Camila/Camilla

[GG300]

Hi everyone, we are due to have our baby girl soon and love the name Camila (pronounced Ca-me-la). However to those I have mentioned the name to, some have mispronounced it as Camilla (Ca-mill-a).

i wanted to see if this is how most people would pronounce Camila. I love the name but don’t love the idea of my daughter correcting people on the pronunciation.

thanks in advance!

Weird that so many people think Camilla is the only proper spelling. The Spanish/Italian spelling of a name is not exactly obscure. I actually don't know any Camillas in real life but I do know two Camilas (as well as one Kamilla, who's Russian).

OP yes inevitably you will get people mispronouncing it. However, I don't think that this necessarily an issue. There are many many people in the UK with non-"traditional English" names and they get by just fine clarifying the pronunciation. It would be very sad if everyone was called John and Mary just because they are easy for English speakers to pronounce. And if your DD goes to live in a Spanish speaking country or the US people will be much more used to this version of the name.

I am also astonished at the casual racism of the answers of this. YABU to give your child a non-English name? Er what?

I would just think it’s a different spelling of Camilla and pronounce it that way. But once i was told what it was, then I’d pronounce it correctly!

Thank you all very much for your comments! I didn’t expect such a variation of the pronunciation given how the popular name Mila is pronounced. Good to hear your opinions to help in the decision making though!

How judgemental - Camila is the Spanish version of the same name. It’s not less “classy” (bleurgh).

I would assume you’re being pretentious about having a “unique” name.

As someone who has to spell my name literally everywhere I go, I implore you to give her a sensibly spelled and pronounced name.

Camilla is a pretty name.

Camila is going to be pronounced Camilla by everyone who reads it. Your daughter will have to correct spelling and pronunciation for the rest of her life.

I would default to Ca-me-la without a thought. I just assumed you were asking about an alternative spelling.

It's not less classy, its a Spanish name 🙄 you sound ignorant and xenophobic!

@OP I think it's a nice name - I'm half Spanish so don't find the pronunciation confusing. I wouldn't have thought it would be that much of an issue either, given the popularity of the name Mila. Clearly some people (as evidenced on this thread) will be too stupid to understand that some people in the UK have non British names but I think most people will work it out. Also most of the time you say someone's name before seeing it written down so the pronunciation shouldn't be an issue.

I've got Smithy from Gavin & Stacey in my head pronouncing it "Camela" to rhyme with Pamela now

I think you’re being pretty judgemental yourself. At no point in the OP did she mention it being a Spanish name and pronunciation, and why should most Brits know that? Are we mean to know about every countries’ names? Do Spaniards in Spain have an in depth knowledge of other countries’ names?

There are many threads on the baby names boards wanting yoonique spellings and pronunciations, so there was nothing to suppose this was any different.

I’m also confused about Mila - I would pronounce this to rhyme with Camilla.

Erm, yes, I would imagine most Spaniards would know that the very common Spanish name Ana is spelled Anna in the UK, for example. And that the English equivalent of Alejandro is Alexander. And vice versa. Being aware that names are spelled differently in different languages is basic knowledge and I would certainly judge an adult who couldn't grasp that.

No I’m not being pretentious, I just prefer the name Camila?

No I am not being pretentious, I just prefer the name Camila?

I read something once about children who can never find their name on something in a gift shop on a school trip. This is one of those examples.

If it helps,I read the title as
Ca me la Vs Camilla.

I think it's fairly common knowledge to recognise that some names have foreign equivalents so perhaps there is an element of me judging someone without this basic knowledge. And yes, growing up in Spain I did know that the name Ana has 2 N's in English, for example, and I imagine many Spanish people do know that. Some don't of course.

The judgemental part is the "ugh it doesn't sound claaaaassy", rather than saying "haven't heard of that name before, what's the history behind it?". So I do judge an adult who is instantly unpleasant about someone's name rather than just asking.

I’m not messing with the spelling. I’m choosing a different name.

So you’re just choosing to ignore than many people like to mess around with spellings and pronunciations not because they’re spelled/pronounced differently in another country. And that spelling Summer Summah (as a real example that I know about), for example, isn’t classy.

I didn't ignore it. I'm just not a dick about people's names tbh 🤷 if a name is spelled unusually then why on earth would I start blustering about whether or not it's classy? It's just a name. It might not be to my taste. So what? Im not really a class obsessed person so it's not a term I use.

And you don't have anything to say about your total ignorance of other cultures. So there's not much to say there really.
Would you tell someone called Wiktoria that their name wasn't classy just because you didn't know that it was the polish spelling? Would you insist on pronouncing the name Jose with an English sounding J? Pathetic.

I would say “Cam-me-la” for “Camila” and “Ca-mill-la” for “Camilla”. It’s the following double consonant that makes the short vowel sound for the “i” in English.

I think most people would think you'd misspelt the name Camilla!

Camila is going to be pronounced Camilla by everyone who reads it.

It will not. Some people, perhaps, but not everyone. I automatically read it as “Cam-me-la” just from the title, before I’d even read the post. Lots of people are aware of different countries’ variations of similar names. Lots of people also understand English phonics enough to know the difference between a short and long vowel sound.

You know nothing about my knowledge of others countries and cultures.

Like I said - judgemental.

To get the pronunciation you want, you might consider spelling it Camella, or Camela. Or just go the whole hog and spell it Kamla.