Thoughts on Schuyler?

[AustraliaAmerica]

Thanks! Pronounced Sky-ler...

You haven't said how Dutch you all are.

My friends kids are 1/4 Spanish and all have massively "out there" Spanish names.

It sounds ridiculous when you have to call for them at the park in Leeds.

I don't like it. I think it's harsh sounding. I think I'd actually prefer it if it was pronounced "shooler".

Also, your child will spend their entire life spelling their name for people. Perhaps you're happy to live with that but they might feel differently!

I would have pronounced it Sky-lar as I would assume sch to be so like in school etc.

Personally although I quite like the name Skyla I'm not so keen on the spelling Schuyler, I haven't come across it before and it looks a bit clunky to my English-reading eyes, but if that's the original Dutch spelling and you're a Dutch family then go for it. People will quickly get used to the spelling/ pronounciation, so many children have names from other countries with names that aren't familiar or phonetic in English.

I like it.

But I have a ds with a name from our (non British) ethnic origin. it is spelled correctly in the original language but those letters are pronounced differently in English.

It is the bane of poor ds's life and we bitterly regret not spelling it phonetically in English, so much so that now adult ds is thinking of changing it by deed poll.

Imagine, every single new teacher reads it wrongly as his classmates giggle. Every single time his name is called out by a GP or dentist it's wrong and he has to correct them or put up with being called the wrong thing for evermore. Every time someone sees it written down he has to explain that it's not a spelling mistake.

I'd advise you not to.

Ooh doing is your friend that lady from 3 day nanny? And so I don't totally derail the thread - I would
have pronounced it shoo-ler, but I don't really like the name Skylar anyway.

Ooh dizzy I don't know, I didn't see it! Four kids?

I have to actually cross my fingers and steel myself to yell for any of hers in a crowd. It's embarrassing.

Although to be fair you wouldn't have that with Schulyer (or whatever it was, sorry am on phone) as it wouldn't sound weird iyswim.

I just hate that "dying to be different" schtick. My DC are bicultural and I chose names which worked in both languages.

I really like Bram.

We're British/German and discounted a lot of names of which the other language would mangle the pronunciation - not even in a beyond-recognition kind of way, as here, but in a way that one or other of us thought would sound unpleasant (e.g. we couldn't have called a dd Rosalind, although I love the name, as in Germany she would be called Rohza Lint, which just sounds horrid IMHO - we discounted all J names for similar reasons). There are going to be very few people who will not struggle with Schuyler initially - I still struggle with it now I know how to say it, as it is counter-intuitive for a native English speaker - and it could become very tiresome indeed for your child. Honestly, I'd find another name.

I like it, OP .

I also thought of the actress Schuyler Grant, who played Diana Barry in Anne of Green Gables, and I know how to pronounce it because of that.

I think that if you have friends and colleagues from international backgrounds, they won't find the pronunciation as difficult as it seems on this thread at times!

Aw, poor OP, I think you've been treated rather harshly on this post! Usually people are saying how they hate phonetic spellings of "forrin" names and people should always use the orginal, and here you are doing just that and getting dog's abuse for it! And the usual comforting statements that you "only need to tell people once and they'll get it" seem rather short in supply too.

As for those who picked you up on how you say it's pronounced, I'd just ignore them. My Dutch is a bit rusty but I recall that "ch" is pronounced like the "ch" in Scottish "loch" and most English can't say that anyway, they usually just say "lock", so using a "k" sound in this name is just fine.

I suppose it shows how bad things have got with the name that people think the "younneick" spellings are right and the correct spelling is wrong. I'm not a fan of the name particularly, but I am a fan of spelling things the correct way, so I'd stick with Schulyer if you really like it.

Your Dutch is very rusty I think becayse I think The loch sound you refer to is not ch. it's g that is pronounced like that.

The Sch in Schuyler isn't a 'sk' it is in fact closer to 'shh'. Even in Dutch.

I'm guessing the OP isn't at all Dutch or it's a very historical connection and she has no idea about the language. Just looking to be stamping her feet about the name not being 'unique'.

My DD has a welsh variant spelling of her name, do we need to spell it all the time? Yes. Do we care? No. Its a beautiful name.
Do it OP.

I assume though greatfuckability (love the name!) that you pronounce the name correctly in Welsh.

The sch in Dutch is not shh or sk. Ask someone who comes from scheveningen. How that sch is pronounced in Dutch is how they would check if someone was a Dutch or German speaker in the war.

There's a discussion about it here

I'm really surpised at the reaction this name has got! Ok it's not that common in this country, but it's hardly an obscure name. It makes me think of WASPy Americans, the old Dutch New York families, which is where it comes from I think. It does also make me think of Skyler White! I don't know when I learned to pronounce it, but once you've been told it's not hard to remember. Go for it, OP!

I love Schuyler. I think it's classy and gorgeous and I'd know how to pronounce it.

How?

For what it's worth, when I saw the thread I thought Shoe-ler, but then thought it's probably Skyler. I think if you have a Dutch surname and it's the spelling you prefer, go with that spelling. Just don't get precious if people pronounce it wrongly and try to teach your child to be patient with it too.

I thought Sky-ler straightaway, without having any clear idea why. The only Skylar I can think of was in South Park.

Nothing wrong with it if you're prepared to be irritated every time someone gets it wrong (I've got one of those, and it's only the traditional form of a perfectly standard British name, and FFS CAN YOU READ ) Think about how patient you can be about this before you commit yourself.

I like it.
If you have a Dutch surname it will prompt people to check pronunciation.

If I lived abroad I'd still choose an 'English ' name
X

We didn't use our loved names for our boys because one is a v Irish name and one a v Welsh one. We no longer live in or near either of those places and I shudder to think how they would have been pronounced let alone spelled on a daily basis!

I like it. And I would pronounce it Sky-ler but then I am part Dutch. . .

I have a 10 year old Skylar and considered Schuyler and much prefer it. No Dutch origin but I have another child with an Ancient Greek name and I haven't tried to anglicise that. I hate that people say only people of a certain origin can use a particular spelling. But you have Dutch origin too so I really think the original spelling is the one to use. Who really cares that most people will not know how to pronounce it at first? People who will see them regularly will be told it as spoken first, and those in passing don't need to know. There are plenty of British names, Welsh and Irish that English people don't know how to pronounce too and it's not a long term problem. Skylar and Skyler has been further bastardised now as 'Skyla' which I think looks awful, and now I really regret my eldest dd's name because of that, definitely go with the original.

I think it's a fabulous name!