Having a last minute wobble..help

[ThatSassyBrickDeer]

Was fairly firm on Naomi. Love the meaning and story. Then DB said no one will know how to say it right. So got to thinking what is the correct pronunciation and it seems everyone disagrees even within my own family. Time to bin and start over? Are the ones you know constantly correcting?

There isn’t a correct pronunciation - there are variants that are accepted as standard - it’s a beautiful name, go ahead and don’t doubt yourself! If you pronounce it Nay-omi and someone happens to say Nye-omi it’s not going to cause any issues, and in the rare case that eg. a teacher pronounces it your non preferred way consistently then you can simply tell them. Go for it, absolutely lovely name.

I'd use it as a middle name.
NAY-uh-mi, Nay-O-mi, NIGH-uh-mi, Nigh-O-MI, NAY-mi, Nah-O-mi ...

I really dislike the Nigh- way of saying it.

Bumping

It’s really a question of how annoying you think you will find it if people don’t follow your preferred pronunciation. We crossed a name off our list (Helena) because of competing pronunciations. Others will say it doesn’t bother them or at least not enough to veto the name. Only you can know which camp you are likely to be in! And obviously nobody can say how much a future Naomi will mind.

I feel like Naomi is quite a well-known name and I've never come across somebody who doesn't know how to pronounce it. Also think it's a lovely and timeless name. If you love it, don't change it as you might regret it unless there is another name you are really keen on x

I like it but I pronounce it Nay-o-me or Nigh-o-me at random. I'm not very good at remembering to do it in any particular Naomi's preferred way, although I do try if I know they have a preference. Lots of names sound very different in different accents. As PPs say it just depends if that bothers you.

@driedmangoplsx , I've never come across somebody who doesn't know how to pronounce it.
People say it in different ways. Most of them probably think their way is correct.

I love Naomi, its a beautiful name. Dont give up with it, just be prepared to correct where necessary.

My DS1 is Fabian and he gets Fabienne quite a lot. He usually just smiles to himself

and btw if you teach her not to be precious about the pronunciation she probably won't.

Thinking about it DS2 is Rafe and we have had Ralph quite a few times.

I am Abigail and have had Annabel a lot!

I feel like Naomi has a pretty widely recognized standard pronunciation. I don't think it will be something she deals with on a frequent basis.

Nay-Oh-Mee
Is surely the standard pronunciation? I’ve known a couple of the years and that’s how they pronounce it anyway. Even if people say it wrong the first time they should remember after 1 correction as it’s hardly obscure or hard to say. I think it’s a nice name and one that isn’t overused.

The few Naomi’s I’ve met have all pronounced it “Nay-oh-mee” - I didn’t even realise “Nye-oh-mee” was a possibly until I heard someone pronounce it that way on TV. I honestly think most of the time you’ll get the former pronunciation, but if you don’t then imo it’s not the end of the world if it’s a name you really love- there’s plenty of very popular names (Esme and Maya instantly sprang to mind but I bet there are others) that have 2 pronunciations and the kids seem to cope fine.

Both pronunciations are lovely if you like the name pick the one younprefer and introduce her as such.

@Enko , it's got more than 2 pronunciations. Some stress the first syllable, others stress the second syllable.
I can't stand it said as Nigh-oh-mi, regardless of which syllable they stress.

This is my favourite girls name, so pretty. I never got to use it as had boys, with equally lovely names.

How do you prefer it to be pronounced?

How bothered will you be by people pronouncing it differently?

I have a t in the middle if my name. In various regions it's dropped, sounded as a d, in other areas th. My name is shortened, often shortened to the first syllable then repeated...

none of it bothers me (but used to drive my Dad up the wall!)

This. I’ve never come across it pronounced any other way that Nay O Mi. Surprised that there other ways to pronounce it!

My school friend was NAY-u-mi. My work colleague was Nay-O-mi. my neighbour is Ni-O-mi.
I guess you just correct people .

What matters though is how op and her dh likes to pronounce it. Not how many ways you can.

@Enko, how many ways I can say it isn't the point. I'd say NAY-(uh)-mi or Nah-O-mi (different languages) but I thoroughly dislike Nigh-O-mi.

I'd not use Eleanor because I don't like it said as Ellen Orr.

A pp ruled out Helena for their DD because of the multiple possible pronunciations.

What matters is if OP likes the name enough to not mind the variations.

I disagree. People can learn to say it the right (to ops mind) way.

You may not see it that way but I do

@Enko , I'm only going by what I've seen and heard.
If Naomi isn't likely to be bothered by it, it's not a problem, unless she's going to mind the misspellings (Naiomi, Niomie, Naomie etc).

LOVE Naomi and it was on our list but the pronunciation is the main reason we ditched it!

I know Naomis called:

Nay-OH-me
Nair-me
NAY-uh-me

All 3 of my kids have phonetic names come to think of it so I seem to put a lot of weight on that! People will get used to whichever pron. you choose but my problem is I don't know which I prefer so couldn't choose!

Naomi is lovely and a well established name.
I pronounce it
Nay -oh-me
But with name pronunciation I think most people will pronounce it correctly if told how to pronounce it
But also how important is it if someone pronounces it in a different way?

@Emanwenym also going by what I know and it has not been a issue. I know 4 named Naomi.

We will just have to disagree