Help with foreign names

[Wildwaterfalls]

Hi all

We are at an early stage with names - list of about 20 possible names for both girls and boys. Some of the names on the list are foreign... we have a Scandinavian/Dutch family background. I just thought I would run these by you to see if there are any pronunciation issues, or unfortunate associations. Please do point these out as we are in the fortunate position of having quite a long list of names we like, so don't mind deleting some, and are really keen the names will work in England!

Girls

Marlies
Astrid
Sigrid
Adeline
Annemaj (or Maj)
Eline
Marielle
Marieke
Annelies
Elise

Boys

Sven
Elmer
Arne
Einar
Gustav
Per

Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Would the "e" at the end be pronounced or is it silent? If it's pronounced, you'll probably have to correct people quite often. This is my situation with DD who has a German name, but it's only a minor inconvenience.

What about the final "j" in Annemaj? English speakers will likely pronounce it "madge".

I really like Adeline, by the way.

I love your girls names. I think Annemaj is probably ging to be tricky for Brits, but I wouldnt bother too much about it, personally.

I'm not sure how you pronounce Per (Purr?).

Is Einar ee-nar or Eye-nar?

Elmer is the elephant in this house, and Sven is Goran Erikson, one of the worst England football managers of all time

Second what eversomuch said regarding the "e" on the end of the Dutch names. Astrid and Sigrid are the only girls names I can imagine Brits getting right first time. We deliberately chose a name that works in English (DH is Dutch and we live in the Netherlands) so my parents could pronounce it . However, I would choose what you want and not worry too much about what other people think.

But beautiful names (I wanted Marieke for a girl but got outvoted...and we had a DS anyway!)

Marlies - lovely, will have prn issues
Astrid - gorgeous
Sigrid - nice, has always felt masculine to me for some reason
Adeline - gorgeous
Annemaj (or Maj) - lovely, will have prn issues
Eline - gorgeous
Marielle - gorgeous
Marieke - lovely, will have prn issues
Annelies - lovely, will have prn issues
Elise - gorgeous

Sven - the football manager
Elmer - Looney Tunes
Arne - not that nice. also i think it will be prn funny. and it's v close to Arse
Einar - not keen
Gustav - ok, this is probably the best bet on the list for boys
Per - people may not "get it"

Most of your girl's names would work perfectly well in England. Astrid, Adeline, Marielle, Annelies and Elise are familiar enough not to cause any problem at all.

OTOH, I'm not sure about your boys names; the famliar ones are Sven (already explained by MagsAloof) and Elmer which never caught on in the UK but did in the US where it is exemplified by Elmer Fudd.

I like Einar and Gustav of your boys names, don't see there'd be a problem with either.

Lovely girls names.

I think these will work fine in England...

Astrid
Annelies
Elise
Marielle

Sven
Elmer
Gustav
Per

Thanks for all the views! Really useful to have

Looks like we will have plenty of options on girls' names. Whether to pronounce the 'e' at the end of some of these is a difficult one. I would pronounce it (e.g. Elin-'uh') but DH would not. We will have to give that one some thought. Maj would be pronounced to rhyme with 'Thai', if that makes sense. Maybe the 'Mai' spelling would work better in English?

Boys names are so hard! Such a shame about Sven-Goran Eriksson... I was worried that might be the response... Otherwise Sven is such a great name (I think). Perhaps the association won't be as strong among children? Quite liking Gustav as well though - Gus and possibly even Gussie when he's small are quite good/cute nicknames. Einar would be pronounced 'Eye-nar'. I really like it but don't want to condemn the poor boy to a life of explaining and spelling! I expect it is probably a difficult one.

Thanks again

I think you are right about Sven - when He is a little older, Sven G-E will be a distant memory and his Peers will not make the association.

"Mai" will be prn the same as "May" in English. i don't think you'll find a spelling that really reflects the proper prn.

if you can compromise to "May" then Anna-May is ok, May on its own probably a bit better.

Fabian for a boy?
Theo?
Vincent?
Anders? Andreas?

I love Fabian - if DC3 (now four days overdue) is a Boy he is going to be Fabian. I also really like Theo (it is getting super popular though) and Vincent (be prepared for Him to get nn of Vinny in UK).
Elise is a Beautiful name for a Girl.

What about Erik or Niklas for a boy?

Or Mattias?

Oh, some great suggestions. I like Anders and Erik - had suggested Erik previously but ruled out due to family feedback that it was really popular. Perhaps this is not a problem in England though?

Eric/k isn't popular in the UK at all. I think a few generations ago it was more popular, maybe amongst Baby Boomers? but I've never met anyone under 40 called Eric/k.

www.babynames.co.uk/meaning_origin_name_Eric.htm

there's a popularity graph as you scroll down, to the right. Seems Eric is in the 200s. 123 babies named Eric in 2008.

Erik never ranked in the top 100 at all and no babies were given the name in 2008.

I like Anders, but would never work here in Holland (translates as different or otherwise)...though obv not a problem for you in the UK!

Erik is quite popular here in Holland.

I love Johan or Johannes for a boy (but DH disagreed...he said they're too old fashioned) and Bram.

Ilse, Lieke and Anouk were Dutch (and friesian) names at the top of my girls list

Astrid and Sven - no one will have a problem spelling them / remembering them.

And your own children will be able to write and spell their own names while following English phonics.

I think Erik or Niklas would work well; Johan and Johannes only if you are prepared to accept that there will be a hard j sound at the start and the o will be pronounced as a diphthong. Both my children have Swedish names which are pronounced in English by their mates, not a problem per se if you don't mind a mispronuncation, but you want to avoid a name that will leave people afraid to speak it at all.

Elise. Astrid and Adeline are beautiful names. Had an Arne in my class many years ago at school and he was nicknames Barmy Arne. Kids can be cruel!

I love Astrid and would choose it for a girl but we have a Pippi so I think that is a bit much (relating to Pippi longstocking)!! I love Bram and am sure that would work in UK it's popular here. What about Pim for a boy? It's a popular Dutch boys name!

Thanks again all - some useful suggestions. I think Sven and Gustav are front runners for boys. I like Johan but already used in the family . Alternatively perhaps our 'English' options, which include Arthur and Hugo, although a bit worried the latter is seen as a bit posh (saw a thread on this recently).

For girls the issue is too many nice options... Feeling very positive about Astrid at the moment, but still like many of the others too... May have to post again in a few weeks with a final shortlist!

Thanks again!

Love both Astrid and Elise (which was on our list for DD before we settle on India).

None of the boys name really jump out at me though my favourites would probably be Gustav or Per. Friends of ours have a DS called Mats (his grandad is Scandinavian).

Love Elise!