If you add random extra letters into a name, don't be pissy when people mispronounce it!

[BoobsOnTheMoon]

I met someone recently who has a young child with a name that is actually quite a old/traditional English name, rare but not unheard of. Almost the perfect sweet spot, you'd think.

When I heard the name I immediately said oh how beautiful, I love that name. Which then set the mum off on a big rant about how nobody can ever pronounce it. Strange, I thought, it's not that unusual and tbh it's pretty phonetic when written down.

Except I found out later via FB that the mum has added two letters to the name (a consonant and a vowel), in two different places, that make it look like you pronounce it completely differently to the way she wants it pronounced. It's not an alternative spelling (which the name does have a couple of, both of which are completely obvious how to pronounce). If you were to see it written down you'd add an extra syllable when reading it out! And probably mispronounce the one of the consonants because it's had a random other consonant put next to it for...no reason? She must just like how it looks

I can't say what the name is because this child is literally the only person in the world with the name spelled that way, I've googled it and got the total of 2 results (both of which refer to this child, via their hobby). The closest examples I can come up with would be calling a baby Phetier when you want it pronounced Peter, or Elixzabieth but wanting it pronounced Elizabeth, or Dharrien and expecting everyone to know you say it Darren.

Anyway I don't particularly care how people spell names but to then be huffy that it gets mispronounced is just silly, right?

A school should know the correct spelling of all the pupils. If the parents chose a weird spelling, then so what. If they're that crap at record keeping and attention to detail then they can't be brilliant teachers?

I have a friend called Alicia but pronounced Aleysha. I would have pronounced it Alissia. Has anyone else come across this unusual pronunciation for Alicia?

Ah, ok, I get you now. I guess Kai can be pronounced 'Ky'. In fact it always is when it's a stand alone name. But just not usually when it's just the first syllable.

While it doesn't really matter, the new GCSE requires students to read aloud and French phonetics are not straightforward! The acute é is something I reinforce with my kids big time.

My Spanish friend has a child with the same spelling. She is an ‘Al-lyth-ia.

My uk friend with the same name is an Alissia. She prefers Lisa tho.

yes
3 pronunciations I have found
Aliss -ee --a
Alissa
Alee - sha

In the past I would have asusmed the first, but I think the last is now more common

Frequently both Aleysha and Aleesha. I’m in Scotland.

That’s interesting, trainboundfornowhere and steppemum.
Netaporter,

Netaporter, I think it is quite common, particularly in Andalusia for the c sound to become a th.

🤣🤣🤣

I did know a girl whose name was Ronnie (i.e. it was pronounced that way) but spelled Roinne. I was told that her parents couldn't spell.

I absolutely assure you, it's spelled in a completely bonkers way that does not translate when read out loud as the name that the child is actually called. It's so yooneek that there are precisely 2 google results for it, both of which refer to this child. It is definitely not a correct spelling in any language (I did wonder initially if it was a variant from a certain language due to the letters added, but it's not). I did make the effort to check it out before going WTF, because I don't want to be one of those ignorant people who thinks people are being kre8ive when actually that's just the name in Polish/Gaelic/whatever!!

Yes, the singer/songwriter Alicia Keys pronounces her name Aleesha.

I think it must be an American pronunciation as they do that a lot more. I always said Alice-eeya and was really disappointed when I heard she was Alesha (really don’t like that name). I also said Alice-eeya Silverstone (I don’t know her pronunciation though).

I thought Marcia was the same but that seems to be Marsha. (I also say Pariseean not Parisian).

My version being like @Dahliasrule

Yet another person who thinks she is qualified to correct a poster’s comment! Who do you think you are?
Oh and did I get my apostrophe (apostrophy, apostrophie, appostrophe) in the correct place? Please, do tell!

Is that the case all over Ireland. I know 2 Irish Caitlyns. Both pronounced Kate-lynn.

Hanna without the second h is just the Italian spelling, isn't it? And Hana with one h and one n is Arabic. Both perfectly valid.

I know a Sian whose parents pronounced it See-ann. She insists on "correcting" everyone who pronounces it right...

I wonder if that's the See-Anne I posted about?

Surely there can't be two?

Alicia Silverstone seems to pronounce it
A-lee-see-a, with some emphasis on the lee bit.
So yet another pronunciation @steppemum?

I once knew someone whose parents wanted to name her after a character in a film, just because they liked the name, but they had never seen it written down, and the spelling they chose was not the one used for the film character. She is one of only two people ever registered with that name in the uk, according to Find My Past. The other one was born in the same county, so possibly a relative.

There is nothing wrong with the name - it's not a 'Shevonnay' type of name - but her parents let her in for a lifetime of 'Where does your name come from/How do you spell it?' type questions.

There have been fewer than twenty registered in the uk with the 'correct' spelling.

Yes, the Katelyn pronunciation has been introduced to Ireland too, some time ago now. I know one in her mid twenties.

But Caitlín is really an Irish language name pronounced Kathleen or Kotchleen. It varies a bit with dialect. It’s considered a bit old fashioned and it’s not really in vogue at the moment though. The Katelyn pronunciation is based on a misunderstanding of Irish spelling and pronunciation and originated outside Ireland.

https://forvo.com/word/caitl%C3%ADn/

We need to go the way of France and ban stupid names from being registered.

I'd like that as my retirement job.

I'd sit in a nice office with a gavel, and parents could come and fill the form in.

They'd hand me the form and if I read it out and they had to correct me because of their extra special clever spelling of A'M3leee-eyah, then down would come the gavel and they'd have a designated normal name instead, like Susan.

I'd have a hotline to Irish and Welsh colleagues who can veto idiots who can't pronounce their own child's name too. Like English people with no Irish connections calling their kids Siobhan and calling them SiYoBaaan.

God I love menopause. That's better.

Many people started pronouncing it differently in the last couple of decades. I think it happened when Americans started using it. The English-language form is Kathleen. When I was in school in the '70s there was a Caitlín pronounced Kotchaleen. Kathleens were also called that by some teachers who used the Irish form of people's names such as Seán instead of John.

I thought that is the proper way to pronounce it? The same way Patricia is Patrisha, not Patrissia and Portia is Porsha not Portiya.