spelling/pronunciation geeks please come in

brooksidebride

We want to name our DS Dashiell.  We want it pronounced Dash-uhl. (It seems that Dash-uhl is the Americanized way of pronouncing it. Seeing that it comes from the French surname Da Chiel, I think in Europe it is more often pronounced Dash-eel. I think that these days it is most popular in Scotland.)

 

From researching the history of the name, it seems that Dashiell is the ?correct? way to spell it. And I can?t decide if I want to alter that spelling in some way (such as Dashel?which does show up on baby name lists too) in order to better ensure it gets pronounced correctly.

 

So, do I spell it Dashiell?  Or Dashel?

 

Additional note: My daughter is Johanna, pronounced Joe-Hannah. We get Yo-Ha-Na, Jo-Ha-Na, and Jo-Anna a lot more than her actual name. When we were choosing her name, I debated spelling it Johannah in order to better ensure people would know it was said the same as ?Hannah? at the end, but I just couldn?t bring myself to alter that traditional/correct spelling into a made-up spelling in order to accommodate the basically made-up name (bc of the pronunciation) we had chosen. I think I want the Dashiell spelling for the same reason? I don?t love the idea of altering the traditional spelling just because we want a technically non-traditional Americanized pronunciation. But at the same time? I?m torn? I want better chances of it being pronounced correctly.

 

(Sorry for length? tried my best to be concise but still make my point!)

526SadieSadie

I'm pretty sure the author Dashiell Hammet spelled it that way.  As you already know with your daughter, it's frustrating but the most you can really do is say "it's pronounced X, not Y"

My name was forever mispronounced when I was growing

CeCe8579

I think you will get mispronunciations because it isn't a common name but it is very nice and I would stick with the traditional spelling of Dashiell!

brooksidebride

526SadieSadie:

I'm pretty sure the author Dashiell Hammet spelled it that way.  As you already know with your daughter, i

AEN1029

I pronounce Dashiell dash-uhl. I like the traditional spelling better and agree that you may have to correct people every once in a while. Most times, you will introduce your son or he will introduce himself so people will know from the start how to say i

Geauxmama11

I've never heard this name outside of this forum I honestly don't see the allure of it. I don't care for it, doesn't sound masculine to me at all I would pronounce it Dasheel.

Helenahhandbasket

I would only pronounce this name Dash-eel.  I have actually never heard the other pronunciation.

catahoulatte

It does look like Dash-ee-el to me if I didn't know how to pronounce it. I like it with the correct pronunciation, but I don't like the variations of how people would probably say it.

I guess basically that if you still like it enough even after

Elinetrouwt

Don't butcher the spelling. Whatever way you spell it, some people won't pronounce it correctly because they simply don't know the name or pronunciation.

My parents had this book by Dashiell Hammett on their shelves, and I always liked that name,

Lue94

I've never heard of this name except on TB and I don't get the appeal. I'm glad you pronounced it because I had no idea how it was pronounced. I have always said Dash-ee-el or Dash-eel.

I would choose the correct spelling if you just love the nam

mben1119

Where I live, Dashiell is a very common last name, and it is pronounced Da-sheel.

Its NMS for a little girl's first name. Very masculine.

baloneydisc

Spell it Dashiell.  I've only heard it pronounced the way you intend.

lightgetsin

Helenahhandbasket:

I would only pronounce this name Dash-eel.  I have actually never heard the other pronunciation.
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Mrs.G123

Don't change the spelling.

alphalyrae

Don't change the spelling.

mben1119

majwv8:

mabenner1:</st

FakeFinn

I'd go with Dashiell.

danuli8

I think you should spell it Dashiell. Although it immediately makes me think of The Incredibles.