What do you think of this spelling?

Jamaicanlove

"Zhoelle"

See my previous post below:

I need help with the spelling of our daughter's potential name. ?We're thinking of "Joelle" but would like the "Jo" to be pronounced as the last part of "beige". ?Also as in "Jolie." ?Is there anyway to spell it so it's pronounced that way or would you pronounce it that way just by seeing it spelled "Joelle"? ?Hope that made sense

:-)??

kellyfromcali

Id say Zo-elle.?

meganet22

I would also pronounce it Zo-elle

andrea922

I would also say Zo-elle. I think if you choose this name you will be correcting people always.

soccerwife

meganet22:

I would also pronounce it Zo-elle

me too - you're better off with Joelle.

leah1615

No, most people will say Zo-elle.  Joelle is very beautiful and I don't think it's that big of a deal to just simply correct them. 

DevonPow

cranberry27

Zo-elle. ?I like Joelle a lot better, although you would have to correct me because I would pronounce it with a hard J!

GettinNervous

What about an accent mark or some kind of mark? (I'm not educated on what the marks are or what they mean or where they should be.) I'm just trying to help.

NikiT

If you really do love the soft J sound how about Giselle as an alternative?

Honeslty, the pronunciation of Joelle, Jolie and the likes have more to do a person's accent than how you spell the name.  It's like the name Natalie.  In America we say "Nadalie" - other countries pronounce it the way it's spelled.  If you travel to France or Canada, I'm sure Joelle will have her name pronounced the way you want it, but it's just not the way most American accents work.  My vote: spell it Joelle, and pronounce it "Zhoelle" others around her will get the hint when they hear it enough.

 

MrsGeek

Zs would make me think of the proper pronunciation more than Zh.  You could go with G as in Genevieve.

EXL311

DevonPow:

Ditto.  I think you're going to have a huge struggle getting people to pronounce Joelle the way you want it to be.  Sure friends and family will get it fairly quickly, hopefully, but probably not the general population. 

maltwin1

I know this is just me mis-reading, but seeing the z and the h caused me to pronounce it "zo-hell".

Oops.

tct1219

i would say zoelle. i guess if you're really set on the name, you should spell it joelle and just introduce her the way you want it pronounced.

Hovie

Zo-elle, rhymes with Noelle/Noel that's how I would pronounce it.

LMS05

Zo-elle and it sounds horribly made up. Joelle is fine, but no one will pronounce it Zoelle. Joelle is a beautiful name when it's pronounced the American way Jo-elle.??

lilygirl

NikiT:

If you really do love the soft J sound how about Giselle as an alternative?

Honeslty, the pronunciation of Joelle, Jolie and the likes have more to do a person's accent than how you spell the name.  It's like the name Natalie.  In America we say "Nadalie" - other countries pronounce it the way it's spelled.  If you travel to France or Canada, I'm sure Joelle will have her name pronounced the way you want it, but it's just not the way most American accents work.  My vote: spell it Joelle, and pronounce it "Zhoelle" others around her will get the hint when they hear it enough.

It looks otherwise like an offshoot of Zoe to me.

 

Aligator28

I say use Joelle, and just pronounce it the way you want it.?

amyfelice

Maybe if you put Jhoelle it may clue some people in.

OutLawless

The only way I can think of to spell it would be "Jeauelle."

Jamaicanlove

amyfelice:

Maybe if you put Jhoelle it may clue some people in.

OMGosh I LOVE that spelling. ?My DH also loves it. ?Ding, ding, ding, I think we may have winner!

leah1615

Jamaicanlove:

amyfelice:

Maybe if you put Jhoelle it may clue some people in.

OMGosh I LOVE that spelling.  My DH also loves it.  Ding, ding, ding, I think we may have winner!

 That looks like Jay-Hoe-elle to me. Plus, I think you are severely butchering an otherwise gorgeous name by giving it a tacky spelling.

amoureux

Just spell it Joelle.  There will be people who know how to say it (ie anyone who can speak french).   The others will learn.

Jhoelle is beyond terrible.  Zhoelle is right there with it. Please don't deface a lovely name.

 

MrsJJC

It's better than Zhoelle, but I think Joelle by itself might be best. ?No matter what, you will have to pronounce it the way you want it to be spoken. ?The pp about the person's American accent is spot on. The G is the only alternative I can think of that might get a more accurate pronounciation

mollymurphy

Honestly, if you love Joelle, I would stick with the traditional spelling, or maaaaaybe Joele as an alternative...Zhoelle looks like "Zo-ell" to me.

But since you asked...Maybe Gioelle? FWIW (and yes, I know it's a slightly different name) but I do know a little girl named "Djozelle", pron. like Gisele. It's NMS (I like the traditional spellings of names!) but the D-j combination isn't too horribly awful...

LovingLife_06

NMS - I know I would say the name wrong and I really think you're going to be correcting people all the time.  I would stick with Joelle - I really like that!

foundmylazybum

Jamaicanlove:

amyfelice:

Maybe if you put Jhoelle it may clue some people in.

OMGosh I LOVE that spelling. ?My DH also loves it. ?Ding, ding, ding, I think we may have winner!

?

Ew. No! Don't do it. What is wrong with you? Honestly. ?

NikiT

leah1615:

Jamaicanlove:

amyfelice:

Maybe if you put Jhoelle it may clue some people in.

OMGosh I LOVE that spelling.  My DH also loves it.  Ding, ding, ding, I think we may have winner!

 That looks like Jay-Hoe-elle to me. Plus, I think you are severely butchering an otherwise gorgeous name by giving it a tacky spelling.

Lol, I didn't want to be mean, but the word "Hoe" really does stand out in the Jhoelle version.

bamalizzy

Z-oel (like Noel with a Z) I think you could spell it Joelle and pronounce it the way you prefer with no problem.

ldk4498

If this many people are saying they would pronouce it wrong - I wouldn't do it.  Just think about having to live with a name that no one could pronounce for your ENTIRE life - ugh.  It is bad enough when last names are hard to pronounce, but a first name?  I think Joelle is pretty as is.