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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Juliet - having a wobble over pronunciation...

67 replies

waxweasel · 01/02/2016 18:42

DD2 is due in 2 months' time, and we're completely set on Juliet. It's been top of the list since before I even got pregnant

But I'm now having a bit of a stress over pronunciations. DH and I both pronounce it 'joo-lee-ET' (i.e stress on the final syllable). That is how we would want it to be pronounced. But I am sure I have heard people say 'JOO-lyut' (i.e stressing the first syllable). DH says that I'm talking nonsense and nobody says it that way.

I would rather spell it the English way (Juliet), but would people tend to use the JOOLyut pronunciation if I do? I guess the French spelling of Juliette suggests greater emphasis on the final syllable so might be more likely to give the pronunciation we want, but I just find it a bit too frilly and know the poor girl will be in for a lifetime of explaining the spelling...

What do you think?

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Meeep · 01/02/2016 19:35

I cannot understand the difference! Help!

WavingNotDrowning · 01/02/2016 19:35

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sofato5miles · 01/02/2016 19:40

I know several Juliets. Not one has the slightly naff Juliette spelling. My English friends are either Juli et or Juli ut, depending on where they are from.

Pipistrella · 01/02/2016 19:41

How is it naff?

Original poster

waxweasel · 01/02/2016 20:27

Thanks all! Just to clear up the confusion - the J is being pronounced the same in both ways. It's just where the stress falls that is changing - whether on the JUL or the ET. And I'm not bothered about Jools nicknames etc if they occur naturally and she likes them! My first daughter goes by a totally random nickname that her best friend made up, and now nobody uses her real name ever

Anyway, I've asked a few friends with diff regional accents and they all said they would automatically read it our way. So I'm a bit reassured. This thread has shown it's a fairly even split between our way/the other way, but i figure (as my friends pointed out) most people would be just following my lead when I introduce her. There are plenty of other names with differing pronunciations and people manage, so I'll try not to worry too much about it!

OP posts:

Original poster

waxweasel · 01/02/2016 20:30

Oh and I don't think the Juliette spelling is naff! I actually really like it and started out much preferring it. But my DD1 has a very French name and I worried it looked like I was going for some sort of OTT Francophile naming theme. Plus the issue of having to constantly spell it out like poor DD1 made me start favouring the english version

OP posts:

tinofbiscuits · 01/02/2016 20:58

I'd pronounce both spellings as Julie-ETT.

DramaAlpaca · 01/02/2016 22:20

I'd pronounce Juliet with the stress on the first syllable, and Juliette with the stress on the last syllable.

SwedishEdith · 01/02/2016 22:27

I can't even work out how I pronounce it now.

Mclaren37 · 01/02/2016 22:32

Actually I do know what you're talking about OP as I was apparently going to be called Julia (back in the day!) but my parents always said they were put off it as they are Scots and the Scottish pronunciation is Jool-ya (2 syllables) instead of Joo-lee-ah (3 syllables) the way the English / French would pronounce it. Same issue with Juliet. BUT... I really don't think many people at all pronounce Juliet that way - esp in England. You'd have to have a very strong Glaswegian accent for that to be the case! To most people it's a three syllable word with the stress on third syllable. Also don't think which spelling you chose would affect pronunciation, although I very slightly prefer the fancier Juliette. Go for it!

Shemozzle · 02/02/2016 00:28

Wow, I have never realised people pronounced it differently. Lots of people saying 'You pronounce it like he play so Romeo and jooliet' But I have always pronounced the play with an emphasis on the second half of the name. And I'm even more ignorant because I assumed Juliette was the only way to spell it. It seems like you will get different pronunciations either way, so go with the spelling you prefer. It is annoying when people pronounce names differently to you but not as annoying as having to pick a name that is second best. You will get used to it.

NadiaWadia · 02/02/2016 01:40

My cousin is Juliet and everyone pronounces it with the emphasis on the first part like JOOL-yet.

LargeSkimMochaPlease · 02/02/2016 01:53

I have a Juliet and annoyingly it is commonly misspelt as Juliette. I have nothing against Juliette but it never occurred to me that people would assume that was the more standard spelling.

We pronounce Juliet with the stress on the last syllable and so does everyone I can think of. I can't hear a strong difference between the two, really. She calls herself JuJu.

For me the spelling is the issue not the pronunciation. Not that it's really an issue.

thinkfast · 02/02/2016 03:04

Juliet is pronounced JOOli- ut. Juliette is pronounced Jooli-ETTE. I think it will be very confusing if you don't spell the name as you would wish it to be pronounced.

WaitrosePigeon · 02/02/2016 06:57

I would say Juliet and Juliette differently.

BikeRunSki · 02/02/2016 07:12

I would pronounce both spellings the same, the way you like with with slight emphasis on "et". There was a Juliet at my primary school and a Juliette at my high school, and they pronounced them both the same too. I agree with your DH.

LuluJakey1 · 02/02/2016 07:16

In sOuth Ameruca, I heard it pronounced hoo-lee-etta

Towardsthesun · 02/02/2016 07:19

It's a regional thing. The example I would use is a colleague Michelle. In my area we say Mi-CHELLE, emphasis on the CHELLE. A few colleagues, not local, call her MI- chelle, emphasis on the first syllable.

Towardsthesun · 02/02/2016 07:20

In my region we would say Juli-ETTE emphasis on the ETTE (spelling wouldn't matter.)

AuntieStella · 02/02/2016 07:27

I say both Juliet and Juliette the same way (like Isobel and Isabelle).

And it's how I've always heard the pronunciation in Shakespeare: Joo-lee-et with fairly even stress over the three syllables.

TheDowagerCuntess · 02/02/2016 07:30

I'd never thought about a different pronunciation - I'd say it Joo-lee-et (and assumed everyone did), but I guess I can hear that some people would say it Joo-lyut.

DD has a name that can be pronounced three ways, and they're all a lot more distinct than the Juliet/Juliet difference. People do pronounce it 'incorrectly' sometimes, if they haven't heard it said. It's not a big deal. We all know what the 'correct' pronunciation is, as does everyone who knows her. What does it matter if a few random strangers say it wrong? :)

Blu · 02/02/2016 07:45

Jul-I-et as in Romeo and. More like equal emphasis.

SoupDragon · 02/02/2016 07:55

Juliet is pronounced JOOli- ut

I don't think I've ever heard it with ut at the end. Always Ett.

BikeRunSki · 02/02/2016 08:25

This is how I pronounce Juliet. I think it's the only way I've ever heard it pronounced. Wait for the chorus.

BeautyIsTruth · 02/02/2016 10:56

How funny, I've known 5 Juliets and I've never heard it as anything other than the -ett emphasised the most, although I agree that it's a subtle emphasis.

OP 1 one of them goes by Jet, which I've always thought is a cool nickname.

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