. I never bothered about correcting people unless they specifically ask. Easier just to answer to all the variations.

Oh dear, she's going to have 'Me-lah' her whole life. I would have spelled in Myla if you wanted no confusion

I would pronounce it as Mee-la too! I’d definitely go with Myla if you don’t want any confusion!

it's not Demi, is it?! I know a Demi who says her name as Demmy, but thanks to Demi Moore she started to get "Duh-me"...

I assumed it was short for Demetria, and pronounced it as such, but was ridiculed and told it was Demmy. I'd like to go back to that job now and go ner-ner-ne-ner-ner.

Definitely Meela, and I agree with the poster above about people who call their kids names they can't pronounce. I'll never forgive the Beatles (and Eastenders) for the aberration that is Mee-SHELL, when Michelle is such a lovely name.

An acquaintance once told us that her sister was calling her daughter Cyan. I commented that I was no fan of this fashion for naming children after colours (some celeb had not long named a baby Blue), and she looked at me blankly. After some debate about whether or not cyan was a colour, it turned out the name she'd chosen was actually Sian. (The child ended up being called something completely different in the end, I've no idea if the 2 events were connected lol).

I understand why the French used to have laws about what names were acceptable and I believe that if the registrar thinks a proposed name is to wacky or weird, they can refer the suggestion for some sort of formal approval or refusal. That would have stopped a Genesis or two, and probably a few Madonnas.

Rhotic accenters who haven't noticed non-rhoticity, has anybody explained Shaun the Sheep yet?

Shaun The sheet is a crime against language! as are many books/tv shows aimed at children in English.

It's not dissimilar to the variations of Mia / Mya. To me the first is Mee-ah and the second is My- ma but I've met children with variations of both spellings and ways of saying their name.

sheep! I hate autocorrect!

”All the people expressing incredulity that Myla could rhyme with Smiler or Milla and miller sound the same - is your life experience genuinely so limited that you have never encountered a non-rhotic accent?”

This. Or at least a spectacular lack of imagination that, given what the OP’s has actually written in her post, smiler in her accent rhymes with myla.

Always comes across as passive aggressively trying to correct someone who puts phonetic pronunciation in a non-rhotic accent. Clearly it would be sensible to express it as smil-ah rather than smiler, but really, engage brain!

Mee-la

I always thought it was pronouced Myla but there we go. never actually met anyone with that name and always read Mila Kunis that way. I am obviously wring though!

BatteredBread Why would the lack of r mean it wouldn't be Miller? Not everyone pronounces an r at the end of a word. Saying it didn't have a double L would make more sense.

Mila, whatever the pronunciation and Miller have the same final vowel sound in a lot of accents.

I have a name that gets mis-pronounced ALL the time, since I was a child. One man I used to work with called me the wrong name for 5 years. I stopped correcting him eventually, he was a bit of a twat anyway.

My advice is give the girl a chance! Call her Myla!