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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I regret my daughter's name :-(

162 replies

storyofus · 01/04/2023 12:04

It's Esmé.. (ez-May) she gets es - me all the time.. there's quite a few others.. I just wish I'd called her something else Sad

OP posts:
ZekeZeke · 01/04/2023 12:06

Correct people when they pronounce it incorrectly.
Change her name?

Streamside · 01/04/2023 12:07

It's a really beautiful name and I agree that you should gently correct people who mis pronounce.

Untitledsquatboulder · 01/04/2023 12:08

How old is she?

TulipsTwoLips · 01/04/2023 12:09

Beautiful name - I really wouldn't change it! Just keep correcting people.

Markasread · 01/04/2023 12:09

It's a lovely name. People will learn

storyofus · 01/04/2023 12:10

She's 18 months now. I really struggled to think of a name that I loved.

OP posts:
CoraDora · 01/04/2023 12:11

It's such a lovely name, people will learn how to say it x.

Oysterbabe · 01/04/2023 12:11

It's a nice name.

Dacadactyl · 01/04/2023 12:12

Love the name. Just correct the people who say it wrong.

Thisisthedawningoftheageofaquarius · 01/04/2023 12:13

It’s a lovely name - it’ll be fine! I know an Esme and have never heard it incorrectly pronounced- it’ll get better! I regret calling my son Jack as every other boy I know his age (exaggerating slightly) is also called jack 😭

PinkiOcelot · 01/04/2023 12:13

I love Esme. It’s a lovely name. Is it the mispronunciation that you hate? If so, correct them every time.

iusedtobeasize8 · 01/04/2023 12:15

Does she have a middle name she could be known by instead?
People pronounce my name wrong all the time but tbh im past caring. I don't even bother to correct them.

Sillybollocks · 01/04/2023 12:17

I'd probably just try and make peace with the Esme pronunciation. It's going to be a lot of correction and irritation otherwise. If people aren't French speakers the accent might not mean anything to them.

33goingon64 · 01/04/2023 12:18

As she gets older and can say her own name to people they will get it right. Maybe as she is still in infancy people are seeing it written down more and assuming the incorrect pronunciation.

Kanaloa · 01/04/2023 12:20

It’s a beautiful name but I understand your irritation. One of my dd has a name that an be pronounced two different ways and it was really important to us that we recognised that and liked/could accept both pronunciations. Luckily she is a gobby madam/confident speaker (depending on the day) who is quite happy to say ‘I’m not Esmee I’m Ezmaaayyy!’ But I can see it could be annoying.

GOW56 · 01/04/2023 12:20

It's a nice name. Does it matter if people don't pronounce it as you want them to? You know how it should be and when people ask just introduce her using the pronunciation you like.
Many names can be pronounced in different ways and when she is older I'm sure she will have her own views about it!
Just enjoy her and her lovey name.

thegrain · 01/04/2023 12:21

Nah she'll love it when she's older. It's perfect.

Kanaloa · 01/04/2023 12:21

Realistically though I’d probably keep it. Correct anyone she sees regularly (nursery, friends etc) and how often could strangers get it wrong, because you’ll surely be introducing her?

Coffeellama · 01/04/2023 12:24

It’s one of those names that is always going to be mispronounced, correct people and she will be correcting them herself by the time she’s in school.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 01/04/2023 12:25

I can see how if you live in the north this would be an issue. I am from Lincolnshire and had a friend Esme and my dad always pronounced is Essmeh no amount of corrections could get him to sai Ezmay same with Johanna (Joanna) alway with the Jo Hanna no dad it's Joanna the his silent.

Tellmethespoiler · 01/04/2023 12:26

You can change it if you want. To be honest, I would assume Esmé was a boy, with that masculine ending. Otherwise, you just need to correct people.

Tirnanogg · 01/04/2023 12:26

I have an Esme (es-me) and used to get the Esmay pronunciation! It definitely gets better as they become more their own person - when everyone's heard you bellowing their name across the park a few times they'll get used to it...

It is a beautiful name, but I know exactly how you feel - my other child has a tricky-to-pronounce name and I probably would have given them a different name if I'd known how hard people would find it.

Snugglemuffins4me · 01/04/2023 12:27

My eldest has the same name . She started school this year and there has only been one boy in her class that has mispronounced it . She’s fast to correct him and shouts it’s EzMAY !!! She loves her name won’t let anyone give her a nickname or anything .
My middle child has a name I wouldn’t have thought could be mispronounced and amazingly it’s said wrongly a lot more .

anxiouslemons · 01/04/2023 12:28

I thought Esmé was pronounced ez-me (like Chloé)
Esmè would have the ez-may sound?

I could very well be entirely wrong though Grin

It's a lovely name regardless and once you correct people they should remember

weighthelp · 01/04/2023 12:29

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