Name regret, WDYT of this name?

[Finnemoo]

Hi everyone,

We chose an unusual name for our daughter mostly because I've always loved it (and still do). My husband really liked it too but was wary about pronunciation in the UK. It's a French name, and we do have a French connection.

He was right

She's 8 months old now and she does suit the name, but no one here says it right and I'm finding that more grating than I thought I would.

Her name is Anouk. Pronounced "ah-NOOK", nook rhymes with Luke.

Be honest: is she going to hate us for it? What do you think of the name and how would you say it?

I don't know why I'm posting this because it's too late to change it anyway, but maybe someone will have something nice to say to cheer me up. I do still really love the name in theory but I'm just worried that the pronunciation thing will be a pain for her forever. I didn't really think it would prove to be so problematic.

Thanks and I hope you're all doing well.

Lovely name

It’s a lovely name.

Any name can be pronounced in the wrong way, my name has three letters, it is phonetically spelled, think for example cat, we all know how to say that, yet some people still get it wrong. So try not to focus on how people say her name too much.

My son has an easy to pronounce name, he’s only four but he corrects people if they get it wrong, I just need to work on his tact now...

I LOVE it. I went to school with an Anouk, so knew how to pronounce it, but I’m sure I’d be able to pronounce it correctly, even if I hadn’t. The Anouk I knew was very beautiful, quietly confident and rather mysterious, the name suited her very well. I don’t remember anyone ever struggling with the pronunciation. I say stick with the wonderful name you’ve chosen, and all the people you encounter and have to correct will be improved by the newfound knowledge.

Ahh, thank you everyone!

People say the "nouk" part to rhyme with "book" rather than "Luke", which sounds so much duller and flatter to me. I had thought we might get the occasional mispronunciation since it is quite unusual, but the overwhelming majority of people seem to pronounce it this very specific way.

I don't think I've got PND, it's just annoying me and I kind of wish we'd gone for something "safer", though I still love the name pronounced as we (and our French relatives) do.

So glad lots of you like it and would know how to pronounce it though! She def knows her name already so I wouldn't change it unless I really hated the name itself, which I don't.

It’s a lovely name

I'm not keen

It's not too late to change it if you did want to , check www.gov.uk, change a forename, has to be done before child turns one and costs £40

It's a lovely name

Love it OP. And I also have a name that is easily mispronounced. It is what it is and she won’t hate you. Are you feeling ok though? Echoing a worry about PND by a previous poster. Please take care of yourself. We have three different languages in our families, so finding something that was pronounced the same in all of them was a challenge! Sounds like you found a lovely choice.

I think it’s lovely but would also have pronounced it to rhyme with look rather than Luke.

Lots of names can be pronounced different ways though like Maya can be My-a or May-a, Alicia can be Alissia or Alisha. People manage

I am feeling OK, she's lovely, the weather's been lovely despite this awful situation, but I feel a bit guilty about causing her hassle, potentially. Who knows, maybe she'll love having something a bit different. She has a very English middle name (think the Queen) she can always use instead I suppose.

Thank you for being so kind! Even those who don't like it, thank you for being tactful

I really like it but much prefer it if it rhymed with book not luke.
Ah-nook not Ah-nuke

I like it and would have pronounced like you said. To be honest I think the hardest time for getting it right is while she’s too young to self-advocate and make it clear to others how they should say her name. It’s not hard to say so if people do get it wrong, once she’s old enough she will either be able to self-advocate or shorten it if she prefers but it’s a lovely name that gives her plenty of choice either way.

I think it’s a lovely name. I wouldn’t say it’s hard to pronounce and think it’s odd that people rhyme it with book. People will get used to it as, as soon as they know it they won’t make a mistake. If someone gets it wrong the first time, just correct them as it is a french name after all. The second time, correct them and add in a death stare. As someone who has a name that people mispronounce, I find this works well

I like it and would pronounce it the way you do.

Book and Luke both rhyme exactly the same. Maybe is is my Scottish accent?

This may be because I’m Scottish but look and book are pronounced exactly the same to me 🤷‍♀️ I literally don’t know how to make them sound different

I would pronounce like you have said. I'm not personally very keen on the name. If you have gone off it now is the time to change it.

to me it sounds a bit hard and abrupt, esp for a little tot.
but you and her father, and she like it, so that's the main thing.
how about softening it, in a playful affectionate way, to Anoushka.
then she can choose when to be the beloved child Anoushka, and when to be the official name Anouk, when she becomes a high court judge.
good luck.

I would pronounce it how you do. You could do what my sister in law did. She named her son Christian. Then she found that people were saying "Chrishtyun", and she just corrected them , saying, "Sorry, but there's no "H" in it"
I think your baby has a beautiful name.

Beautiful beautiful name. Please don't change it!

It’s lovely name. I’d know how to pronounce it.

Yes, I’ve got a Scottish accent too and both rhyme to me also. I couldn’t figure out that they wouldn’t rhyme so asked my English DD to say both words and they defo sound different to each other in an English accent!

I would think it was pronounced A Nook rather than Ahhh Nook

I live in a French speaking country and it’s pronounced An-ook (like book).

In my accent the oo in took/look/book is short, nearer to uh. Luke is a long oo like in zoo.