Ngaio - how would you pronounce it?

[JamesDavidsMum]

Am expecting my second child Sept/Oct and would like this name for a girl - but worried as to whether it would ever be pronounced even remotely properly.

Hmmm. En-guy-oh? Na-guy-oh? It's African, yeh? West African? Not sure of language...

nyo

Un-guy-o (but a very soft 'un')

i used to work with a Mpho (pronounced um-fo)

Nyo

Well, that's how I say Ngaio Marsh anyway.

I have a friend called Ngozi, which she says 'very-soft-En-gozzy'.

Guy-oh

Maori - right?

Nye-oh

I work with one - it's pronounced Nigh-oh. It's from Australia or NZ, apparently.

Mind you, everyone thinks she's a Nigerian man until they meet her...

I've always said it Nay-o but I'm sure that's wrong.

Un-guy-oh?
unlikely to be pronounced or spelled properly

Def pronounced nigh-o - I've got a friend with that name

Nye-oh. It's maori. I have a friend with the name and I won't pretend that people can pronounce it even remotely properly.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't use it. I think it's a really pretty name

(am assuming you have some kind of NZ link. I think if you don't, that would be weird)

Tis a suburb of Wellington to me!

Ahhhh, Maori. Interesting.

If it is 'Nyo' it is definitely going to be pretty much constantly mispronounced in the UK...but it is lovely.

Nye-oh

Not sure if that's right though.

People will know how to say it once they've been told-it's not pronounced in a really random or difficult way. Go for it!

You need to hope for a new dramatisation of the Inspector Alleyn books...

All interesting - it is Maori - I'm not but NZer and would like something a wee bit different - it is a tree, a suburb and yes Ngaio Marsh - Nigh-o.

It would be nice to have a little bit of a NZ connection as our surname is Welsh and feel with a welsh first and surname there may be others with the same name.

I have this sneaky feeling that I am having a boy - it's what seems to happen in our extended family.

It wouldn't be spelled correctly by people who just hear it, or pronounced correctly by people who just see it written down, but that shouldn't put you off - it's the same for lots of names.

I've got a gaelic name and have had this "problem" all my life. It's no big deal really.

It's easy to pronounce and sounds lovely so go for it.

Nigh-o

My partner and I both have issues with people spelling our names and I have issues with people pronouncing my name - even my (estranged) father doesn't say it properly.

I was at the hairdressers yesterday (honest) and was reading Hello! where one of the actors from The Bill was showing off his baby daughter called...Ngaio. They said it was pronounced Ny-oh. I like it.

I'm fine with people mispronouncing my name if they've only seen it written down as you really couldn't work it out unless you were familiar with Gaelic, but I would be annoyed if someone heard my name (repeatedly) and didn't say it correctly.

I have a name that English people cannot pronounce. I hated it as a child, but I love it now.