39 weeks pregnant and still deciding on names! 😵

[Ilu]

I mean... I know the name I like. I'm just not sure it will get pronounced the way it is meant to be pronounced :)

I'm Spanish, my partner is English and at the moment we live in England although this will probably change soon and we'll move back to Spain. I'm thinking of using the Spanish name for Noah which is "Noé", pronounced noh-AY. I've got the feeling English speakers will be tempted to call him "no" which will probably piss him and me off as that's not his name... Am I overthinking it and do you think people will just learn to pronounce it eventually? I don't think it will get to be a popular name (although Noah is apparently No1!)

The other option is to name him Leo but I don't feel as strong about it although I like it too... But it might be that he's got a Leo's face after all once I see him lol (also, one of his surnames is "Bull", doesn't it make too many animals in his name? 🤣)

Also, which one do you like best? 🤔

I would keep looking for new name. Leo is fine, but don't like it with Bull and Noe is too complicated, people will think he's a girl (at least in English speaking world) and be utterly confused.

Of the two, Leo. In the UK, diacritics can be problematic. Noé will get said as Nowy - to rhyme with snowy, Zoe and Chloe.

It depends on what the surname is but it probably depends on the order. Be prepared for only the last in the order to be used in the UK.
e.g. Mateo James Perez Bull will usually be Mateo Bull not Mateo Perez Bull.

I would have said Noe as No-way (sorry), but there’s no point getting pissed off with people saying it wrong when they’re not Spanish, if it is going to piss you off you shouldn’t use the name.

Leo Bull really doesn’t work either

No, of course, I wouldn't get pissed off with people but with myself. It will be annoying to say the least having the same issue time and time again :)

I think it doesn't work with the surname OP. It sounds like "Knowable."

Leo Bull isn't much better. It is going to be a tricky surname to work with tbh ... but I think more syllables will help.

I like Noé and it’s not too complicated. The accent helps and so what if occasionally on paper people assume it’s a girl name? I know a boy called Xoel (sho-EL) with Spanish parents living in the UK and he has no issues AFAIK.

If you’re moving back to Spain anyway I don’t see the issue, surely Spanish people know how to pronounce Noé?

Even still, I like Noé, and yes I do think people will pronounce his name correctly, after being corrected, if needed.

I would not go with Leo Bull!

Noe is fine if you will be back in Spain.

And people will learn to say his name.
The popularity of Noah would put me off Noe though.

Thank you everyone! I hadn't even thought of his name possibly sounding like "liable" (Leo Bull) or "knowable" (Noe Bull) so thank you for pointing this out ☺️ I guess it didn't occur to me because we have hypernated our surnames with mine being first to break it up a little and because we thought my surname just sounds best first Eg Noe Perez-Bull (although my surname is much better than Perez if I might say so 😅)

Returning to Spain isn't a sure thing, and even if we do, he'll still have friends and family here (who I hope can pronounce his name...) or he might choose to study or live here in the future...

I think it's probably just me overthinking and panicking last minute. I'm just too excited about the new baby 🥳

I'll keep an open mind for now and see if we can come with a different name but I kind of know better where my heart sits at the moment 🙏

Thank you! 💕

Call him Noé. People will learn.

And you have loads of time -- we didn't finally decide on DS's name until we were registering him at ten weeks!

I know a boy called Xoel (sho-EL) with Spanish parents living in the UK and he has no issues AFAIK.
AFAYK.

I'd say it as Soel. Is it a Basque name?

Definitely go your surname first on the hyphenating, will sound much better.

Personally I don’t buy into the idea of waiting until the baby is here and then deciding what they look like.. all babies look like squishy potatoes. And you are naming a baby, toddler, boy and man, not just a baby.

What I recommend instead is going round the house / garden and calling the name out loud and seeing which sounds more natural. I.e. Leo come down for dinner! / Noe stop eating soil! 🤣

I know the name, it's actually from the Galicia region and I think it's lovely in that context. I find it very brave of them in the UK... (Shoe?). I don't think I'm that brave 😬

I love Leo. ❤️

Hahaha totally agree, I was just convincing myself that his name would become clear to me at some point but you're right. I could end up calling him "wrinkle potato" as the Canarian dish 🤣 (I'm actually from the Canary Islands lol).

I'll go out in the garden and try out different names 💪

@Ilu Thanks.
I can think of an Italian name that I asked if the person mentioned meant [the std pronunciation] but the pronunciation they used was very specific to one area.

@Hiemal , People will learn. Some can but you end up correcting a lot of people in a lifetime, and in my case, some cannot learn (sounds not in English).

Noé is gorgeous. Yes in the UK you will have to explain the pronunciation and the accent will get left off - but it's worth it for such a nice distinctive name.

I think it is unusual enough that people will ask rather than guess wrong which I would find less irritating. Bull is quite a harsh surname and Noé softens it.

Noé is gorgeous. No way.

It's also not distinctive as it is so similar to Noah and Noa.