Thibault

[Diggersandloaders]

I am part French but live in the UK, as will our child. Does this name work in English (pronounced tee bow)? I guess a nn would probably be Thib or Bo or something, though we would let that naturally evolve.

The main alternative currently is Felix, though I have a real soft spot for Ludovic.

Please help!!

I know how to pronounce it because it's the name of a professional cyclist, but I would expect lots of English people would struggle with it. Your son would spend a lot of time correcting people! Ludovic and Felix would both be much much easier in that sense.

It's lovely go for it! Tee-bo is not hard to say.

You'll have trouble with the pron for sure.
If you can deal with that, then go for it. But both syllables are going to be mispronounced.

I know a Thibault and he’s a fucking dude

However nobody will ever pronounce it correctly... ever!

I would have mispronounced it. Felix would work better in both countries.

It's uncommon in the UK and you will have to explain how to pronounce it, but to be honest, that happens with lots of names. It's lovely, I'm reading a book at the moment with a character called this.

First time round I would pronounce that Tybalt, as in from Romeo and Juliet a lot of people will say it wrong.

I prefer Felix. Don't like Ludovic at all.

Like @CampagVelocet I already knew how it was pronounced, but it's not likely to be pronounced correctly by someone who is reading it for the first time and hasn't heard it before. You're bound to get a lot of people assuming it's "Thigh-bult"

But, to be honest, does that matter? Once someone has been corrected once, they have no excuse, and it is a very nice name.

That name doesn’t exist in English. If you remain in the uk, your child will spend his life dealing with mispronunciation and spelling.

My parents were in a similar situation and deliberately chose names that existed in both languages (English and another language) to avoid that.

I like Felix and Ludovic.

I love Thibault. I speak French, though.

My initial thought was Tybalt from Romeo & Juliet too. I think I’d go with felix or ludovic.

Well you learn something new every day! I’ve seen this name before and presumed it was pronounced like Theobold. I like Tee-bo pronunciation much better but yes I agree that he will spend his entire life in the UK correcting people mangling his name.

Yeah i thought it was Tybalt…,

I also would have pronounced it Tybalt.
More people will pronounce it wrong that right I think.
Nice name though.

I'd have pronounced it as Tibult before seeing your post saying it's pronounced Teebo.

He'd definitely have a lifetime of people pronouncing it wrong and spelling it wrong but I suppose that's the case with a lot of names nowadays.

Go for it and use the spelling Tibo as "preferred name". It's a good name.

I love it- use it!

I've got a short very common Welsh name that's gets mispronounced and it hasn't done me any great damage, it's usually a nice ice breaker.

Great name

I know one in the UK and he copes fine.

Yes there'll be some pronunciation corrections, but that applies to a lot of UK names too (especially Scottish names)

The UK is pretty multicultural and many kids have names from other parts of the world and do just fine.

The “tee-bo” pronunciation will be manageable - but the question is, will anyone know that’s how it’s pronounced? I looked at it and thought it was the french version of “Tibalt” (aka in Romeo and Juliet - never heard it used as a name in real life, but pretty cool). Which I’m assuming it is but I would have pronounced it “Tibalt”. So: it’s a lovely name but it depends whether you want your son to have to constantly explain its pronunciation?

English people learn to pronounce Niamh, Aoife and Sian in England. So why not a boy named Thibault? Yes, he'll be forever teaching and correcting people. Does that matter?

I absolutely love the name Thibault! I have a non British, unusual name which I have to spell regularly but to be honest it's far less hassle than the fact that my middle name has always been used rather than my first name - now that causes all kinds of bother with official documentation! To be honest, I like that my name is different and it's very handy professionally as I'm easily recognisable (my family name is one of the most common English surnames so not distinguishing at all).

Very mixed responses! Thank you to everyone who has answered.

I also have a name whose pronunciation often needs clarifying. It hasn't harmed me though I have been surrounded by more French speakers than my child is likely to be.

I secretly love Tybalt, though the Shakespeare character troubles me (and everyone studies romeo and juliet).

However the popularity of Felix also troubles me. Especially as he gets older and moves into the world of work.. The cumulative effect means that there'll be lots of Felixes, surely!

I would also have thought Tybalt as in R&J. I’m not so keen on the sound if it’s pronounced TeeBo. I much prefer Felix and really don’t think he’ll be negatively affected by it’s popularity.

Thibault is great.

I know one (in UK) and people generally pronounce it correctly (Tee bo).

I also like Tybalt (but I've not read Romeo and Juliet).

I don't like Felix - it's a brand of cat food.

I dislike the pn and would have definitely got it wrong. But I’d only get it wrong once and wouldn’t let that put me off a name.