Amalie - a chavvy misspelling of Amelie?

[EdininiaMonsoon]

My husband is Tamil (Indian) and we need a Tamil name that English people (including myself) will be able to pronounce easily.

I really like Amalie, but there's no set spelling for it in the Roman alphabet, and we need a spelling that will encounter the least mispronunciation.

It's essentially the same as the French Amelie, but my husband insists the second syllable is an 'a' not an 'e' (even though they sound the same in this context). People would also assume it's just the French name if we spell it that way.

My question is, would you pronounce Amalie the same as Amelie, or would you assume it's Am-aa-li? And if it's pronounced the same as Amelie, does Amalie look like a chavvy misspelling that's been done just to look interesting?

I'm also open to any other less ambiguous spelling suggestions...

I would probably pronounce it the same way as Amelie, unless corrected by someone who didn't pronounce it that way.

If I heard it I would assume it was written Amelie, but it wouldn't take long to learn a different spelling.

I can be a bit sniffy about some names (I'm aware it is a failing!) and wouldn't be in the least bit sniffy about Amalie.

Not sure if that helps?!

When I say sniffy about names, I mean Elon Musk level monstrosities, not urban legend L-a or real Precious, Jayden etc.

A pal of ours named her daughter Amali, pronounced the same as Amelie. EVERYONE they encountered called her Am-AH-lee. Mum was of Indian origin, and I think perhaps that contributed to people assuming the name has a different pronunciation. I’m afraid Amalie would probably lead to similar confusion.

@Marlboroughdreams you are aware that Precious is a perfectly ordinary name in some African countries (or are you also sniffy about traditional names such as Faith, Hope or Grace which I guess would be the British equivalents?).

Amelie = AH me lee

Amalie = AH ma lee in English (Ah MA lee eh in German)

I like the amali spelling.

[quote MrsFezziwig]**@Marlboroughdreams you are aware that Precious is a perfectly ordinary name in some African countries (or are you also sniffy about traditional names such as Faith, Hope or Grace which I guess would be the British equivalents?).[/quote]
Yes, which is why I said I wasn't sniffy about Previous...

Precious!!

I would go with Amelie, as Amalie would probably have the same pronunciation at least for me but it'd just bring a whole lot of trouble when spelling it out or having people write it.

For what it's worth, I like Amalia much better and I do pronounce that different to Amelia.

I'd say Ah-MAA-lee.

I would assume Amalie is the German version (nearer Amahlia than Amelie).

Most of the time people will be told how to pronounce her name before they see it written down though. She will be in for a lifetime of "like Amelie but spelled Ama".

I'd say Ah-MAA-lee.

But why stress the 2nd syllable? I'd say AH ma lee with the stress on the 1 syllable.

It's just Amelie but with an a.

I teach an Amalia ... if that helps 🤷🏻‍♀️

I would assume it's ah-ma-lee. Reminds me a lot of Amalia which is beautiful. I've only ever taught one of those (though she put me right off it!) in comparison to a rake of Amelies...

Amelie - Ah me lee
Amalie - Ah ma lee
Both emphasise the first syllable.

Amelia - Ah mee lee ah
Amalia - Ah ma lee ah
Both stress the second syllable.

Amalia is pron A-Maaaaah-Lia.

Amalie looks pretty but not sure anyone will get it right first time.

My fave Hindu name means beautiful in Tamil but does't translate that well = Charvie

I'd pronounce them the same but I'd definitely the Amalie spelling thinking you were trying to be a bit 'different'.

My niece is Amalia and she is French/Polish. It’s a lovely name. X

If you are looking for a phonetic spelling then how about Ammalie? It is clearly different from Amelie and gives you the nickname of Amma. Or Ammalee also works, but has two double letters.

I’m afraid when is saw Amalie I did think “wrong spelling of Amelie”. I wouldn’t have thought that if I knew she was mixed race, but there are a lot of white kids around here with interesting spellings of common names so I jumped to a conclusion. (I am aware that this is racist/classist but I’m being honest about my prejudice, and I think it’s quite a common view in our society).

It’s a nice name but I would pronounce it differently to Amelie.

I wouldn’t think it was a misspelling of Amelie, but I would assume it is pronounced differently.

I think it depends to an extent where you live.

I'm in the South East with a fairly neutral southern accent (not heavily Sarf London), and I would pronounce Amelie, Amalie and Amali as A-muh-lee, with the "muh" bit said very quickly. Perhaps there would be a slight different "meh" or "muh", but I think you'd have to be listening very hard and carefully to hear the difference. Other regional accents are likely to vary, and the difference might be more pronounced.

I would pronounce it in the way that she was introduced to me! I’ve taught for over 20 years and on the first day have read out unfamiliar names and pronounced them incorrectly. The child has corrected me and that was that, after that I said it correctly. The vast, vast majority of other people I meet, I am being introduced to them and hearing their name before I see it written down so I know how to pronounce it correctly right from the start.

Thanks for all of the comments so far. It looks like lots of people would say 'Am-ah-li', so we'd probably have to go with Amelie and just have people thinking it's French (although the accented 'e' is another issue!).

I came across the German Amalie (pronounced 'Am-ah-lia') while researching the other today, but hoped it was too rare here for a mix up. It's very pretty, but unfortunately not Tamil.

It's been an absolute bugger finding a Tamil name 😩.

If you are looking for a phonetic spelling then how about Ammalie? It is clearly different from Amelie and gives you the nickname of Amma. Or Ammalee also works, but has two double letters.

Thanks @peajotter. I do want a phonetic spelling as I have a horribly complicated name and have always had to explain it, to the point I've just stopped correcting people on the phone etc. now. I don't want to do the same to my daughter!

Amma actually means mother in Tamil, but it could work .