Parents of an Amelie...

[Milasmummy]

My sister is pregnant and wants some opinions.
Since she was younger she has always always loved the name Emily. But a very close family member has recently named their daughter Emily and it’s out of the question.
Her next best option is Amelie. After scouring the internet it doesn’t seem to fall in favour of mumsnetters. Apparently it’s “downmarket” etc. Why is that?
Forgetting about popularity (as Emily is more popular!), she has no problem with the name being popular. But it’s been called a name fad etc...
However it’s been around for around 20 years now, so though it sprang up from “no where” has it not established itself into society now? Just like the name “Mia” or perhaps “Isla”. And additionally it has a long European history.
Or is Amelie the new “mckenzie” or “Jayden”, names that are fast risers but fall quickly.
Is Amelie chavvy??
Someone told us to check telegraph baby names, and there seems to be 1 or 2 born last year, and a couple of siblings called Amelie. Though the name appears to be quite popular with telegraphers 2 or 3 years ago.
So what are the issues with this name?

She understands that it might be mispronounced as Emily...but I think she secretly doesn’t mind at all-quite happy about it!)

Please no suggestions of Emilia/Amelia as she also can’t use these names.

Thanks

She can use whatever name she likes.

I think it’s pretty.

Nothing wrong with it. It's a lovely name.

Stop over thinking it. There are no issues with the name Amelie - there is no name on the planet that hasn't been ripped apart by a mumsnetter. It's a pretty name and entirely inoffensive, she should just use it if she likes it.

I know a lovely little girl called Amelie & I'm in a posh area so wouldn't consider it downmarket!

Amélie derives from the German name Amalia and has been around for a centuries - it didn’t ‘Spring from nowhere’ 20 years ago, it just increased in popularity
names.darkgreener.com/#amelie

It’s a pretty, classic name, not faddy.

I think it’s lovely and not too common at all. Perhaps the “faddy” comments come from the combined popularity of Amelia, Emily and to a lesser extent Amelie over the past decade or two. It makes me think of the quirky French film and I much prefer it to Emily or Amelia.

We have an Amelie although she goes by Mila.

Never had any issues with it, she’s the only one I’ve ever met.

Don’t listen to people on mumsnet about names, the general opinions on here are ridiculous.

Amelie is a lovely name, but she should be prepared for it being shortened to Amy I suspect. I can't see it being a fad name or chavy etc, I think it sounds more french, like the film Amelie.

Also I forgot to say, the other part of it is people are probably going to write her name down wrong as Emily all her life if she tells them her name and sounds british (call centres, registers, at work etc.)

That is the only down side I can think of.

I'm not keen. For me it goes in the same camp as "Fleur". Bit flouncy and weak.

Amelia is nicer.

I don't see Amelie as remotely a compromise for Emily either. They seem completely different to me

Not a parent of an Amelie, but just to say I think it's a lovely name. It didn't come from nowhere though, as its rise in popularity was linked with the very well-known film of the same name.

It's a beautiful name.

It got popular because of the film Amelie.
If your friend likes it she should go for it.
Elodie is similar sounding.

It DIDN'T spring from nowhere though did it? It came from a French film that absolutely everybody seemed to have watched 20 years ago. I think there is always going to be a degree of snobbishness around names that people know only through TV series and films, but as you say it is a classic European name. Personally I think it sounds quite ugly when people say it with a British accent.
Also, if she can't user Amelia, she can't really use Amelie, they are basically the same name.

I adore the name.
I didn't use it on my dds as I found it too confusing and I wasn't sure of the spelling or pronunciation.

I wanted it to be 'Amelie', sounds like Emily with an A, but I think the correct way is actually Amélie, pronounced Am-eh-lee.
I didn't want to get it wrong and inflict that on dd. Plus I have a sibling who just loves to point out such errors

It's not my cup of tea but it's ok. But choosing Amelie because a close family member has called her baby Emily is crazy. She should just go with Emily and have done with it.

Emma would be better than Amelie for someone who feels they can no longer use Emily.

Amelie is considered "down-market" I suppose because every so often these fashions in names spring up when names from books/films etc get used without much thought going into whether the name "goes" in the relevant culture. Or because people like the "sound" of a name without realising it's the Tagalog equivalent of calling a baby Adolf etc.

Names that always get that dismissal on here are Amelie, Elodie, Luca etc. Foreign names that haven't yet been around long enough in the UK (cf Francesca, Sophie) to be "accepted".

I don't like it personally because of the pronunciation issues she'll have. It also depends where you are in the country. (It's a name with vowels that get mauled by lots of accents!)

FWIW I like Amélie.

I do, however, think it’s a very bad idea to name a child with the next best thing to her actual favourite name. She should either use Emily (Amélie is similar enough that both girls will come running if you shout it in a park anyway) or go completely back to the drawing board, I’m afraid.

It is only number 74 in the charts so I really don't understand why people on Mumsnet think it is popular?! Maybe just merging into the Amelias and Emilys?

Popularity aside, it's a lovely name and I don't view it as 'common' at all

Also @Miffymeow , why would it be shortened to Amy? That's a completely different sound. Ammy perhaps, or Millie but Amy seems far fetched

I don't think it's chavvy but do think it's a bit faddy at the moment.

My sister is an Amelie - she is 29 and up until about 6 years ago I had never ever heard of another. She hated it as a child as people always assumed it was Emily due to it not being a well known name so she always went by Amy. Now she hates it just as much due to its popularity as there is at least one Amelie in both of her children's classes at school.

It's a nice name in isolation but to me it now just blends with all the Emily's and amelias.

Agree it blurs in with all the Amelia’s and Emily’s. There are lots of other nicer names than this group which are just so over used and dull

It's a name that was hardly ever used in this country before the film came out. Due to the popularity of Emily and Amelia, it has renamed popular. I think the French version is lovely, but the Am-uh-lee sound you get over here isn't pretty.
I'd suggest she look at all the other names that she could pick. There are so many to choose from, why pick something overused?