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 😬

Just explain what it means in English and leave it there. If she still goes ahead she can’t say nobody told her.

I would ask her about the meaning. I don’t think of would wash but I wouldn’t want a baby called “salty”. Maybe explain what salty means when applied to people.

But that’s how you pronounce ‘Céline’.

I'd also tell her, as she intends to bring her DD up in the UK. As a sterile salty water product I'd think Sayline, as a name I automatically read it as Sayleen. But still, if she wouldn't call her child a version of Calpol in France, she might not want to call her Sterile Salty Water either. It's easier to replace a blanket than to change baby's name after they're registered.

I can't imagine her being angry enough to sever the friendship either, seems ridiculous. If I were living abroad and wanted to give my baby a name that wasn't quite quite, I'd hope that my friends would tell me! It's hardly a deadly insult, is it?

Sorry this sounds a bit patronising. You think a French speaker doesn’t know what a word Saline means?? It comes from Latin FYI and means salty in French AND in Spanish

just because for English speakers who don’t know Latin it is only associated with saline solution (which originally is salty solution) doesn’t mean she’s ignorant

maybe you are though

The French word for saline (salty) is saline.

So no, I wouldn't tell her.

(I also pronounce saline as Say-Line, not Say-Leen. Do I say it wrong?)

Ask her if she would like to hear your opinion on the name or whether it would make her salty...

Here in the midlands, saline is pronounced “say-leen” and means “salt solution” usually used as a medical wash… I would tell her!

With their heritages, they will be calling her Sal-een. I don't see the issue other than potentially a bit of bullying at school. Her French speaking parent surely will already know what it means in his own language? There are plenty of very odd names around these days!

I would, though, jokingly ask if they're going to call her Salty as a nickname, just in case they don't realise.

Tell her she must google word 'saline' - a row of bottles for sale come up - it is salt and sterilised water and the word means 'salty'. It's a fact no need for tact!!

@Bloozie , Saline is pronounced SAY-line in the UK.

@Goldwren1923 , Saline is salin/saline in French, salina in Spanish. Check facts before calling people ignorant.

@Hedgehogbrown , you have no idea if the pp was white or English.

@03cg73 , is the name actually written as 'Saline'? Might it be written as Selín or Selain in Spanish? Selín is celery in Spanish. Selain is except.

I don't think it's that bad, it is just salty water (like honey is just honey) and will likely be shortened to Sal as she gets older. Young children will have no idea it has a meaning other than their friends name. Apparently it might mean salt marshes or a salt works in French, so she must know the salty connection. You could point it out, but she may well be aware.

And in English saline usually pronounced say-line, rather than sa-leen, which to me would be another reason for avoiding it as a name.

I mean it's quite a pretty name... but I would tell her.

I'd definitely say something.

It’s not a brand name.
and French person knows what Saline means

honestly English people sometimes make me laugh, they think they know everything better than anyone else and all other nations are idiots 😁

I’d tell her if only to save her kid a lifetime of teasing whether she’s brought up in Spain or France rather than the UK. Disclaimer, I have an unusual name so got lots of teasing at school.

There are far better names like Selina, Celine etc.,

I speak Spanish.
It is salino for masculine/salina for feminine, first of all, but it’s obvious to every Spanish speaker what Saline means and it comes from a word salty./salt related.

in French it’s salin for masculine and salinE for feminine. Meaning salty or salt related.
it is used in salt marshes, salty water etc.

@Goldwren1923 , many of us here aren't English. Many of us are British, but British and English are not the same.

Whatever. Same sense of superiority

@Goldwren1923 , yes, I know. You are not the only French and Spanish speaker in the world.

I would probably pronounce the IV fluid as Say-leen (in the UK), likely because of my embarrassing amount of exposure to US hospital TV shows and lack of exposure to UK hospitals in any regard.

But interestingly when I saw it written as a name I read it as Sah-leen (so closer to Celine).

Definitely tell her, if she stays in the UK it will be a source of mild amusement/confusion for everyone the poor girl meets for the rest of her life. It’s a bit of a cross to bear for the child. But mention it once, then drop it. It’s not as bad as chlamydia, or Maelena, or Rose if your surname is West.

She must have been born some time ago, as she's now all grown up and a MN stalwart!

But although the other kids can get pencil cases, Coke bottles and Toblerone with their names on, how cool will you be as the only one with half of your bathroom cabinet already personalised to you?!