Husband really wants....

[Writerwannabe83]

We only got our BFP 7 days ago (first baby) but we have casually been discussing baby names for the last year

He has always really like Elise (pronounced e-lease) and I always vetoed it but now he is coming up with names like Chloe and Zoe and I think they sound a bit plain.

We recently decided if we had a girl, its middle name would be my mom's name and because of this, Elise is actually growing on me now as the baby would be called Elise Caroline which I think sounds quite nice.

However, her initials would be ECW - which reminds me too much of EWCM,

Any thoughts??

[lrdavis]

I think Caroline is a first name.. but that just me you will find something that works for you :)

[formicadinosaur]

Alice

Esme

[Goooooooooooooooooooooood]

Ellyse ?

[mathanxiety]

Writing phonetically on MN isn't an exact science.

Many times I have heard a name with my mind's eye (in a manner of speaking) only to realise my Irish accent was leading me far astray.

[CoteDAzur]

Didn't you say you wanted to pronounce it E-lease?

E and Ell are very different first syllables.

[Writerwannabe83]

Ell-eese

Just how we want it!!

[amessagetoyouYoni]

Lovely name. I know a French Elise and she is Ell-eese not ah-leaze, btw.

[mathanxiety]

There is never an accent grave over an I in French. It's only on A, E, or U. An I can have a circonflexe though.

Elise pronounced as E-lease is a sturdy English pronunciation and completely acceptable even though it has obv strayed from the original French, as many other names that are now 'English' have.

Having said all that, I really like the sound of Zoe Caroline.
Caroline Elise sounds better than Elise Caroline to my ear.

[Frikadellen]

Elise is a beautiful name

[Writerwannabe83]

I quite like the name Leisel too - but the Sound of Music is my favourite film so that's probably why

[LadyLech]

If you're not keen on Elise, there are lots of similar sounding names out there...

Eliza (beautiful, but I see your DH has already rejected that)
Alissa,
Alicia, (a-lees- see-a)
Eloise
Elisha
Elsie (prefer it as a nickname tbh)
Annalese


All lovely

[BikeRunSki]

Elise is a lovely name. I knew two at school ( French school), who pronounced it E ( as in elephant).- lise ( to rhyme with.sneeze).

It is French, but so is Amy and that doesn' t seem to put anyone off. Zoe is Greek, Rachel is Hebrew, Alice is Germanic ..... There are many names in common usage in th UK not of Anglo Saxon or Celtic origin. Look at all the Isaacs, Noahs and Joshuas about.

EWCM doesn' t mean anything to me.

[Writerwannabe83]

unlucky - I would automatically pronounce your daughters name the way you say it too

Isn't strange how different people can all see the same word but their brain interprets it differently - fascinating really

And thanks to everyone for your reassurances about the name (and pronounciation) of Elise, it looks like DH may get his wish afterall

[rosyryan]

I think Elise Caroline is lovely.
I know two Elise's - one Irish, one Cornish - and they both say their names the way that you do.

[unlucky83]

Be careful with names others struggle to pronounce ...
One of my DDs is Alicia (Lissy for short) - there was even a thread on here ages ago about how to pronounce it ...
She is A li s ia not aleeshya (as in Alicia Keys)
We get various other pronunciations as well ...people do struggle - luckily I don't mind - and neither does she ...
But she does face a lifetime of having to spell her first (and second name) over phone ....
(This after deliberately giving DCs my surname as her main one rather than DPs - I always have to spell mine -but it is made up of English words so relatively easy compared to DPs - foreign AND unusual - he often has to phone up insurance companies etc to correct....)
Also wait and see what she (or he) looks like - Alicia was going to be Lily or Alice -but they just didn't seem to suit her ...

[ThoraNomiki]

Except you need to know how to type the accent thing (umlauf?) or the names should be pronounced Klo and Zo (like So)

[Writerwannabe83]

Maybe we should just go for Chloe or Zoe after all - there are no dangers with those names

[Doilooklikeatourist]

My initials are ECW .
Never had a problem with them .

[SoupDragon]

Elyse is lovely and can't be incorrectly pronounced.

I'm sure it can.

[Goooooooooooooooooooooood]

Elyse is lovely and can't be incorrectly pronounced. Job done?

[Writerwannabe83]

Like I said, I don't mind at all that the name is of French origin, I just don't want it to sound French, i.e said with a French accent

I'm pretty sure my own name is of French origin

[Dackyduddles]

Christ on a bike if a bit French is putting you off how you going to choose a name? Most names come from places other than England!

Hebrew
Spain
Etc etc

Even Caroline isn't English

[Writerwannabe83]

My hubby wants to spell it Elyse.... [hmmm]

I think if it is spelt like that people won't pronounce it they way we want them to. I think they will say Ee-lyz ??? [hmmm]

I think Elise looks nicer - I also wonder if as a nickname she'd be called 'Lissy' - which I actually really like too

DH shook his head at Eliza