Baby 10 days old and doubting our name choice

[OutOfSortsToday]

Before she was born we had a shortlist of 3 for a girl, when she arrived DH admitted one of them (my favourite) he just couldn't get on board with as a first name. That has become the middle name (Cecilia)

Of the other two options we were totally undecided but eventually went for Elise, a name we've always really liked.

We've now discovered that lots of people pronounce it Eh - leess (with second part as 'lease' like in leasehold). We had always thought it was Eh- leez, and we much prefer that.

We've found that almost everyone so far has pronounced it Eh - lease with a soft s.

1. are we wrong to pronounce it eh-leez?

2. should we change it if we're finding the different pronunciation a bit annoying? Maybe I'm overthinking it?

Please be gentle, I'm feeling pretty rotten physically after the birth and have found picking her name really stressful from the off.

I'd have thought E-leeze, like you, and actually I don't think it's that big a pronunciation difference to put you off a name (those she interacts with on a longer-temr basis are likely to learn it eventually, anyway). But tbh I do think Elise Cecilia is a bit of a mouthful (although I like both names in isolation). What was your third name?

I'd say Eh-leez.
Agree with pp that Cecily is nice.

I’d change it to Eloise, just as lovely and has the z sounds.

I woukd changd it if it was bothering you. I would pronounce it eh leez as well. When i first looked I thought it was Elsie. Which is nice.

I would say Elise with a soft s.

I’d change it as the pronunciation issues would drive me bonkers.

Agree with previous suggestions of Eliza or Eloise. Both sound great with middle name Cecilia.

Have you registered her?

I read it as Eh-lease but the two I know are actually Eh-leaze. I think if you correct people once, most will adjust pretty quickly?

Beautiful name, please keep it.

I have only known the spelling Elise, pronounced Eh-leeze.

Just correct people the first time if they mispronounce the name. They will soon learn.

Just change it if it bothers you that much, people will definitely use both pronunciations. Cecilia is gorgeous

I would also have said Eh lease. If it’s really going to bother you, add an o for Eloise for the “eeez” sound. Or change to S to a Z for Elize (although many people will pronounce it Uh lies.

I say eh-lease

You've just spelt it wrong that is all. Change the spelling - replace the s with a z and that should do the trick.

Do what feels right to you. If you love the spelling and pronunciation then keep it as is, and continue correcting people. They'll figure it out quickly.

One of my children has a name that can be pronounced two ways (like Helena) and we either ignore it or correct them and it's really a non issue. The child is not bothered

Elise is a beautiful name and personally, I would go with the spelling you prefer. Family and friends will only need to be told once about the pronunciation. As she grows and attends nursery and school, her friends will hear her name, not read it, and use it correctly. I have worked in primary schools for years and have come across many names that can be pronounced differently. I have never known it to be a problem for the child. It's no different to names like Cheryl (with a Ch or Sh sound) or Karen ( "care in" or Ka ren with a short "a" sound). Follow your heart on this one. If you love the name, then go for it! X

I would say Eh-lees unless I knew you were french, but if you corrected me would try my hardest to remember to say E-leez. I wouldn’t change the spelling to Elize because that looks like you’re trying to be “unique” and introduces its own set of leez/lies difficulties. I prefer Cecilia though.

Elise is a beautiful name and personally, I would go with the spelling you prefer. Family and friends will only need to be told once about the pronunciation. As she grows and attends nursery and school, her friends will hear her name, not read it, and use it correctly. I have worked in primary schools for years and have come across many names that can be pronounced differently. I have never known it to be a problem for the child. It's no different to names like Cheryl (with a Ch or Sh sound) or Karen ( "care in" or Ka ren with a short "a" sound). Follow your heart on this one. If you love the name, then go for it!

I work with a Cheryl abs she gets it mispronounced about 10 times a day.

I absolutely love the name Elise (pronounced Ellease) but that doesn't help you if you don't.
Would you consider changing the spelling to Elize?
I would pronounce that Eleeze.
Some people will still call her elise. I wouldn't worry about it too much. All of my kids have standard names with straightforward pronunciations and all of them get people pronouncing their names wrong.

Thank for all the feedback everyone!

It has made interesting reading and gave me some food for thought. I had only ever really heard or considered Eh-leez so it's been surprising to us. It is a beautiful name pronounced either way but I do definitely prefer the hard 's' sound. I've loved it ever since learning to play Fur Elise as a child.

The other name we liked was Elissia. We still think that's really pretty and I think easy to say? It's a name with a few spellings and I'm not so keen on Alicia/Alessia etc as I'd rather avoid an A name. It is a bit of a mouthful with Cecilia. Ironically we thought Elise was the more straightforward option of the two!

Elissia 😳 no. It's very youneek...

Stick with Elise!!!

I've loved it ever since learning to play Fur Elise as a child.

That's where I first heard it too. All piano players will know how to pronounce it!

I knew MN would hate Elissia... DH warned me not to say what it was as it would be slated!

I think it's gorgeous 🤷🏻‍♀️

I really like Elise (and would pronounce with a z but then I again I know it's French and that they would say Elize)

I'd be persevering and correcting people. They'll get it eventually.

however, although I love Cecelia, I'm not sure they flow that well together.

All piano players will know how to pronounce it!

Will they?

Für Elise is actually pronounced Für Eh-lee-seh

@notangelinajolie

You've just spelt it wrong that is all. Change the spelling - replace the s with a z and that should do the trick.

she really hasn't. It's a French name.

Fwiw I like Elissia Cecilia and would have loved to have a beautiful, feminine name like this My only worry would be having to constantly correct people from assuming Alicia / Alissia. But if that doesn't bother you, I'd go with this option over one that gets mispronounced (from your perspective) all the time.

I agree it is a bit if a mouthful with Cecilia but that is very meaningful to us and I think suits her.

The other thing is the 'lease' ending doesn't flow well with the surname as it begins with a soft s sound as well and they run together. The 'leez' sound is a tiny bit clunky but does go with the surname ok.

Not sure how we had 9 months of discussing this and we've still not managed to perfect it 🤦🏻‍♀️

I do appreciate all the responses though, thanks everyone.