No one can pronounce my baby's name!

[Bewilderbeastie]

Had my baby this year - decided upon a name which is definitely not common but (we thought) really not difficult. It's very short, two syllables, no special characters, nothing odd about how you pronounce it (it's very say what you see).

We both saw it, loved it, didn't consider people would she trouble with it... But they do! I've heard every wrong iteration of it. Even when we say what the correct pronunciation is, people continue to struggle?! We've been witnessing this with growing horror and worried now we've saddled our child with a name that will haunt them for life. Every time I hear someone say it wrong, I cringe inside. I can only imagine what it's going to be like for my LO.

It can be shortened even further, so that's an option. But it's not the name we fell in love with.

Any tips on dealing with this? Both my husband and I have very trad names so never had this ourselves. It gets a bit awkward to keep correcting people... Help!

I would definitely keep the name, having a common name is so boring! My middle name is Irish and I’m constantly asked how to pronounce it before people even attempt it, then people give it their best shot, it’s a conversation starter. My first name is a boring, common name (Spelt differently so I constantly get Aine). I would have far preferred a nice Irish name like Aoife, Saoirse, Eabha etc.

@SmileyClare

It probably won't be a big an issue as you imagine as she grows up.

However, I would feel quite insulted if a grandparent consistently got it wrong! Is your MIL being deliberately obtuse because she doesn't like the name? Unless she has cognitive or processsing issues then she should be able to correctly pronounce a 2 syllable name when shown how to.

I'd feel quite hurt about that.

I disagree. It took my own grandparent nearly 3 years to say my Lo's name correctly. Despite it being a 2 syllable mainstream name. It wasn't about being obtuse, it just took time and others around us repeating the name before it clicked. Just because it's an inlaw doesn't have to mean there's some underlying sinister reason. The op has chosen a Welsh name, in an area that this is quite obviously not typical. This sadly is a potential consequence and the child may well now be forever ladled with a name that is constantly pronounced and no doubt spelt incorrectly....

[quote ArseyWelshNameBore]**@peanacat, Rhian is pronounced Ree-ann.

It isn't.
It is pronounced RH-EE-ann.

There is no R in it.[/quote]
I am welsh, grew up in Wales and had several friends named Rhian, Rhiannon and Rhianna. So yes, it is said Ree-ann clearly in some dialects because that’s how we said it. I wouldn’t comment on a post if I didn’t know how it is said (at least in one area of Wales)

Gwenllian is Gwen LLEE-ann
The LL is almost impossible to say unless you have learnt it at a young age.
The shortened form is Llio not Gwen.

Llio is LLEE-o' (o like in of)

@peanacat, I disagree with you R and Rh are distinctly different letters and sounds. They might be pronounced as Ree-ann where you are from but that's like saying Clare is pronounced Clurr because it sounds like that in Merseyside.

[quote MikeUniformMike]@peanacat, I disagree with you R and Rh are distinctly different letters and sounds. They might be pronounced as Ree-ann where you are from but that's like saying Clare is pronounced Clurr because it sounds like that in Merseyside.[/quote]
Ffs it is literally so similar to say Ree and ‘Rhee’ esp if you aren’t a welsh speaker and haven’t grown up hearing it. I was only giving an opinion on how I know it to be said. Particularly as my area of Wales actually doesn’t have a strong accent of anywhere in particular I’ve been told. It’s so irritating saying one thing on MN and several people just picking you apart, though normally its the OP that gets it.

It isn't the same @peanacat.
What point is there in teaching someone the wrong pronunciation?

By your argument, Feo would be how to say Theo, and it's close enough.

Yes, ma'am should rhyme with ham.
Don't say marm

I lnow a Dafydd who goes by Dai as no-one can pronounce Dafydd. Its a shame as its lovely

I've said a few times that Carys is like the welsh Karen - both popular a the same time.
Rhian and Ian.

From my attempts to find a reasonable pronunciation of Rhian online, I can only assume that the correct pronunciation is almost lost, cf Dylan, Rhys, Rhiannon and Sian.

Rhianna is a bit .

It could be Idelle - and people keep putting an 'a' at the end. But sometimes the tongue just wants to jump on to another sound, before going to rest. Delle would be the shortened version.

Looking at those Welsh name lists, some with vocalised pronunciation available, there aren't many really easy, really phonetic say-as-see names ,which would shorten to something good and name-like. Surely it would be an Elle, Lily type of short bit. Dilwen would be good, but Dil's a bit of an imperfect sounding whole name.

If it's Ysbail or Torlan, they are quite difficult to say when you hear the guy's voice annunciating them . It's an unusual name, so not Gaenor, presumably.

I was going to ask if you used the typical spelling and maybe that was the issue, then I read it's Welsh. I'm Welsh so this isn't a racist dig! It's probably the Welsh spelling! You just have to be obstinate and correct every time.

Maybe they're saying Mary rather than Mari (pronounced marry)?

Idelle isn't welsh.

I have a feeling that it is Lois but that's not 2 syllables. Lois isn't strictly welsh, but it is very popular and is pron. Loyce not Lo-is. Same with Leah - Ley-a not Lee-uh.

The welsh names only have one way of saying them, so I'm stuck, and the only ones that I can think of with a rhyming word is Carys and Paris, Mali and Malley, Mari and Marry, Cadi and Caddy.

Bethan, Seren etc don't really rhyme with anything, other you could anglicise them to 'Bethany without the y' or 'rhymes with Derren, like Derren Brown'

It will be character building for her! You have to keep it! She'll learn to stand up for herself.

Ysbail is a new one on me , and Torlan is a placename (riverbank)

There is a directory of names which features Ysbail and Torlan.

It could be a name starting with Gwyn - .

A lot of Welsh name lists online have some very suspect names on them. Artaith (torture) and Olwyn (wheel) for example.

I haven't heard of Ysbail before. It looks like a cross between Isabel/Ysabel, Iseult/Yseult, Esyllt and Eseld (the latter two are Welsh and Cornish for Iseult respectively).

@Diverseopinions, Ysbail means spoil or loot so it's a very strange suggestion for a person's name. Torlan is a perfectly OK house name.

As CaffiSaliMali posted, the welsh name lists have suspect suggestions.

Gwyn is a boy's name and, to my knowledge, the only girl's name that starts with it is Gwyneth.

Lois isn't strictly welsh

It's not Welsh at all. It's a Greek name (biblical, too) and it is two syllables: Lo - iss.

@bridgetreilly, it's very popular in Wales and pronounced Loyce there.
It's a biblical name, so not Welsh.

The only welsh (and scottish) name with two correct pronunciations is Iona.

Oops, sorry I should have said The only welsh (and scottish) name that I can think of with two correct pronunciations is Iona.

This is terribly interesting about roots of Welsh names. Thank you Mike and CaffiSalliMali.

I think it's hard to get the annunciation right when a name is pronounced as one syllable, like Lois (Loyce)( and other pronunciations, maybe) but the y create a little pause before the next bit while your tongue adjusts, and it makes it sound like two syllables.

But Loyce or Louis wouldn't shorten to one syllable and to make a traditional name. I can't help thinking that OPs baby name might have started with Beth or Meg or Kate and then an unusual ending.

@Diverseopinions, Lois is written as Lois but a welsh-speaker would say it as one syllable to rhyme with Joyce, but otherwise it is pronounced Lo-is.

I'm not sure how you'd get the Lo-is sound in Welsh - Lôis maybe, but it looks wrong.

A lot of the biblical names sound quite different in welsh, some look different too.

Examples are Jacob (JACK-ob), Daniel (DAN-yell), Deborah (Deb-O-rah), Isaac (ISS-ac), Abraham (AB-ra-ham), Gabriel (GAB-ree-el), Cain (Kine), Abel (ABel), Amos (AM-os), Martha (MARRTH-a), Eli (Elly)

The ones that look different are ones like Adda, Efa, Mair, Ioan, Luc, Andreas, Pedr.

Must be tricky if you're a teacher.