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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

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Original poster

Want to use the name Sophia...but not as everyone else knows it, help!

28 replies

SevernTrentWater · 10/07/2009 16:27

I have a little dilemma and i don't know how to solve it!
Since i was a little girl I always wanted to name a future daughter after my grandmother who was named after her mother, the name is Sophia...except not pronounced so-fee-a but sof-EYE-a. Sophia was a rare name when i was a child, using either pronunciation. If Sophia were not now one of the most popular names in the english speaking world the unusual pronunciation would not be a problem however i don't like it said as 'so-fee-a', and she is bound to be in a class full of Sophia's and i'm sure teachers will just accuse her of 'making up silly pronunciations' or some nonsense. I don't know whether to just let this name go and cry tearfully, or if there is some way i could spell it that doesn't look horrendously silly or cre8tiv that will have people pronouncing the name correctly, or at least asking 'how do you pronounce that?'

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AirPieandWindyPudding · 10/07/2009 16:29

Sofiah or Sophiah might work (like Mariah which is pronounced "mar-eye-ah"

And/or you could just have it as a middle name if you are worried about everyone else having it.

charitygirl · 10/07/2009 16:29

I know a Sof-Eye-a. You could spell if Sofia?

GiraffesCanRunA10k · 10/07/2009 16:31

I went to school with a Sophie-a which is the way you want it to be pronounced? (As opposed to so-fee-a) The girl often got her name pronounced wrongly by teachers but everyone else know her as Sophie-a. There were no other Sophias in our year though.

GiraffesCanRunA10k · 10/07/2009 16:32

Oh no Sophia sounding like Mariah is different again then. Thats 3 pronounciations for the one name, I am confused.

BoysAreLikeDogs · 10/07/2009 16:33

The teacher will call your child by their name and will not accuse her of making up silly pronuniciations

If you want a Sofia, go ahead and have one.

yes people will get it wrong on occasion but that's liveable.

noonar · 10/07/2009 16:34

call her so-fire .

bronze · 10/07/2009 16:36

I know of a Sophia said Sof eye a
It just sounds more european to me
I also know one said the same spelt Sofia

PandaG · 10/07/2009 16:36

I know a 20 yr old So phi (rhymes with eye) a. Heard it when she was born, learnt the spelling (no different to normal then) and got on with it.
With the amount of different names and pronunciations just call her what you want, and don't worry. I am sure that she won't get any stick.

Anyway, it is not a made up name (and who is to judge those anyhow) but a variant on a pronunciation that has been around for years.

noonar · 10/07/2009 16:41

i would point out that it sounds terribly posh pronounced that way. are you aristocratic?

MrsMattie · 10/07/2009 16:43

Sohpia Gardens (place in cardiff) is pronounced the same way. otherwise, I'm afraid every other Sophia I know is So-fee-ah. She'll have to correct it constantly.

curlyredhead · 10/07/2009 17:01

The only Sophia I know is an adult, 35ish, pronounced the way you want. If you like it, go for it. Any name will get funny spellings or pronunciations.

TheFallenMadonna · 10/07/2009 17:09

My default pronunciation would be Soph-EYE-a. And even if it weren't, I would never accuse a child of 'making up silly pronunciations' (and TBH I have come across some corkers...)

bellissima · 10/07/2009 20:19

I too knew a very English Soph-EYE-a back in my youth (okay, a long long time ago). In fact that's the only way I would pronounce it. The other way is the capital of Bulgaria as far as I'm concerned.

MrsMcCluskey · 10/07/2009 20:22

I thought it was Soph-EYE-a, my cousins daughter is 4 and she is Sophia pronounced that way.
What about Sapphire sounds the same an only one way of saying that.

ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 11/07/2009 11:45

Sophiah
Sofiah
both would or should be pronounced soph eye a, not Saph eye a like Mariah.

campion · 11/07/2009 12:13

She'll soon get used to telling people and then that'll be it. I teach a girl called Serena - except that she pronounces it Ser-enna - (Italian, I gather). It's not a problem once you know.

Don't mess about with the spelling of a nice name. I think I'd probably ask if I saw that name as I have come across it pronounced Sof-eye-a.

mumzy · 12/07/2009 08:37

I think you need to spell it phonetically so Sofiah is probably the best bet if you want others to have the best chance of knowing how to pronounced it the way you want it to be pronounced. This reminds me of one of the mums at a playgroup who named her dd Leila and then kept "correcting" everyone by saying it was'nt pronounced Layla but Leela I did think to myself that if you wanted her to be called the latter you need to spell the name phonetically.

runnyhabbit · 12/07/2009 08:41

I think if you replace the ph with f you should be ok. (Only know this because thats how you pronounce Sofia as in Sofia Gardens in Cardiff)

squeaver · 12/07/2009 08:48

I went to school with a Sof-EYE-a. I thought that was the correct pronunciation when spelled with an F.

sweetfall · 12/07/2009 08:50

you can call your child so-feye-ah as much as you wish but the rest of the world will call her Sof-ee-ah no matter how much as you protest and if you can't stand that then don't use the name

you don't get to control the way other people pronounce, nor even spell, your children's name I'm afraid

jellyhead · 12/07/2009 09:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pennybubbly · 14/07/2009 06:59

My dd is Sofia and I've never had anyone pronounce it Sofe-eye-a. (We use the So-fee-a pronunciation btw and that's how it's pronounced (and spelt) in Spain, Italy..

I think Sophiah, Sofiah would give you the pronunciation you're after.

bellissima · 14/07/2009 08:42

Sofia (as in capital of Bulgaria) is pronounced SOF-ee-a (ie emphasis on first syllable but then ee not eye). I can't see why changing ph to f, or indeed adding a h, ensures desired pronunciation. Quite a few of us seem to think that Sophia is traditionally pronounced Soph-eye-a in the UK. A few more Sophias would help maintain the tradition! Its also a prettier spelling imo.

GetOrfMoiLand · 14/07/2009 08:49

My dd is called Sophia (pron Soph-ee-a) and has had several teachers who have pronounced her name Soph-eye-a, until corrected. I think it's a lovely variant on pronounciation, very 18th century, however don't fret about it, once people know that the pronounciation is such they will stick to it, ime.

I don't give a shit how they pronounce it personally, as long as they don't call her Sophie .

Plus, I don't think Sophia is as widely used as you think. DD is the only Sophia in her school of 1400, there have always been loads of Sophies but no Sophias (mind you, she is 13 now so it may be different in baby land).

WynkenBlynkenandNod · 14/07/2009 08:56

I know a Sophia pronounced as sof-eye-a, I don't think it's been a very big issue. I'd do it and just correct people if necessary, though I might consider spelling it Sofia.

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