Should we use an accent when spelling our baby name Renee?

[TheCleverMember]

Thank you to everyone who helped with our previous post.
We are now going to spell it
Renee

We are now debating whether to put accent on or not now
We want it to sound Ree-nee
We know the French pronunciation is ruh-nah and we do have french blood in the family.

I wouldn’t bother. The song Just Walk away Renee doesn’t have one. I’d know how to pronounce it with or without an accent

If you want Ree-nee then no, don't do the accent. The accent makes the 'e' say 'ay', and you don't want that!

with or without accent Renee would be pronounced like Reh-nay by many people familiar with this name. ruh-nah isn't technically how Parisien French French would pronounce it either.

The name Renee is pronounced like ‘ruh-nay’ whether you are speaking English or French and whether there is an accent or not.

If you want it to sound like ‘ree-nee’ do NOT put the accent over the e. The accent is what turns it into an ‘ayy’ sound.

To be totally honest I think you’re setting your child up for a lifetime of correcting people with this one. Would you be open to calling her Irene (which is pronounced the way you like) and ‘Rene’ (ree-nee) for short?

Renee is pronounced Reh-neh (or Ruh-nay, depending on your English accent) in French. Nothing to do with either pronunciation you’ve mentioned, on either thread.

If you want it to sound ree-nee you need to spell it that way. Or find something else that makes it evident.

Are you in a white British area? Then maybe you won’t have any issues. However, if you’re surrounded by international families, people might seldom get it right.

I’m from another European country and would pronounce Reh-nee. If corrected, I’d get the sound right, but would then have to make another spelling up in my mind to remember it.

Is your child likely to travel, study in other countries or even move abroad?

If you want it to sound like Ree Nee why are you spelling it Renee?

Are you not worried she will get called Gaviscon?

I would presume it was pronounced r'nay

The only 'ree-nee' I've ever known was called that short for Katherine

R'n-AY.

My gran was known as ree-nee

her given name was Irene

Renee isn’t pronounced ree nee.

Surely it’s R’n-AhYe?

Renee as in the song is pronounced ‘Ren’ as in pen, ‘ee’ as in ay/bay/play/may

If you want to pronounce it Re as in bee nee as in knee then spell it Reenee

Everyone will pronounce Renee as ruh-nay.

if you like Ree-nee could you call your child Reenie?? Tbh it’s awful though both ruhnay and reenee

ReeNee isn't Renee, you'd need to spell it Reenie for anyone to pronounce it the way you want.

Agreed! I'd never think to pronounce it any of the other ways suggested. The only confusion iny mind would be whether to place the emphasis on the Reh or the nay.

@Soontobe60 , Why would it be R’n-AhYe?
It would need to be spelt Renaïe to get that pronunciation.

AhYe doesn't sound like the ay in bay/play/may.

If you want ree-nee than you could spell it Reenie or Rini maybe.

Renée pronounced ree-nee is just too confusing. 99% of people will pronounce it differently from what you want.

Says who? Renee Macrae is a well-known Scottish murder victim, and her name is pronounced 'ree-nee'.

Just put her official name as Irene and call her Reenee as her pet name then🤷‍♀️ every Irene I’ve ever known has been called reenee as a pet name

if you want the "Reenee" pronunication, you cannot spell it Renee - it's a completely different name.....

"Reenee" is a shortening of Irene. A better spelling might be Reenie?

An accent is a pain in this country, just finding it on a keyboard, making sure it's on passports, bank accounts or not, a confusion for life. People will pronounce it as you do.

Is anyone else thinking of Yvette Carte-Blanche?

I think people will pronounce it 'ay' at the end with or without the accent, OP, sorry.

The name Renee has been around for decades and was 'REE-nee' until recently.

Renee Bradshaw - Wikipedia

My mum spelt it Rennae to get around the pronunciation. It's a nightmare. I have to spell my name out every time. If you're going to pronounce it as nea at the end, do your child a favour and add the accent.

That's true, although I'm not sure that having to refer people to a murder victim as a guide to pronouncing your name is ideal.

Also, according to google, Renee Macrae was actually called Christina Catherine, so looks like Renee was a diminutive of Catherine.

If you want the sound Ree-nee, I’d probably spell it Rini. I am sure I do know someone with this name, I can’t think who, and I don’t know if it’s short for
something or if that is their full name.

Renee will generally be pronounced as Reh-nay regardless of whether you use an accent over the e or not.