Elodie - Pronunciation? Diminutive? Nickname?

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Just looking for reassurance really I think - we struggled to choose a name for our first daughter and went with something that no one seemed to like, so ended up legally changing it to one of her middle names at 3 months (we changed it to Elodie). Everyone else now likes it and she can say and knows her name, but I still have a real problem with it.

I do have a 6 week old 2nd baby so it’s partly lack of sleep perhaps but I have had a problem with DD1s name the whole time and she is now nearly 2. Basically I have a problem saying it/with the pronunciation and feel like I’ve messed up by not choosing the perfect name for her. It makes me feel really bad and I’ve spent hours worrying about it. I think when we decided to change it in the first place and my husband said we should use one of the middle names I just said OK because I felt so guilty and bad about myself for wanting to change it at all :(

I know people will say I can’t change it again as not fair on her and everyone would think it was an awful thing to do.

So, I guess I was wondering how most people pronounce it - ELLE-oh-dee or EL-uh-dee....I try to do the first pronunciation but it feels clunky to me and I don’t think the second one sounds pretty when I say it.

Also I was wondering if there was a good diminutive or nickname I could try...She does have a middle name but I’m not wild about that either - we chose it more for the meaning and never intended it to be a first name.

Maybe someone has some advice about how I can grow to love it or feel comfortable saying it? Any helpful advice would be great.

I appreciate this might sound a bit obsessive-it might be hormones but I think I generally found the whole naming thing so hard and have gotten myself upset and ended up with a name I can’t say - so stupid I know :(

Thanks so much x

We all (or most parents I know) have little wobbles over our children's names sometimes, I know I have! Try not to let it worry you.

I think it's pretty and I would pronounce it El-uh-dee, as others say, like Melody without the m. Elle is a sweet nn and more unusual than Ellie.

Melody without the m for me would have a 'i' sound rather than an 'ee' sound at the end (could be my accent)

However you like it is how it is meant to be. Lovely name all ways. And loads of lovely short options too!

It's a lovely name! I'd pronounce as others have said - basically as melody without the m. As per pinkavocado's post, Ell-uh-dee, though minimal emphasis on the uh.

It's a beautiful name, it was top of my list but stupidly got talked out of it after naively mentioning to someone and regret not using it now. It's not a common name, I've never heard of one at either of my Dds schools, relax and stop worrying

It’s a lovely name and you have so many nickname options!

Edie?

I love Elodie. Edie ( pn. eedie) is a nice nickname for it I think. Or something like didi or lolo just for you and her dad maybe.

It's a French name originally, and the French pronunciation is closest to El-oh-dee. The last syllable is very "light". But if an English speaker said it to rhyme with Melody, I don't think it's wrong as such, just the person saying it in their natural accent.

It's a gorgeous name!

I have an Elodie
Pronounced like melody with an e
Ell uh dee Think that's a good way of explaining ha! Everyone has done the same too. She's juts known as her full name at the moment. She's three, I've only met one other on a random shopping trip where the shop assistant was called Elodie!
I've had random people comment when hearing it shouted across a room (teehee) of how beautiful it is.
Good choice op! And congrats!

I have a 19mo Elodie. We pronounce it to rhyme with melody, NN Eddie (DD1's pronunciation of it when DD2 was first born, it stuck) although we mostly stick with Elodie.

I love her name but did also go through a wobble after a spate of people looking confused/asking for a repeat/how to spell and pronounce etc. I still get that but it now bothers me much less and is more than balanced by all the positive comments it gets.

I would pronounce Elodie like the word Melody, but without the M at the front...practice saying the word Melody and see how you pronounce it normally, now say it without the M and that is how I would pronounce Elodie

I have a friend named Elodie, she's French and pronounces it like melody without the M obviously. Always thought her name was really sweet and pretty. She doesn't use a nickname.
But it could be Elle or Ellie. Both also really pretty imo.

Elodie is a beautiful name. It was our first choice this time round until our son wanted to name the baby. I would pronounce it as Elle o dee, but that's just my opinion.

With my name I have had so many versions of it over the years lee-o-knee, lay-o-nay, Leo-uh-ni. People will always say it slightly different. I 100% know where your coming from. My son is called Isaac, what could possibly go wrong? I say it as Eye-sack softer on the end of his name. Just like 99.9% of people do. His dad though insists after 5 years that it's pronunciation is eye-zack which sound sharp and angry but he insists on saying on that way. Sometimes when he says it I wish he would learn bit its just him.

My sister has a nice simple name. Sophie. She always says So-fee while her husband pronounces her name as So-fi which to me sounds common and not very feminine but it's how he says it.

My whole point is that Elodie is a beautiful name, you say it how you want and let others worry about themselves. No one can tell you that your saying it wrong she's your DD, you get final say.

I'd probably use EL OH Dee at first but slip to EL uH DEE with familiarity. It's a nice name, nothing wrong with it at all. And it lends itself to nicknames. Elle, Ello, Dee, Dee Dee.

Niece is Elodie.

Pronounced ello - dee.

Nickname is Ello.

They are French so obviously it sounds lovely with the accent.

Beautiful name, we nearly called DD2 Elodie but in the end it just didn’t quite work with our surname. I really wanted to use ‘Edie’ as a nickname.

Oh and pronounced Melody without the M.

What is your DD2’s name?

I have had the same worries about the name we chose for DD2 so understand how you feel!

Melody without the M meaning el-oh-dee by the way

I have an Elodie.

Elle-o-Dee here. I don't really like when people call her Ella-Dee, I don't say anything but to me it's wrong. We spend a lot of time in France and I have a French name so I'm used to hearing the French saying it.

Oh and we don't shorten it. I thought I would, and chose it as we liked Elle/Ellie too so thought we could use them when we wanted to. We don't though, its doesn't feel natural to call her Ellie now she's here, Elodie suits her more.

I would pronounce it Eh-lo-dee. It's a lovely name with so many nicknames!

Thinking about it I agree with PPs - like Melody

Such a pretty feminine name, and unusual too. Should be pronounced Elle-a-dee like Melody, and DiDi as a shortening. So sweet.

Gorgeous name. E luh dee, E loh dee. Both sound nice.

To me I would pronounce like:
Ey-lo-dee. Very popular where I'm from but where I live now, it would most likely be pronounced Ellerdie.
Pretty name.