What name would you go for? Need for native English speakers please :)

[flo0412]

Hi everyone, I am French, my partner is German and Slovak, and we live in the U.K.

It is therefore hard to find a name that we both can relate to, pronounce, spell, and that would be a nice name to live here :)

Our little boy (2yo) is called Oskar.

We are expecting a little girl very soon and have made this list:

Maé
Léna
Fleur
Nora
Margaux

Do you think that any of these names are a nightmare to pronounce/write/live with because of some references I may not be aware of?

Thank you very much :)

xx

I can't see a problem with any of those names and I like them all, congratulations on your growing family OP.

I would ditch the two with accents because that can be a faff in a language like English that doesn't use them. Any of the other three though.

They're all lovely and you don't need the accents. They are fine without.

They are all lovely, I would say that Margot is a more known spelling, but all those names are beautiful and socially acceptable. My personal favourite on your list is Fleur, as I think it's the most timeless and unusual. It's very pretty.

It is my favourite too but I just worry people would not know how to spell / pronounce it - do you think it is common enough for people to have heard / seen it before?

Native English speaker and have definitely known people called Fleur. It a beautiful name and so are the others you like. All work in English just fine!

OP I know all of them and would be able to spell and pronounce them. The only debate would be Margot.

That spelling of Margaux just makes me think of wine.

Léna is my fave.

Does the accent on Maé mean it's pronounced may-ay?

Oh and possibly Mae/May.

All nice names. I would also ditch the accents as in English it won’t affect how you pronounce the name - it’s fine for writing down by hand or in a phone but in a situation where someone is typing it on a computer/laptop it will either take a while or just get missed off.

Maé -, it'll be Mae and Lena very quickly
Léna
Fleur
Nora
Margaux - might trip people up with spelling a little bit should be got used to sion enough

They're all lovely. I love Fleur and Nora best

People will definitely now how to pronounce Fleur but it's a sound that can sound lovely or awful depending on the accent saying it.

I agree re accents.
I agree that Margot would be a more common spelling.
I also agree that Fleur is simplest and nicest. We all know it from Harry Potter these days.

It is my favourite too but I just worry people would not know how to spell / pronounce it - do you think it is common enough for people to have heard / seen it before?

Fleur is pretty well known - mainly from Harry Potter probably, people definitely know how to pronounce it. If not from that it’s also fairly well known from basic school french that Fleur is french for flower.

If go for one without an accent, it's a PITA to type. Fleur is a standard name in the uk, love Margaux

Also an immigrant, though I've spoken English since I went to school here. (And I have a name that should be straightforward but English-speakers find challenging.)

Maé - I wouldn't know how to pronounce this.
Léna - I would pronounce this 'Layna'. There is a Lena at my work, and people call her Lenna, Leena or Layna. She calls herself 'Lenna'. So this name may also challenge people.
Fleur, Nora - straightforward to say (also lovely).
Margaux - most people won't have any difficulty with this name, but some will try to say the X. Similarly with Margot, some say the T.

Fleur or Nora
Margot as the spelling, should you go for it

Oskar and Nora are quite good together

I think most people will know how to pronounce Margot. Margaux will get misspelled a lot and just makes me think of Chateau Margaux.

How do you pronounce Maé, may-ay? I think that’s the only one people would be confused by.

I’d go with Margot spelt like that,it’s the more common spelling in the U.K.
I would be very surprised if someone from the U.K. didn’t know Fleur. We even use it in loan words like fleur de lis.

Lovely names. I like Mae, Lena and Nora

This is exactly everything I was going to write!

I really like Lena, but you may find people pronounce it as Lee-na or Lay-na

I think if people hear the name Margaux/Margot they may just write it Margo.

Likewise Mae - they'll assume it's May.

Not a great problem but it will mean needing to spell out the name in situations where you want it recorded correctly. But that's the case with quite a few names.

Personally I'd ditch the accents on Maé and Léna. I'd not use Maé as for the last few years half the girls at my dcs schools have been called Something-Mae (Ellie-Mae/Olivia-Mae etc). It's just too overused for me personally.

As with pp I'd change Margaux to Margot as that's a more well known spelling, like Margot Robbie.

Fleur is well known from Harry Potter and wasn't completely unknown before that. Nora is easy to pronounce.

How would you want Léna pronounced? I know an 8 year old Lena (pronounced Lenna) but pp have mentioned the Layna/Leena pronunciation. Either is nice and should only have to tell people once if they say it wrong.

I like the name Fleur, but it can sound horrendous in some UK accents so I’d avoid if you live in London or the South East.

Don’t personally like Nora, but that’s probably because there are still too many unfortunate associations (Nora Batty / the saying “flaming Nora”) Won’t be an issue with her peer group, though.

I’d probably go for Lena (with no accent, but pronounced as though it has one)