Pronouncing baby's name wrong

[MrsLeighHalfpenny]

Friend has had a baby girl - Anaïs.

Lovely name, but they pronounce it Annay, and not An-eye-ees.

I saw it written down before I heard them say it, and said “I love the name Anaïs” to the grandmother (also my friend). She told me that that’s not how it should be pronounced.

Should I explain what a diaeresis is for?

m.youtube.com/watch?v=PT3ybznWhjw

It's Ann-eye-yees / Ann-a-yees in this one.

I have a degree in French and also used to live in Paris. It is not pronounced annay in any French accent I've heard. That's not to say the people in the op are forbidden from calling their dc annay if they like. They can call their son bob and pronounce it Greg if they like!

How about Noël then, everyone who says annay is ok. How would you pronounce Noël? Hmm??

It doesn’t actually matter that it’s a French name.

We all know what diaereses signify in English - as people have given examples -

Chloë
Zoë
Naïve
Noël
Brontë

Everyone knows how to pronounce those words.

If you use a name that uses a diaeresis, surely you figure out the pronounciation first, if you don’t already know?

I'd pronounce Noel Nole but if it was in relation to Christmas, I'd pronounce it No EL

OMG - that's just idiotic.

Annay?

They really should've split it Annay, unless they want to subject her to a lifetime of having to explain her parents' idiocy.

I think that, no matter how much it might grate, if a parent has decided a name is pronounced a certain way, then that is the way that child's name is said. It might be pronounced differently to everyone else who has the same spelling but ultimately the correct way is the way that the parents have chosen.

spelt*

Cringe! I would have to tell the parents they are saying and spelling two different names. (Not sure if annay is a name?) surely when you are considering baby names from another language you listen to the pronunciation on google?

I’ve known 2 Anais’s - one pronounced as An-nay and the other as An-eye-ees.

I just assumed it was one of those names with several pronunciations and went with how they pronounced it.

I would pronounce Anais as Ann eye eess too. However, having been at school with a Deirdre (pronounced Deedra), I’ve spent years being corrected as everyone else pronounces it Deardree. Deedra is much nicer IMO.

The pronunciation is An-eye-ees. But if the parents are calling her Annay, then I guess that’s going to be her name (poor child).

I’d pronounce Noel Nole but if it was in relation to Christmas, I'd pronounce it No EL

Why would you pronounce it differently at Christmas time?

Doesn’t everyone pronounce the first ‘Noel’ differently to ‘Noel’ Gallagher? I presume that is what the pp means.

No. They are pronounced the same, because they are the same word.

Seriously? You would pronounce Noel Gallagher's name like No-elle?

The polite thing to do here is pronounce the kid’s name the way the parents want it pronounced. It’s really none of your business and you’d just look like an arse (imho) trying to correct them. Their kid, they choose the pronunciation, just like you’d choose yours. As a pp said parents can spell and pronounce a name any way they like.

The First Noël and Noel Gallagher are pronounced differently. But in both examples there's an extra vowel syllable in there (however slight). You don't just say "Noll" and ignore the "e".

On a related note, isn't Noel Gallagher's daughter called Anaïs? Not sure how they pronounce it though.

The pronunciation is An-eye-ees. But if the parents are calling her Annay, then I guess that’s going to be her name (poor child)

^This. I would always instinctively say An-eye-ees, but I wouldn't go telling the family they are wrong, all you will get is conflict and they will carry on pronouncing it the way they like.

I would say An-eye-ees.
I've heard Noel Gallagher's daughter's name pronounced An-AY-is by her co-presenter

Actually it was pronounced An-AY-iss

Maybe they know but prefer to say Annay?
Personally I’d keep quiet I think.

Surely the difference between Noël, which is the French word for Christmas, and the name Noel, which derives from it, is obvious? (Cf the diaeresis).

Why would you pronounce it differently at Christmas time?

Because it's spelt differently. Noël compared to Noel

Noel the name should have the dots too.
As should Noelle.

Noel is a masculine French given name derived from noël, meaning Christmas. The actual feminine form is Noelle, but in English-speaking regions Noel is sometimes used for females as well. The original French spellings are Noël and Noëlle

If you look at the list of famous Noels, most are without the diaeresis, if included it implies the name is pronounced Nowell not Nole.

Noelle doesn’t need a diaeresis because the spelling does the work of the symbol. Just as Björn is rendered Bjoern without the umlaut.