Sons name Caleb pronounced differently, anyone else have child’s name like this 😡

[Tonijo1990]

Hi
So my son is 8 months and called Caleb
We pronounce it cay - leb (as in leb in the word celeb ).
everyone else pronounces it cay - lub as in the u in urgh (not lub that rhymes with tub 😂 lol)
We are so annoyed that we are thinking of changing his name
I correct people all the time but I’ve been told we’ve spelt it wrong and say it wrong even by my own sister and mil
It’s in the blooming bible haha
I do understand the name has modernised to be Kaleb though
Has anyone else got a child who seems like they have two names with the pronunciation?? Or anyone with a Caleb ??

My Dd is called Leah, another old bible name, which is pronounced
Lee-Ah. I thought most people would know that, but she is regularly called either Lay-ah or just Lee.

Is Kaylum a real name?

maybe it's a new/(mis) pronunciation of Calum?
Like Colin is pronounced Coelin in America?

:-/

The 'e' sound in Caleb is a schwa, OP - an unstressed syllable that's usually given an 'uh' sound. The degree to which it is 'uh' rather than 'eh' will vary between accents, but I've only ever heard it pronounced KAY-lub.

I'm so baffled by the previous Welsh posters. I'm Welsh and have only ever heard Cay-lub, although as PPs have said it's more of a Cay-l-b with the u dropped when it's said in conversation.

webuilt yes, I pronounce my daughters name Isobel to rhyme with visible... it’s the correct Scottish pronunciation. (I’m the only one who does though, her English grandma over-emphasises it like ‘Is-OH-bel’ smile )

My apologies - I've never heard it pronounced any way other than IS-uh-bell. Probably too much Enid Blyton as a child! The plot thickens....

Both my children have prominent R's in their names and I'm a Wossy so I really shouldn't have an opinion on this!

Elijah and Elishah are two separate men in the Bible - can be quite confusing!

When I compared its modern usage with 'Alicia', I was assuming that it was always pronounced Al-EE-shuh (as in Dixon), but of course, Al-ISS-ee-uh is also a variant pronunciation.

In my mind, I. Pronounce it Kay -Lib!

Both my children have prominent R's in their names and I'm a Wossy so I really shouldn't have an opinion on this!

This chap would certainly empathise

Only ever heard it as Cay-Leb. Can't see where an "urbh" sound would come out of something clearly spelt as LEB (as in, rhymes with SEB). Nobody would say Surbh if someone's name was Seb?!

Correct then ignore it

I'm in Yorkshire and I say Cay-leb though my friend has a grandson and she says Cay-lub. Just keep correcting them, annoying as it is.

I’m just going to keep saying how I want it said
Least he can have a choice when he’s older 😂😂

The other half and I just sat on the sofa and said we’ve got 4 months left to change it if we want
Though I like the name teddy and he likes hunter
Caleb suits his name though

WeBuilt but IS-uh-bel is what that poster is saying is correct for Isobel?! As opposed to Is-OH-Bel. With the emphasis on the "OH" instead of the IS.

It's more to do with emphasis on syllables as much as/than pronunciation.

I would say IS-uh-bel as in VIS-i-ble, like the poster says. Not "Is-O-Bel" (which would make it "Vis-IH-Ble" in comparison/turn).

WeBuilt - sorry, misread your post

I mentioned on another thread a little while ago about the singer Chris Rea. His surname in most English accents would be pronounced 'Ray', but because, in his native Middlesbrough accent, the name 'Ray' sounds like 'Rear' in most English accents, that has become the accepted pronunciation of his name. I'm guessing he always looked at his healthy bank account and just shrugged it off, unbothered!

Therefore, if you asked him how to pronounce his own name, you might apparently clearly hear it as 'Rear' - but if you then heard him say what might well sound to you like "It's Fridear todear" then it would all become clear (not 'clay' )

I’ve only ever known it pronounced as Kay-lib.
I can’t imagine how you’re pronouncing it though.
Ditto.
Regardless of how it's pronounced, I'd expect Kayleb and Caleb to be pronounced the same.

My friends son is called zylan And he gets called zylan to rhyme with Dylan or zyelen yet it’s pronounced zaylan
Never heard of his name before, but, like all the other people this person apparently comes into contact with, I'd assume it rhymes with Dylan too. If the parents wanted it pronounced Zaylan then spell it that way.

Caylehb. Not unusual at all. Never ever heard it pronounced in any other way.

Zylan is an Indonesian name I think
My friend travelled and came across the name abroad
Tbh I did ask her if she spelt it right and now she says that to me with Caleb 😂

I’m interested to know now how everyone would pronounce my surname
Doidge

Apparently it’s a Dutch / German background name though not completely sure if that’s true

This thread makes me think of Caleb Followill of of kings of Leon who is HOOOOOOTTTTTTTTT!

My friend from London has a Caleb and everyone pronounces it Cay-lub (that second syllable you described as the u in "urgh" rather than "tub" is actually a "schwa" – google it if you're interested).

I think it's one of those names that has a variety of pronunciations. Like some people say Will-ee-um and some people say Will-yum. It doesn't need to be a problem unless you let it.

I’m just going to keep saying how I want it said
Least he can have a choice when he’s older 😂😂

That's absolutely all that matters. You can't expect people to instinctively get it right the first time they meet him, but once you gently correct them, if they don't then pronounce it correctly (unless it's extremely complicated and they try hard, but just can't get it), it's the height of bad manners.

The name Isaac has exploded in popularity recently and I've also noticed a few babies called Issac. However much my instinct is to pronounce it 'ISS-ukh' and not 'EYE-zukh', as soon as the parents confirm that they intend it to be pronounced the same as Isaac, that's what any decent person does.

We once met an American who, although otherwise quite nice, was a bit of a know-it-all (KIA). For some reason, he saw fit to show off his ignorance regale us with a tale of when he met a man with the surname 'Ham' and that, when Mr Ham had introduced himself (pronouncing it like in standard English - I didn't care catch whether he was British or not), KIA rudely 'corrected' the man and insisted "NO! YOUR name is HAAAAARRM!!!" Considering that, even in many American accents, it would be pronounced with the same short 'a' sound, he just came across as really dim, arrogant and ghastly.

Even if Mr Ham had said that his surname was actually pronounced as 'Pork', 'Bacon' or 'Awopbopaloobopawopbamboom', it's his name, so how about you just accept and assume him to be the authority on it?!

Kay-Leb for sure. Great name! Don’t change it.

@Powernaps

Are you suggesting that this thread, fascinating as it is, somehow has some scope for confusion?

I wanted to call DD Na-Dia but didn’t because I live in the south and everyone here would pronounce it Nar-Dia. Good thing I didn’t because she hates the name! Works both ways though, I make the effort to call my friend Tania by her preferred “Tar-nia”.