If your daughter is called Emilia…

[BeeMakesTea]

For those of you with daughters named Emilia - when you introduce them (or they introduce themselves if they’re older) do you find people often hear it as Amelia? If so, does it bother you, and do you correct them? Or do you explain eg. Emilia with an E, or emphasise the E etc?

Obviously if it’s something official you would spell it out, but I mean just more informally if you’re verbally telling someone their name, I’m wondering if it’s a common confusion?

Thanks!

Yes its common for people to presume its Amelia! It doesn't bother me.
I always slightly emphasise the E when introducing her or explain she is Emilia with an E. She corrects people who spell it wrong but not those that say it wrong.
I dont really correct people saying it wrong , Usually me emphasising the E is enough.
I go by a nickname that I always have to spell which is annoying so I did consider this before naming her. I knew it would always need spelling but its such a pretty name that I wasn't not using it because its tricky.
I liked it because it was a bit unusual but its definitely got more popular since I named DD, she is 5.

I work in a school and have come across lots of Emilias and no Amelias.

Sorry, I don't have a daughter called Emilia. But I came on to say that the 'traditional' pronunciation of the name is actually 'emi-LEE-a' rather than 'e-MEE-li-a'. Don't know if you like that pronunciation, but it would solve the confusion with Amelia!

Please don't choose it because it is uncommon, I had two in my class last year!

They both sound the same in my head and as I've never heard the name Emilia before, I would definitely assume Amelia and spell it that way too, unless I saw it written down. Sorry.

I'm sure you'll now be able to reel off a load if famous Emilias, but I'm not at all familiar with that name.

With have three friends each with an Emilia, Amelia, Amelie. They all pronounce them the same and I never know which spelling is which when needed

The ones I know are Em as in the start of Emily or Emma, whereas Amelia is an "A" as in Apple.

I don’t but I have a friend with an Emilia and it was only once she was born and wrote it in a text I realised she wasn’t called Amelia

I don’t have an Emilia but know two and neither of them have been mistaken for an Amelia in front of me if that helps! They are definitely pronounced differently - Emilia is em as in Emily and Amelia is more of an ‘uh’ sound - closer to how I pronounce the O in Olivia actually. And Amelie I would pronounce with an am like Amber.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We have already named my baby girl Emilia I’m pretty sure I do clearly pronounce the ‘Em’ but I think once or twice people have mistaken it for Amelia, perhaps because it is a slightly more well known name. It doesn’t particularly bother me, I just wondered whether it was a common mistake or just me!

I have an Amelia and there is now a very close step family relation on her dads side, her age, called Emilia. Both pretty much pronounce it the same but mine tends to go by Millie or mils when there, which is not a nickname I hear given to the e version of her name (of others I know)

@emmathedilemma

The ones I know are Em as in the start of Emily or Emma, whereas Amelia is an "A" as in Apple.

Yeah, they’re pronounced slightly differently. Ehhmelia and Ahhmelia.

Emilia is Shakespearean (she is married to Iago in Othello) so probably the more traditional spelling. Amelia seems to have soared in popularity in the last 15 years or so, possibly thanks to the French film Amelie? I know more young Amelias but my DD has a friend called Emilia and always pronounces her name very clearly "EMelia" to differentiate her from the several Amelias she knows.