I love a baby name but worried about mispronunciation

[MsSnow]

I love the girls names Georgiana
pronounced George - ee - ar - nah
I know a lot of people say George - Jay - Nah due to the film with Keira Knightly. I know some people believe this the true pronunciation and others say it was an affection nickname used by very few and one being the Duchess.
I only like the first pronunciation (like in bbc pride & prejudice)
I know there is no other way I can spell it.
What do you think? Do you think it would get often mispronounced or not? Does it matter? Curious what thoughts are.
My other name i’m considering is Eliana.
thanks!

I have sons with long names (Theodore & Nathaniel - nn Theo & Nathan/Nate) and a daughter (Olivia)
my top boys name is set now, Christopher (nn Kit or Chris) and the top girls names atm are Eliana & Georgiana. I know it will get shortened a lot, I don’t mind it as my other children’s names are shortened, I just think I’m worried when she does use her full name it will always be mispronounced but I really like that it’s old fashioned and rarely used.
im from the uk too and I like old English names.

@eleanorsmellstrop People make out it's SO HARD to have a name with different pronunciations because everyone is different and for some people it is I have one of these names and I hate it- I find it incredibly awkward to correct people a lot of the time and really wish I had a name that everyone could say with no issues. However, I can appreciate that people are different and for some, it wouldn't bother them in the slightest. Just because it's not an issue for you doesn't mean it wouldn't be for other people.

And just because it's an issue for you doesn't mean it will be for other people?

Works both ways.

Difference being that I always see people claiming it's some kind of massive struggle to say 'Actually it's George-ee-ar-nah', whereas I very rarely see people saying it's not really that hard.

OP asked for opinions and I gave mine, is that okay with you or shall I PM you for permission first next time? 😂

My RL name (one ‘proper’ pronunciation, two established spellings) is pronounced a myriad different ways by different people. I can count six in use at work! I always need to spell it out too.

It really isn’t the big deal people make out on these threads, and based on my own experience of having a name like this it wouldn’t put me off giving one to a child. Friends, family and the vast majority of colleagues and acquaintances will get it right, and I really couldn’t care less if someone I’ve only just met pronounces my name wrongly. Among my circle of friends about half have names that people pronounce differently in practice, either because they are names that don’t have a long history in the UK and people aren’t familiar with them, they have more than one possible correct pronunciation or both (I know two men called Raj, but they don’t say it the same).

@eleanorsmellstrop Of course it works both ways- that's why
I said I can appreciate that it wouldn't be an issue for some people and that everyone is different. Of course you can express your opinion and I am also entitled to give mine.

My experience of having a name like this would put me off giving it to a child personally, but again a lot depends on the person for how much it bothers them.

What about Gianna, Gigi for nn

I have never heard that name being pronounced with a jay, it’s always been George-ee-na

@MyneighbourisTotoro Georgina and Georgiana are two different names

It will be constantly misspelt and mispronounce as Georgina. You have to accept that and decide on that basis.

Don't worry about it. I have a name that (allegedly 😉) can be pronounced in 2 ways. I don't correct people unless they ask which version I'd prefer. I do tell people the correct way when we first met (obviously).

I have never understood why people shorten someone's name 'automatically'. I think it's really rude. Thank goodness my name doesn't have an obvious nickname. Although, I do remember a teacher trying to shorten my name (why?!) she asked if it was ok to call me her (horrific) shortened version of my name. I politely said no.

OP The name you have chosen is beautiful. Call your baby Georgiana and pronounce it how you prefer and correct people on her behalf (until she can do it herself) if they say it any other way.

When she gets older it will be up to her if she wants to shorten her name or not. But don't let people shorten her name now.

This name is a higher risk for mispronunciation than Georgiana, I think. Adds in the complication of deciding at the outset whether you want to pronounce it as an Italian would or as most English people will. This is before you get into more inventive pronunciations that people are bound to use (zhee-arna, etc.).

Well with my accent neither of those names sound like anything like you pronounce them 🤷‍♀️
If it's going to bother you so much I'd use a different name 🤣

I admit, I'm one that considers the Jor-jay-na pronunciation to be the "correct" aka older pronunciation. For instance, it always amuses me in adaptations of Pride and Prejudice when Mr. Darcy's sister is George-ie-ah-na. As I've always understood from an acquaintance of mine who is a historian, it likely would have been the other pronunciation at the time.

Having said that, if I met a little Georgiana today, I'd go in with your preferred pronunciation OP. Similar to how I tend to assume any little Ralph I meet uses the modern/Germanic/American pronunciation instead of the old English Rafe. Things change and names change too!

This is also why I don't think it's helpful to point to typical English grammar rules to ascertain the "correct" pronunciation of a name. There are so many commonly used names that we'd consider mispronounced when viewed through this lens. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Doesn’t make sense to put a stray r in there either

I'm have a Georgia.
She was George till teenage years then it was shortened to G .
She is now just G!

I would pronounce it Georgie-Anna.

I think your pronunciation is the common one. I agree that she is more likely to have it mispronounced as Georgina if people glance at the name. I thought the other pronunciation was peculiar to the duchess and not the common form at the time but I guess it depends on which historian you read! Lots of older names of places and people are not pronounced as written phonetically. Times have changed enormously with much higher literacy rates and recording of spoken sounds, mass media etc!

Duchess of Devonshire actually changed pronunciation of her name when she got married. So pronunciation difference was a thing even back then.

I would say it Georg-ee-a-na, but I vastly prefer Georgina.

@MintyGreenDreams i don’t really like how it doesn’t sound English to me (which I know is weird because my other choice is Eliana which doesn’t sound British 🤔) but I think Gianna sounds too Italian maybe, plus I like the Georgie bit, I think I’d prefer Eliana to Gianna but thanks for the suggestion, I love the nn Gigi for Georgiana

@MyneighbourisTotoro george - ee - nah is Georgina, I like the name Georgiana (George - ee - ar - nah) but I get they look very similar. Love your username btw :)

maybe you are right but only by acquaintances or random people in talking, not by family and friends. If you correct them they would use the right name. I still like Georgina though so it wouldn’t be a terrible issue, I just prefer Georgiana.

Thank you for your advice :)

I think Georgiana is beautiful and the George-ee-ar-na pronunciation makes more sense given the spelling

I read it as you pronounced it. It may get shortened but you should correct people who do shorten it. Unless obviously you want a nickname for her like ana. I knew an Eliana and it was forever getting mispronounced as Ellie Lana, Elaina, EelyLana