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?

Buzzkillington

Like Laura but ie on the end. It’s quite popular in America and there’s also another one in her class. I do know that if it’s a boy they say lorry and in some cases girls aswell

Everybody gets names wrong from time to time. Due to different pronouciations and spellings for example a lot of people say Ralph Lauren as if it’s french. But it’s not it’s like the girls name Lauren but people confuse with Sofia Lauren. I only learned this when working with the brand and learned his real name and the reason why he changed it

Ultimately people can pronounce names exactly how they like. Although I do agree that they shouldn't use the diaeresis if they're going to ignore it.
My name is a name that is thought of as French, but I pronounce it the English way. However, it has no accents that would misdirect the pronunciation. I once had an argument with an arrogant tosser who told me that I was mispronouncing my own name.

simiisme

OMG I hope you told them where to go. You know your own bloody name

Are you for real?

Keep your mouth shut!!!!!!

It's their baby, not yours. They can spell it duckybuff and pronounce it foofoo if they want to.

You need to keep your nose out and pronounce it however they want you to.

My sons middle name is Cecil - pronounced Sissel ..... my point, surely they can pronounce it how they want to. Its their childs name after all

My nephews girlfriend is called Caoimhe, her (non Irish) parents pronounced it to rhyme with Naomi. She was really embarrassed when she found out she'd been saying her name wrong her whole life.

OP I'd have to say something, and Ive been on the baby name boards long enough to think that if the name in question was from a minority culture, you'd get a lot more people agreeing with you

My nephews girlfriend is called Caoimhe, her (non Irish) parents pronounced it to rhyme with Naomi.

why did no-one tell them?!

why did no-one tell them?!

because according to most posters on this thread parents can choose how to pronounce names. So Caomi it is.

They should have been down for child cruelty!

done

I had to look up how you pronounce Caoimhe but now I know its Kee-va that's fine!

Beau for a girl drives me mad but then boys names like Dylan and Charlie drive me mad for girls too

Yes, it can be a problem. I know SO whose child is called Lucia. They pronounce it Lucy-a, not Lewchia. I know its so wrong and perhaps I am a pedant but I would never correct them as however it is spelled or pronounced, that is the name they chose for their child. But it is wrong! 😉

Quite frankly anyone who gives their baby a name where there are multiple different pronunciations and scope for error is a selfish twat. I say this as someone who has a difficult name and has ended up with a complete variation on what my parents originally called me because of being too shy to correct teachers when I was in primary school.

Do your child a huge favour and give them a name where the pronunciation is obvious!

Yes, it can be a problem. I know SO whose child is called Lucia. They pronounce it Lucy-a, not Lewchia. I know its so wrong and perhaps I am a pedant but I would never correct them as however it is spelled or pronounced, that is the name they chose for their child. But it is wrong! 😉

Hear hear.

I would pronounce Lucia Loosha or maybe Looch ee ah

I used to teach a boy called Aron, pronounced ‘air-on’. He had some complex needs. Every single time he encountered a new adult who hadn’t been warned in advance, they would innocently pronounce his name as it was spelt and he would become incredibly frustrated. Every new encounter with an adult became negative.

I’m not for a moment suggesting that the confusion over his name caused any of his other difficulties at all. Nevertheless, for a young man who already found daily social interaction very difficult it was an additional frustration for him and the effect was cumulative.

So, no. I don’t believe that parents have the right to decide that their child should have an illogical or downright incorrect pronunciation or spelling. They don’t have to live with it.

sunshine11 but there are many names which have regional pronunciations or perfectly legitimate different pronunciations (e.g Evelyn) so are all these parents 'massive twats too?!'

Also e.g Ralph, Clara...I know there are plenty more examples that are slipping my mind 😏

Wouldn't Lucia be nearer to Lu sia in Spanish though? Randomly I think I remember a character in Lost called Ana Lucia - she berates someone for calling her Lu chia because she's not Italian.

Loo-see-a is definitely a perfectly valid pronunciation in much of Europe.

Act surprised and tell them you’ve never heard it pronounced ‘Anay’ before and tell them how it should be pronounced ...

Anaïs, Anaís or Anais, (French pronunciation: [a.naˈis]), is a female given name. It is widely thought to be a French Provençal and Catalan version of Anna. Some suggest it is derived from Anahita, the name of the Persian goddess of fertility and healing.[1]

People have posted links to the ad of the perfume on this thread. The S is very clearly pronounced.