Middle Name Dilemma

knolliepollie

We want to use my Grandma's maiden name as our baby girls middle name. But, my Grandmother was Chinese and they spell it Liu (pronounced as Lou) I know hardly anyone would say it correct with the chinese spelling, but how often do people ask to say or spell your middle name? Only time it comes to mind is graduations... mine is Rachelle and still got pronounced as Rachel lol for college and high school. Normally, it's just a middle initial. I feel like if I change the spelling then all the meaning gets lost. Thoughts? Thanks ladies!

bbiutmcph

Keep Liu.  It's not a first name and honestly even if it was it's not that hard to figure out and if needed it would only need a one time correction. 

wassuphoes

I'd keep Liu. It's an easy correction, and a fairly common name so pronounciation  issues will subside in time.

LizWhiz87

I think Liu is fine and should be spelled the way your grandmother spelled it because it is part of her heritage. Most people will see it and be reminded of the gorgeous Lucy Liu and they will pronounce it that way.

MamaWren919

I agree. Keep Liu.

mattandlora

Definitely keep the original spelling. At my graduations, the person reading names always asked how to say them at the graduation rehearsal. Then he / she made chicken-scratch notes with the phonetic spelling beside each name so it wouldn't get messed up at the real deal

gonetothesea

I also agree. Keep the spelling as is.

JMU_Bride09

I think that by changing the spelling you would lose the significance.  Yes, she will have people misspell it, but that's not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things (provided that the name isn't YOU-NEEK), especially since it is a middle name.  As a side-note, Liu in Chinese and Lou are pronounced slightly differently, so that would take away even more from the significance, IMO.

knolliepollie

Thank you guys! I'm glad I can spell her middle name where it would still mean something to us. Yay for having a baby name picked out.

Elsa1984

Keep the spelling that honors your grandmother. 

g8trkim

I think Liu is pretty recognizable. Keep it!

HookEmNelson

Liu is beautiful and the meaning behind it is lovely. I say keep it!

whit3183

Definitely keep Liu!  I think you should keep it regardless, but also,  I feel like most people will know how to pronounce it due to the actress Lucy Liu! 

hannahkay8515

I would definitely keep it spelled Liu! I feel like if you changed the spelling you'd lose the whole meaning that you're going for. It's very pretty the way it is and if people end up mispronouncing it, it's okay because its just the middle name!

LNic5

Definitely keep Liu!!! It has special meaning and being in the middle name it's not as much of a worry considering how often it'll be said

On a side note: I would've pronounced it Lou anyway and I think a lot of people would so I don't think you have to worry too much!!

4N6s

Keep the spelling. I think it'll be fine and the pronunciation of Liu (lou) seems obvious to me.