Opinions on Ivan (pronounced Ee-vahn)

[ttcAlex]

The title says it really. What do you think of the boy's name Ivan (pronounced Ee-van)? Be honest pls.

We have a friend pronounced as you suggested spelt Evan though ( he is south American) So that might work better ? I would of said Ev an if I'd seen it written, but when he said it's Eeee van then that's what it is.

Probably will need initial correcting - although an Eastern European surname would automatically make me look for confirmation of pronunciation.

It's a good name and you have a nice reason for choosing it, OP. :-)

I wouldn’t spell it Ivan if you want pronunciation to be anything other than phonetic in English. Also Evan not the correct spelling for pronunciation you want. Yvan? Think it’s french but pronounced the way you want and would force someone to think about how to pronounce it rather than assume.

Can you call him Ivan but make his middle name 'pronounce it in a Dracula voice'?

He will spend his life telling people how to pronounce it correctly.

I wouldn’t spell it Ivan if you want pronunciation to be anything other than phonetic in English. Also Evan not the correct spelling for pronunciation you want. Yvan? Think it’s french but pronounced the way you want and would force someone to think about how to pronounce it rather than assume

This is such an English way of thinking. Adapt to fit! Don't use your own culture, spell it the French way to suit english people who won't bother to ask you how to say or name, or listen when you tell them.

Now you’ve given the background I say go for it! It’s a great strong name and has a family history. 💗 Like a PP says, with an Eastern European surname people will be more likely to pronounce it correctly.

@raddledoldmisanthropist

Can you call him Ivan but make his middle name 'pronounce it in a Dracula voice'?

I’m actually embarrassed for you

I always thought it was EyeVan (pronounced) but we have a Russian family member whose little boy is indeed Eevan and its very cute - I like it!

My little lad is Evan pronounce EhVan, but so many people get that wrong too and call him Ethan, Euan, Even etc....and the cutest little lad in reception at school who insists his name is Heaven!!!😂😂

Gives me the rage!!!!

It's an Eastern European name. The op is suggesting to pronounce it CORRECTLY.

SIL is Ukrainian and BIL is English. They each pronounce their DS's name differently but they also speak entirely different languages when talking to him (SIL only uses Russian when talking to him, BIL knows around 7 words in Russian so speaks in English around him). I'm sure he'll be fine with the difference.

Gives me the rage!!!!

It's an Eastern European name. The op is suggesting to pronounce it CORRECTLY.

No one is disputing that, but in an English speaking country it will be pronounced in the normal English way when people see it written down - it may be an Eastern European name, but it is also perfectly common elsewhere. It's not worth "getting the rage" about!

You'll probably end up with a school name and a home name, OP. I see it a lot, particularly with Eastern European names, partly because they look so similar to the British equivalent (so Isaac gets pronounced eye-zac instead of ee-zac, for example) and partly, sadly, because a lot of staff presume that they're saying it correctly because the child doesn't correct them when small. By the time the kid is old enough to correct people they've been called the wrong name for years and have gotten used to it, so it doesn't seem to occur to them to challenge it. Some secondary school kids will actually react quite negatively if you use the proper pronunciation of their name when they're used to people butchering it. I've had kids actively ask me to use their 'school name' because they like having a different one at home.

Go for it unless the English version bothers you, OP.

No one is disputing that, but in an English speaking country it will be pronounced in the normal English way when people see it written down - it may be an Eastern European name, but it is also perfectly common elsewhere. It's not worth "getting the rage" about

They ARE disputing that, rtft. Hence the rage

It's worth getting the rage when people can't even be bothered to pronounce people's names properly. It's a lack of respect for other cultures and backgrounds. Telling someone their pronunciations in their culture are incorrect is what gives me the rage.

Everyone can pronounce margarita pizza. But my Eastern European mil gets called Margaret all the time. It's not her name!!!!

(Now have Ting Tings stuck in my head)

As a pp above i think it is also an indicator of sophistication.

If you don't realise or rather, if you can't be bothered to ask and get the pronunciation right, or assume that your English way is THE right way, then nuts to you and your small island mentality!

I like it. As he will have an Eastern European surname most people will say “Eevan”. There can’t be many primary schools in the U.K. that haven’t encountered the odd Ivan of continental extraction amongst pupils or parents in the last decade.

If you don't realise or rather, if you can't be bothered to ask and get the pronunciation right, or assume that your English way is THE right way, then nuts to you and your small island mentality!

Have to say that I'm feeling more like this the more I read these threads.

It's reasonable that a native English speaker may never get right sounds that don't exist in English - which may be a factor to choosing certain names. BUT, we should all respect that names change between countries and cultures and they won't always be what is expected.

(I completely reserve the right to exclude silly made-up spellings for 'originality' from this argument.)

I have a name that no one can prounounce I always have to explain it it's so anoying

Sophie is at the top of my name list I would have Lucy on there too but one of our very close friends have a Lucy, I love both of those Sophie is my favorite not as keen on phoebe but I think that’s because there are lots in my area still a lovely name though , I also have an Ellie so I thought I’d share that as an idea as we seem to have very similar taste in names .. X

@CatbearAmo

It's worth getting the rage when people can't even be bothered to pronounce people's names properly. It's a lack of respect for other cultures and backgrounds. Telling someone their pronunciations in their culture are incorrect is what gives me the rage.

Everyone can pronounce margarita pizza. But my Eastern European mil gets called Margaret all the time. It's not her name!!!!

(Now have Ting Tings stuck in my head)

It’s never worth “getting the rage” about other people’s blind spots. It is a waste of emotional energy.

I have a foreign name. People pronounce it wrongly, misspell it, call me an anglicised version or an entirely different name. Most of the time it isn’t deliberate or malicious, but it does get tedious. I gave my DC very English names that I also thought travelled well.

My sister has always been too shy to correct people who mangle her - also foreign - name, so she has had a lifetime of being called various things.

There is a lot of virtue signalling on this thread as well as a good quantity of Anglo-centric ignorance. I don’t even agree that it’s “a sophistication filter” as a PP said. That’s quite a snotty remark, really. People are either aware of a name and a culture or they aren’t. Nobody knows all the names and pronounciations out there. You can’t condemn someone because they don’t know how to pronounce Sergei, for example, only if they refuse to learn.

At the end of the day, it’s about balancing heritage, culture and ease. That’s a very personal decision.

@Fromthebirdsnest have you posted on the wrong thread?

That's not how it's pronounced. confused You can't just decide to change the pronunciation

The tennis player Ivan Lendl would beg to differ
People in England would need correcting but many are used to Ee-van as there's been many footballers with surnames starting with Ivan like Ivanovic (hope the spelling is right!)

He will be called Eye-van by everyone.

I understand you want an eastern european name for him as you are from there, but if you are living in the UK, you have to decide if you want to burden your child with correcting the pronunciation or spelling of his name with every single person he meets for the rest of his life.

I am Irish. I desperately wanted the Irish name Aoibheann for my DD, but I knew since we live in the UK, she will hate correcting everyone, and being that kid in school that teachers always get the name wrong. She would have to spell it out or correct someone on every phone call to a restaurant, or electricity company, or a shop. We named her Grace.

Sometimes we need to think about whats easiest and best for our kids rather than we want as parents holding on to our culture.