Anouk or Anais?

[whichaname]

Can’t decide which of these we prefer for a French/English baby girl! (Pronounced ah-nook and ah-nah-ees.)

And would you use the accent on Anaïs or leave it as Anais? We will be based in the UK for the foreseeable future.

Sadly, Anaïs will be mispronounced in the U.K. If you use it, definitely write Anaïs. It might help guide the pronunciation. I like Anouk, though, much more than Anaïs.

But this is the problem. People see "ais" and will think it follows standard French pronunciation, so yes, -ay as in frais or Francais. But the ï in Anaïs means you are supposed to pronounce it as OP said.

The perfume is widely known to have been marketed with an incorrect pronunciation, thereby misleading a generation! I suppose it was the 80s. 😂

Anouk. Anais makes me think of erotica, Also pronunciation pain.

I prefer Annas / Annis to either. Annette also quite nice

You’re overestimating the general public if you think most of them will have seen the name before and know how to pronounce it.

This ^^

Anouk is lovely.

I would forget Anais/Anaïs - with or without the accent it will be mangled.

Anouk.

Anaïs is gorgeous.

Anouk sounds like an old Breton man clearing his throat after too many Gitanes.

I love them both!!! If I had to vote, I'm Team Anouk <3

Either but Anaïs if that's the one you choose

Anouk sounds like an old Breton man clearing his throat after too many Gitanes.

I don't find the sound of Anouk very feminine either.

Anaïs is beautiful

I love both but Anais is regularly mispronounced in the UK so personally I wouldn't if the child is likely to go to school there. I think Anouk has much lower scope for mispronunciation. I know Anais is pretty easy to say but for some reason lots of English people seem to find it hard.

Neither.
Anaïs will be pronounced Annay by most UK people, because that's how we thought the perfume was pronounced.
Anouk will become a-nook and it's quite a harsh name. My DC go to school with one and I just can't warm to it as a name.

Anouk. I just love it. I’d love to be named Anouk. It so sophisticated in its simplicity, and I love the unusual and firm ‘k’ at the end. I went to school with an Anouk, and any pronunciation problems were dealt with very easily.

There is a little girl at DD’s school named Anais but her mum pronounces it An-ay. Loads of people will get it wrong.

Leaning towards Anouk now (Gitanes aside!) mainly for pronunciation and simplicity reasons, thank you all for your comments. I love Anaïs but ah-nay would definitely bug me more than any mispronunciation I can think of for Anouk and the accent is going to cause confusion I think.

I don’t mind it not being a “pretty” sounding name (quite like that actually!) but would you all know Anouk was a girl’s name? That’s my only hesitation, that it’s not that well known in the UK and might be assumed male along with Jack, Luke, etc.

Anouk

I know Anouk is a girl’s name, and I see it as a plus that it’s not soft or frilly. It’s a great name with some punch about it.

My DH's cousin has a dd called Anais (ah-nay-is. It's a beautiful name. She gets called Naisy

I think everyone in the U.K. knows how to pronounce Anaïs now. I quite like Anouk but Anaïs is much prettier.

I bet 80% of people in the UK would pronounce Anais as annay. She'd spend her life saying 'actually, it's...'

The Annay thing is very 80s. The country has changed fundamentally since then.

Noel Gallagher’s daughter is called Anaïs, no-one seems to have a problem with that.

People know how to pronounce naive don’t they?

80% of the country or 80% of the people you know?

Why so snippy?

'It's Friday night. I think I'll spend the evening getting worked up about the name Anaïs' said Iris.

Wasn’t meant to be snippy. We’re coming at this from opposite directions, - I think most people would know how to pronounce it you think most people wouldn’t. As I don’t know everyone in the country I don’t know who’s right, but wonder if we’re basing our assumptions on the people around us.

My friend’s daughter is Anaïs, but she pronounces it Anay, which I think is technically wrong because she does use the accent. I think the accent means it should be pronounced the way you want it. Either way though, almost no one can pronounce it when they first meet her.

I love Anouk!

I also love anais - but as others have said the whole pronunciation issue will be a complete pain....