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.

Well the spelling isn't phonetic and it is an uncommon name in the UK, so the name is going to be mispronounced and also spelt incorrectly by most people.

that's not necessarily a deal breaker but why not go for the same name spelt phonetically?

It's lovely, go for it! I only mispronounced it because I am in Africa and therefore pronounced it the African way.

I definitelty didn't get nigh-o from that spelling.

I would have gone for En-gay-o, probably cause I used to work with an Ngozi (En-gozi) and have a friend who's surname is Ng (En-jee)

Will cause havoc at school/doctors/phone calls from bank etc.

Maybe spell it the way you want it pronounced?

ni-gay-o by looking at it may be difficult when they are a child

5's a New Zealand name (I think). It's pronounced Nyo.

I know a lovley little girl called this - its pronounced nigh-oh -

NNNN - gay - oh

"Guy-o" (the n sort of being hinted at but not actually said properly iyswim

I would have pronounced it Nyo,as I have heard of Ngaio Marsh.

Noooo - the G is silent

Nye-o
I love it-Ngaio Marsh author of great crime fiction

I wouldn't have a clue, sorry.

But after being tod a couple of times would get there.

Ngaire (Ny-ree) is nice too, and a not uncommon girl's name in NZ

And yes, Ngaio is Ny-oh and a suburb of Wellington to me as well.

MrsMattie - I also have a friend who is called Ngozi - I wonder......

It's pronounced Ngai-o, the ng sound is the same as 'ring' rather than 'finger'.

Hope this helps.

All the Vietnamese families I have ever known with the surname Ng pronounce it like the sound of the suffix '-ing', without the I. Like Bakasana says. I think 'En-jee' pronunciation might have been the result of a family giving up on people ever getting it right.

If I met a little girl called Ngaio, I'd be really pleased, as I'd hope her parents were fans of Dame Ngaio's books. Or, I guess, Maori, which would be interesting as I don't think I've ever met anyone who is.

Naio. But I only know that because I am extremely old and grew up on Ngaio Marsh detective novels. NO ONE - and I mean NO ONE will be able to pronounce it. It will be a pain in the neck for her forever, honestly. I speak as someone whose name is always Cathleen-with-a-C-actually it's the irish spelling" She will be "Ngaio - that's Ng, yes the G is silent, yes it is unusual isn't it? It's a Maori name, no I'm not a Maori, my mother just likes it" for ever and a day.

that looks like a typo to me.

Ny-oh is the correct pronunciation and my cousin is called Ngaire (Ny-ree) which is also beautiful

Please please do not change the name to how you want it to be pronounced.

[horror]

lol @ seeker's post.

I agree it's a pain to be forever spelling yr name (and mine is not even that unusual).

I would think it was nice if there was an NZ connection or parent was big fan of Ngaio Marsh, but otherwise it's a slightly curious choice.

It looks like an anagram just waiting to be unscrambled.

I have a name no-one can spell, and it is a pain. And it's not half as tricksy as Ngaio (though I do like the sound of it).

Ngaio is lovely as is Ngaire. And the spelling/pronunciation thing is no more challenging than Niamh. And Ngaio is quite a nice suburb of Wellington - I used to live there! It's a kind of tree I understand, whilst Ngaire means 'hold on' (referring to little ferns holding on to their mothers) or 'stubborn'. If you like NZ names, how about Rata or Tui or Roimata?