Is 'Dagmar' OK for England?

[DesPudelsKern]

How would you pronounce it?

If told it is said 'DUG-muh' (really the g is between g and k but g is close enough) would you have any trouble with that?

Duggie is cool on an adult. Can't she just be that?

😁 OK, maybe this is the answer!

Dagmar is a beautiful name! There was a famous Swedish author with that name, Dagmar Lange.

In Sweden we usually pronounce it "DAGG-marr", or similar to that.

I have never heard the pronunciation "DUG-muh", but it might be the common one in the UK?

OK, but are you rhyming Dag with bag (English pronunciation, not like French baguette or Italian bagatella) or with bug (English pronunciation, which admittedly can vary, but I'm not thinking of the Northern dialect, just standard)?

I'm not familiar with Danish vowels.

I think some people say Dag-mar like a German ä / ah ("Dähg-mahr" would be the German phonetic spelling) and it sounds super weird. Really we all should learn IPA to clarify these things but in the meantime, we do our best with approximations... 😅

The Bishop of Huntingdon is named Dagmar. Mostly, people pronounce it Dag-mar and I’ve never heard her correct them. I guess you would be stuck with dag not dug.

I've heard of Dagmara I think it's polish. It's obviously a foreign name, not sure why it wouldn't be ok to use?

Nobody would say Dägmar or Dugmar. It's pretty simple even in English to say Dagmar.

I definitely wouldn't ask your cousin to change her name while visiting the UK. That would be so confusing for her.

I also immediately thought about the rape in Eastenders.

@DesPudelsKern
I'm really bad at explaining how I pronounce things... but I guess my "Dagg" would rhyme more with "bug" than with "bag". But not exactly like "bug"...
I think we call it the "short a-sound".
And you can hear the "r" at the end of the name.

And I also want to write that I always always always do my best to pronounce a name the way the person (or the parents) want it to be pronounced!

Again, it's a beautiful name.

This

If she’s visiting of course she should use her actual name! I know a German one here (Ireland) — no one struggles.

How is an ‘uh’ sound hard to say? We use it all the time in English.

Dagmar is not hard to say for English speakers.
Disenchanted managed so did many others. It's not "uh" sound as pps said.

I wouldn't. Dagmar is so harsh and frankly ugly in the English language. In other languages it's much softer and truly lovely.

Heavens above, now we know it’s an adult woman, not a baby, of COURSE she should use it. It’s her name!

It’s absolutely ridiculous for a grown woman to change her name while visiting the UK when that name is perfectly easy for British people to read and have a go at pronouncing.

If she can’t cope with people getting the initial vowel sound slightly wrong then she needs to give herself a shake.

I completely agree that an adult woman called Dagmar who is visiting the UK does NOT need to change her name.

So what if some Brits occasionally mispronounce her name? Most won't anyway as it's pretty easy to say.

When I spend time in France or Germany, if course some locals pronounce my name slightly differently - so what ??

The 'uh' is not hard but the gutteral 'g' and going against 'usual' pronunciation when you see 'dag' and 'mar'. If you've seen the name on a message or email before you hear it, you will naturally assume a different pronunciation. Trust me, I have a straightforward name with a slightly different spelling from 'the usual' and I'm called all sorts of things!

I immediately think of the woman who worked in the building site office in Auf Wiedersehen Pet in the 80s.

Only if she’s not going to be mixing with any small children or parents of small children!

Where does it end though?

A Scottish person called Margaret will pronounce her name with a rolled “r- like “Marrgret”.

Her English friend will call her “Mah- gret”.

Nobody expects the English person to adopt a Scottish accent to say the name.

I would pronounce the R in the end. To me it is an old lady type name.

I would pronounce the R in the end. To me it is an old lady type name.

The op's cousin may well be an old lady?

I was at university with a Dagmar. Pronounced DAG-mar.