To think that if you have to ask how to pronounce a name, you should not use it for your baby?

[FlyMaybe]

Just that really.

Nobody could pronounce my maiden name. I have an unusual forename too which, although the pronunciation seems obvious, people mistake it for a different but similar name.

As an introverted child, I used to cringe when my name was incorrectly called out by teachers, doctors etc.

Why would you knowingly inflict that upon your child?

Helena Kennedy.

Helena can equally be as in Bonham-Carter or Christiansen / Kennedy.

LakieLady
I know someone who called her daughter Sian, but pronounced it cyan, like the colour. She was adamant that she was right, and that the correct pronunciation of Sian is spelt Shan.

There’s no arguing with that amount of ignorance, is there?! I read on the baby names thread about someone insisting that their child Siobhan was pronounced ‘See-oh-ban’.

I recognise the screwing up of the teacher's face as they come to your name. I hated that. And I didn't have a useful middle name to go by either.

I think if you waneed to name your child something unusual because you like it, go for it, but give them an ordinary middle name so they have a choice.

I had a very common (as in frequently used) name. I hated that. I felt as though my parents couldn't be bothered to think up something original.

I gave my children unusual names but not so unusual (hopefully) that people can't say or spell them.

Niamh is Nee-ev with a half syllable which English doesn't have

Thanks naked, I never know how to describe it exactly.

Yes there is a certain Dublin accent that pronounces the second half syllable more. Actually I've wondered before whether the "Neev" pronunciation is an over-correction or attempt to correct the tendency to split some types of one-syllable words in the Dub accent. E.g. fi-yiv for five and gray-iv for grave- that kind of thing.

I took DD to the GP yesterday. When we got back to school, she said, "It's highly-unusual-first-name last-name." I burst out laughing, because she's probably the only person with that first name in the entire borough! She really didn't need to give her last name! Bearing in mind that this is a primary school with slightly over 100 pupils. 😂

The only reason I didn't call DD Aoife was because I thought teachers would teach her to spell it the wrong way.

Lisa I once put my name into yourenotme.com and it said: "You don't exist. Go away." The same thing happened to someone on a forum I was on, she's half Hungarian, half Irish!

@EvilDoctor - that's so sad. My lil one is called Méabh (the English version is Maeve) - we had Aoife as well on our list.

I'd be very angry if a teacher couldn't be bothered to spell a 5 letter word properly. She has a very plain surname so it shouldn't be too difficult. We haven't had anyone not being able to spell her name yet!

There's an African girl in DD's class called Eva, pronounced Ever. HTH.

Well Shutup, I remember a girl in DS1's class called the Turkish name Ayse, the teacher wrote her name badge as "Alisha".

That teacher should have been torn a new one! I would now if a teacher spelt my child's name incorrectly

I always make an effort to pronounce (and spell) people's names correctly, and if I'm not sure I ask.

This may be caused by many years of people refusing to spell my middle name correctly - admittedly it is an unusual spelling, but really, if I've filled a form in it should be assumed that I know how to spell my own name and not that it needs 'correcting'.

Since marrying I also have a surname that can be spelt two different ways so now have to correct that as well, good thing I've had a lot of practice.

Niamh pronounced Ni-am makes my teeth itch.

Particularly because names like Niamh and Aoife are extremely common in Ireland- the equivalent in popularity of say Mia or Olivia. If those parents have gone so far as to look for an Irish name, would you not double check the bloody pronounciation?! Can you imagine because an adult Niamh and introducing yourself to an Irish colleague as Niam? Cringe cringe cringe.

My friend Aisling lived in the US for a while. Americans had a terrible time with her name, they called her A i's ling. (A eyes ling). Even people who knew her for years called her that.

I have a real dilemma about a woman called 'Aislinn' at work. Absolutely everyone says 'Ayes-lynn', which is not how I thought that name is pronounced. They've known her longer than me, so you'd think they'd know, and she is American not Irish, so maybe this is how she says it? The thing is she's so quiet and nice and meek that I can quite easily imagine that she's letting everyone mispronounce her name. I have tried to listen out for situations where she introduces herself and so far failed.

The Irish way for aislinn/aisling is with an ING sound at the end, but Americans say what they see, so it could be right for her.

But shouldn't it also be 'ASH-ling'? People aren't saying 'Ash-lynn', they're saying 'Ayes-lynn'

I know someone who named their daughter Niamh and pronounced it Name-ah.

Yes Margaret, you are right, it's Ash ling.

I have a you can tell how old she is with that name name. However if it is pronounced slightly differently it is fairly common for eastern europeans of a much younger age. I actually prefer the second pronunciation but having had a long period of being called by the boring british pronunciation it's too late to change

think

Helena= hell en ah
Helena = Hell ay na

I have an Eleanor as a relative - She's given up insisting on El-a-nor because everyone goes for El-e-ner, Paul McCartney style. I think it's a bit rude tbh to mispronounce someone's name repeatedly after they correct you. It doesn't matter what your default accent is, you ought to try and say it the way that person actually wants it to be said. I worked with a Silje once - Celia. It may or may not have been a foreign spelling but I didn't insist on calling her 'silge' just cos I thought it was a stupid spelling.

Claudia is a bit similar to Eleanor/Helena. Can be Cloud-ia or Claw-dia.

ah Fly, you did mean what I thought.

I have to confess I have a preferred pronunciation for my own name and it's interesting because my parents wanted it the other way, and recently they said to me "oh actually it really doesn't matter". I don't know if they are sick of confusion with people saying "but Nyx pronounces it differently than you do". Maybe I should just rename myself Nyx and have done with it.

I love the name Aisling, I think it's beautiful. I didn't realise Aislings got a lot of trouble with that too.