Do I tell her?

[03cg73]

i have a slight situation with a friend of mine and the name she has chosen for her little girl

my friend is French, living in London where this child will grow up. She’s 39 and this is a very much longer for baby

shes been saying since the start that she wanted a Latin name. Her partner is Spanish and they thought the Latin influence would connect them. All lovely. Very excited for them. Until this afternoon when she sent me a picture of a baby blanket she’s had personalised to reveal the name to me and the name they have chosen is Saline.

I’ve checked and it genuinely is a Latin girls name. I asked the pronunciation thinking it could be said like Celine or something. But no. Pronunciation is Saline. Like the wound wash

normally I’d just keep my mouth shut but years ago a friend of SIL (again, English was not this persons first language) named her baby Chanel, thought it looked better spelled with 2 N’s and ended up naming her poor kid Channel. No one said anything, and when it came out months later she was annoyed that no native English speakers had pointed this out at the time and has since removed the extra N

so do I tell my friend she is naming her daughter after a surgical wash? Or keep my mouth shut and hope the the kid doesn’t grow up getting the piss ripped out of her? friend absolutely loves the name and has been gushing about how perfect it is 😬

If you are prepared to lose your friend, tell her. Otherwise, be happy that she’s happy and don’t rain on her parade. She will not forgive you.

I couldn’t think of a good way to bring it up, but giving her a comparison from her own language is a fantastic idea

Tell her, although she might pronounce it as Saleeeen. Even so, it's spelt saline so the child will get the piss taken out of her.

I’d ask her if she’d happily name her daughter “Salines” or “Salins” (salt water).

Say something. She can still choose to use it even if she knows what the word means in English! And maybe she can adjust the spelling for example.

I would definitely say something. Explain that the way the word is pronounced here is the same way as a medical product. Suggest Celine or Selina. If she actually wants the pronunciation "Saylyne" she may not be so keen when she knows how the word is commonly used in this country. Hopefully she will thank you for it.

Eh??
I'm northern, older, spent a lifetime in the NHS and I've never heard saline pronounced "SayLeen" in my life.
Don't be blaming us northerners for this 😁

That's a shame, because actually it is quite lovely. As long as her middle name isn't going to be anusol, then I think it's ok, but yes mention it.

Wouldn't the French say it differently? With a shorter 'a' sound? Also she lives in London so the kid wouldn't have the piss ripped out of her, because it is very multicultural and being bullied for an unusual name seems very provincial and old fashioned to me. I wouldn't tell her, you would come across as a white English prude with no world experience, which is what the parents of these bullies would be who make fun of someone for their name.

I say sayleen. I'm northern.

Saline is salty water. Or any salty fluid solution for various uses.
She needs to know, now before she has committed to it.

Naa. Just change it to Satan and be done with it.

Still a better name than saline.

Hilarious!

What did she change the name to? Syphilis? Like the flower. 😃 Or the song: The girl from Treponema?

Id tell her but in a do you in English thats a specific term for X. As thats just a fact. But if ahe decided she was still happy with her choice id keep all my opinions to myself.

Wow! Racist much??

Saline is the same word in French. But I think the Doliprane suggestion to explain why the name isn’t a good idea is excellent. If she wants a name starting with S, Solène would be so much nicer.

It tricky, ihad a similar situation when a friend (from china) called her newborn daughter Chlamydia

My mate went with gonorrhoea

Also she lives in London so the kid wouldn't have the piss ripped out of her, because it is very multicultural and being bullied for an unusual name seems very provincial and old fashioned to me

It always confuses me where people on these boards live as I meet people with all sorts of names daily including foreign ones!

Selena, the moon goddess, is a very similar and very beautiful name.

I would say something I would say Saline is a surgical / antiseptic rinsing aid.

There are literally hundreds of beautiful Latin names from Ava to Octavia

Whoops, that's me pronouncing it wrong for years then! I'm in the South though.

Selene is a good suggestion for her OP?

In Latin saline means salt or salty hence a saline wash etc for wound treatment. For many people, the first mental image is an IV bag, not a baby. Kids can be unkind, and “saline solution,” “saltwater,” or “salty” are easy targets. Even if adults find it pretty, children often latch onto literal meanings.

Personally I would drop it into the conversation that you think the idea of uniting cultures is good, but unfortunately Saline has other connotations in the UK and she could be lining her child up for years of ribbing. Particularly as the girl gets older as saline breast implants are widely known, the association can feel awkward.

Then leave it there, its their decision.

Also she lives in London so the kid wouldn't have the piss ripped out of her, because it is very multicultural and being bullied for an unusual name seems very provincial and old fashioned to me

My DD goes to school in London and has an absolutely standard British name. Think Elizabeth. Some of the boys in her A level class were teasing her last week. “Were you named after the Queen?” And calling her “Your Majesty”. Lighthearted and all very silly and not what you’d describe as “bullying”. Just silliness. But it gets a bit tiresome after about 5 minutes! And yes, you can believe that if she were called Calpol or Savlon she’d get that sort of thing far more often!

So do I and I’m southern.

However, if I saw Saline as a name, especially if I knew the parents were French/Spanish, I’d guess it was pronounced Sa-leen. As in Salina. Or little Sal. Or cross between Sally and Janine.

Wow. Do people really never forgive a friend for delicately bringing up a (valid) concern about a baby’s name? Or is this mumsnet central “livid, crying and shaking” kind of response