people pronouncing my baby's name the way I dont

[SophieJoe2014]

I have called my dd elle (ellie) but everyone calls her el
I understand that in English it spells el but if you look up how to pronouce elle it comes up with el or ellie
it's making me feel like I have done it wrong people will judge me for it.
has anyone been in the same situation or have any advice?

You are entirely free, of course, to call your child anything at all and spell it however you like. All I can do is tell you, from my own experience, how deeply, desperately tedious it is to have a name that is pronounced differently to the obvious pronunciation when you see it written down. I've spent all 42 years of my life correcting people - it's the first conversation I have with pretty much everyone - and by God it's tedious. Do you really want that for your child? My mother says, isn't it nice to be different. But no, it really isn't. This kind of 'different' is ridiculous and unnecessary.

I agree with the others I'm afraid.

Your DD will face the burden of having a lifetime of having to correct everyone. A real pain.
You can't change the world/

Most people will pronounce Elle as "ell"

It's a bit like insisting that Belle should be pronounced Belly.

You are swimming upstream.

The good news is it should be easy to change the spelling at this stage, as your dd is only 2 weeks old op. Obviously you don't have to, but the fact that you were worried enough to post suggests you aren't completely happy with it. You could also send an email or Facebook update to tell people you decided to add an extra i
I'm sure no one will think anything of it. Congratulations on your new baby.

OP I don't think it's about people judging you, it's just that most don't get where you are coming from regarding your idea of pronunciation.

Don't take it personally.

I'm not generally a fan of creative spelling, but if you like this spelling then go ahead. It's certainly not the most bizarre spelling I've ever seen, it's just slightly unusual. Be prepared for constantly having to correct people though.

I have a name that is not wildly unusual but has at least three possible pronunciations. I answer to all of them. It's also close to another name (if you transpose two letters) so I get called that a lot as well. I do correct people if they use the wrong name but if they just opt for one of the other possible pronunciations I usually can't be bothered to correct them. As she grows up, Elle may decide she'll answer as easily to "El" as to "Ellie."

And congratulations!

I knew a child who was called Ele, with an acute over the second e (which I can't do on this keyboard.) I heard her name (Ellie) before I saw it written, but would this be a compromise?

Please do not add an acute accent to a word which does not have one! That just makes things worse.

I'd just give in and add an I. No big deal and would save a lifetime of corrections! Does it matter if there's an extra letter?

Its your child, your decision.

Yes, and it is her child who has to live with it every single day. I wish more parents realised that it is their child who has to live with the name chosen for them. I have often used the phrase "Yes, I know. I have NO idea what on earth they were thinking.""

It is not unique either.

Ell is FAR nice than Ellie anyway, much more "unique". I do like it as a nickname but there are so many Ellies about now.

If op added an acute accent to the second e, it would be pronounced Ellay, so that wouldn't help.

Oh God, zippey, it is not unique!

Unique means the only one of its kind, so no, it isn't unique.

I would assume the parents were a bit thick and thinking they were clever and/or cool.

Elle is a French word
Acute accents are French
Elle does not have an accent on it and adding one would not transform the pronunciation, but would compound the original error.
So wrong!

I did teach a child whose name was spelled Eve, but pronounced 'Ev-ay'.

But why make life difficult for yourselves?

Gosh Zippey - aren't you rude, as well as ignorant!
Of course it isn't "unique", as itsfab has pointed out, that means "one of a kind". I'm sure there are other people out there who also think they're being "yooneek" though when they misspell or mispronounce a name.

OP - Elle will be pronounced as Ell by 99.9% of people who meet her and see her name written down. If you persist in calling her Ellie, then they will also add in the i when they write her name, as they will assume that you are using Ellie as a nickname for Elle. You can, of course, leave her having to explain this for the rest of her life, or you can do her a favour and add either another e on the end (Ellee) or put the i in for her. If you're after the more unusual, go for the Ellee version.

Or you can agree that Ellie is a pet name for Elle. Plenty of Annes are called Annie and Kates are called Katy. I know most Kates aren't called 'Katy spelt Kate', but I still think its a bit of a non-issue.

Whatever spelling you choose, she will probably be called both El and Ellie.

Just pointing out that Ellé wouldn't really be Ellay, but with the é as the e in telly.

If you change it to Ellie, I guarantee that it will get shortened to El at school, or possibly Els or Ellie-bellie, or smelly-Ellie, or any number of other versions. If you call her Elle (El), it will also get lengthened to Ellie, or Ella, or Ellie-boo, etc. And you will have no control over it. Also, chances are she'll be a stubborn little madam, and will decide herself age 4 that she wants everyone to call her El/Ellie/Princess Consuela Banana Hammock and will no longer answer to whatever you chose for her originally.

I called my dd Lena, but put Helena on the bc. In between reception and year 1, she decided she wanted to be called Helena, and she has been ever since (except to her German relatives who never seem to remember).

Leave Elle on the bc, call her Ellie as a nickname. That's what everyone will assume you're doing anyway. Don't get offended when doctors call her Elle (El) or when she brings home party invitations addressed to Ellie. And let her choose for herself when she's old enough. Imo, ellie is a cute nickname for a 6 year old, Elle (El) is a lovely, grown up, classic name for a 20/30/40 year old woman.

Sorry, but 'Elle' is not a classic name.
Really, how many had you heard of before Elle MacPherson (real name Eleanor)?

However, I agree that it's both nicer than 'Ellie' and pronounced 'el'.

bad time
I am a care assistant and have had a few Elle's surprisingly.

but then I've also had a Thomasina

Ellee lends itself to Elephant.

Just pointing out that Ellé wouldn't really be Ellay, but with the é as the e in telly. I thought someone would point that out. It would if a French person was reading it, but in England I think most people would pronounce it as "ay." ie. How English people pronounce Estée Lauder. The Scottish on the other hand tend to be better at pronouncing it the French way I believe. (So I was told by a French person anyway.) I'm not sure an é would help.

Yes, the English would pronounce it ay, but it would still be WRONG (and not just for the French, ahem)

I have spent my whole life spelling my name because my parents wanted an interesting spelling. I really wish they spelt it properly.

My OHs name is Johnethan. It has driven him nuts over the years.