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How do you pronounce Elle?

31 replies

C0untDucku1a · 23/10/2018 11:00

I’m seeing more and more girls named Elle whose parents insist their name is Ellie. Surely it is always ‘L’??? There’s no ‘i’ to make it Ellie.

Why are people chosing Elle when they want it pronounced Ellie? What am i missing?

OP posts:
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Littlechocola · 23/10/2018 11:01

Hell without the H

Littlechocola · 23/10/2018 11:02

Forgot to say. People are strange

IsTheRainEverComingBack · 23/10/2018 11:02

Yeh it’s Ell. Ellie is Ellie!

Sexnotgender · 23/10/2018 11:04

Just L like the letter.

Sexnotgender · 23/10/2018 11:04

Why are people chosing Elle when they want it pronounced Ellie? What am i missing?

You’re missing nothing, people are morons.

RomanyRoots · 23/10/2018 11:05

I'd pronounce it "L".
Hell without the H

Lweji · 23/10/2018 11:07

Ellie as nickname for Elle?

Lweji · 23/10/2018 11:08

Ask them why not Helen, or Elena, or Hell.

C0untDucku1a · 23/10/2018 11:08

It’s the eyebrow raise that annoys me the most. ‘It’s Ellie Confused’ like im thick and I can’t read. Er, no it is definitely not.

OP posts:
KiplingAngelCake · 23/10/2018 11:09

Ell, definitely.

C0untDucku1a · 23/10/2018 11:09

No lewiji. They think elle is pronounced ellie.

OP posts:
Awwlookatmybabyspider · 23/10/2018 11:10

I know 2 Elles both pronounced Ellie but mostly get Elle for short. I also know an Elle pronounced that way but is ironically 9ften called Ellie. Names are always shorted or lengthened aren't they
If you think about it Halle is pronounced Hal-lee not Hal. That hasn't got the typical IE Y sound.

Greenandcabbagelooking · 23/10/2018 11:11

I know one L, and one Ellie. In both cases it is short for Eleanor.

florascotia2 · 23/10/2018 12:23

Elle = French pronoun meaning 'she' = Ell

Elle = In the Netherlands, I've heard it pronounced 'Ell-uh'

As previous posters have said, in the English language Elle does NOT spell the sounds 'Ell-ee'. That would be Ellie or Ellee.

Halle (Hal-ee) as a name seems to have originated with one American actress. According to Behind the Name* (which is not always correct, of course), she was named after a department store in her home city. That store had the German surname of the people who founded it, which was Halle. In Germany, that would normally be pronounced Hal-uh. But presumably the store-founders pronounced it differently once they got to the USA?

Shadow1234 · 23/10/2018 12:32

'L' as most people have said. If they wanted Ellie they should have spelt it like this. You are definitely not being thick!!

OutPinked · 23/10/2018 12:40

It’s just ell, definitely not Ellie. It is French for she. DP went to school with an Elle who insisted it was Ellie, one teacher refused to call her Ellie because it’s so stupid.

Sunflower321 · 23/10/2018 14:39

They're probably reading it as Ell-e, so Ell e

JennyOnAPlate · 23/10/2018 14:44

I know one of these too (age 10). I just assume her parents must be a bit thick Confused

Lweji · 23/10/2018 14:46

Ask them if after Wall-e.

flowery · 23/10/2018 14:50

You are missing nothing, you are entirely correct.

florascotia2 · 23/10/2018 14:51

You may be correct in saying that's what people are doing, Sunflower, but why?
French (and English) rules of spelling/pronunciation just don't work like that.
They wouldn't read Isabelle as 'Isabell-e' and say 'Isabell-ie' or Annabelle as 'Annebell -e' and say 'Annabell-ie'.

Normally, English spelling uses a 'y' after a double L to make an 'ie' or 'ee' sound - for instance welly or belly or jelly. So if they want a name that sounds like 'Elly', why don't they just spell it that way? Or else use 'ie' or 'ee' which are at least logical alternatives?

Ohyesiam · 23/10/2018 14:52

It’s French, and the people who are getting it wrong only do english?

abiirthdaycake · 23/10/2018 15:04

I can't believe this has become prevalent enough to warrant a thread. We had a thread here once from a lady who was frustrated at people pronouncing her Elle's name as Elle and not Ellie, and only one other person said they'd heard of it before! IIRC the OP said her partner claimed it was the "American pronunciation". Which it's not, obviously. What a weird trend - Elles will become Ellies and Ellies will become Els or Elle or something anyway, probably even before they reach primary school. It seems baffling to me to deliberately pronounce something in a completely unintuitive way. "Elle-eh" is a legit pronunciation in some languages of course, but Elle in English can only be pronounced Elle and I can't imagine my reaction if someone corrected me like I was stupid.

Pemba · 23/10/2018 15:14

I agree absolutely. I think you'll find that it is only thick parents that are doing this, the same types who use 'creative' spellings like Baylee and Jaxon. And who go for anything American sounding for boys, plus also lots of cutesy names like Teddy. Plenty of hyphens sprinkled in too.

There is the model Elle McPherson, she pronounces it ell, doesn't she? As she should. If they want Ellie, then spell it Ellie, FGS.

JosellaPlayton · 23/10/2018 15:18

I think if Elle Macpherson, the character from legally blonde and the French word for she. All pronounced ‘L’.

If these, probably slightly dim parents, wanted Ellie, which is a beautiful name then they should have spelt it Ellie Confused