Everyone is getting my baby's name wrong

[Laura3091]

So my baby girls name is Emila - It is pronounced as Em-ee-la.

Everyone keeps calling her Amelia and can’t get their head around Emila. Don’t think it’s that hard to grasp tbh but I know she is going to have trouble as she grows up with people mispronouncing her name.

Do we just shorten it to Mila? (Mee-La) to make it easier for everyone?

Not sure that would help. People won't know if it's pronounced like mee-la or miller

I've never seen Emila as a name before and I suspect people are so used to Emilia or Amelia they are skim reading and adding in the i between the l and a to change the pronunciation. It won't always happen, you just need to politely correct people.

Sorry but that is very unusual and very close to Emilia so I am not suprised that many are making the mistake. Mila would be easier.

I think that it’s understandable in the Uk that Emila would be mistaken for Emilia.
I think more people know Mila (as in Kunis) or you could go for Mimi while she’s very young.

would adding an acute accent help on the I and even the a? I couldn’t tell you which as English is not my first language

I’ve never seen the name Emila before - only Emilia (or Amelia, but that’s more different). I’m familiar with Mila though. I think most people will just misread it as Emilia - the extra “i” is small and easy to miss it isn’t there. Typing on here, Emila gets spell corrected to Emilia too.

Shortening it to Mila would likely help people get it - it’s a nice shortening and I’d always thought that Mila was a name in its own right. People likely know the names Mila Kunis, and Mila Jovovich.

Of course it’s fine to keep correcting people, but it’s def going to be an uphill battle in the uk I reckon.

Not sure what you were expecting op
Poor kid going to have a lifetime of it

I would change her name altogether.

This is an uncommon name that's very similar to a common name, it's not really surprising that people get it wrong! I think Mila would be a good solution.

I also got that wrong reading through your post, I had to go back and look at the spelling again. And, saying it out loud, I’d also think her name was Amelia and I just didn’t hear the last bit properly.
Mila is better because a lot of people know Mila Kunis but some people will call her Myla. I think you will have to change the spelling to something phonetic like Emeela if you don’t want her to have to correct every single person she meets

I first read it a Emilia. Then I thought you mistyped. Then I read your full post. It’s an easy mistake to make.

Poor kid you've set her up for a life of this.

Yes, Mila would be easier for people to pronounce.

She's gonna have fun having to spell that out a million times you gave her a weird name you can't complain that people don't know it

It’s an unusual name. Is it one you picked because it’s unusual, or does it have some cultural significance for you? If the latter, maybe you could explain that to people when you tell them the name, and it might help them to remember.

People will learn. It’s a beautiful name.

Emila looks like Emilia so can see why people are getting it wrong. Changing it is a good idea, but isn’t Mika pronounced like Myla rather than Mee-la so some people will still get this wrong? Maybe just go for a more common name that everyone knows how to pronounce.

I would change it to Amelia or Emily. Both would guarantee to be recognised in the uk.

No, just correct them gently when they get it wrong, people say all sorts of names wrong. Make sure you always write it clearly when you have to.

I like the name 'Emelia', it has 'connotations of striving, rivalry, and industriousness'.

Those that matter to her will learn it.

For reference, my cousin is called Julia - she spent the whole 1980s being called Julie by people doing exactly the same thing - Julie was just a lot more popular back then, and Julia is hardly a weird, out-there name, it's just that people are lazy readers.

Emila looks and sounds awkward.

It looks like a mistype.

Terrible idea for a name and she will always be explaining it to others.

I’m not changing her name fully for the purpose of lazy readers lol but thinking of how to shorting it for her to maybe go by it by her friends etc. it’s not a weird name, it’s just uncommon in the uk…and it’s not ‘poor baby’. It’s pretty and better than being a boring Olivia for example which has been done a million times over

I’d pronounce Mila as M-eye-la so not sure you’d be in a better place. My name is mispronounced by everyone pretty much…including me. Drove my mum nuts, growing up. It’s not the worst thing in the world and I’ve never cared - you’ve done it now so best get used to hearing it forever!

I read it as Emilia too. I have a young relative who's in a similar boat - her name is one letter different from a vastly more popular name.

I have an unusual first name myself, and have been spelling it out to people my whole life. It's not the end of the world, but it's a faff I could do without. Luckily, I like my name.

Just correct them. We're foreign and the baby also has a name that's similar but different. When it matters we politely correct, when it doesn't we ignore. The baby will learn to answer to both names and correct when he wants, and hopefully know that he has a nice name carefully chosen for his heritage. We both have names like that (think Caroline with multiple possible pronunciations) and really it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully his MIL will get it right when the time comes!

It’s a lovely name op and the people who matter in your dd’s life will say her name properly.