Calais

kelslynie · January 2011

Was looking at place baby names and was pleasantly surprised when I saw this one. For a girl, pronounced "kal-lay," it's the name of a city in northern France.

what are your thoughts on this name?

onislandtime · January 2011

I knew a girl named Calais growing up. It fit her well, but she did have to correct people on the pronounciation a lot.

deepblue789 · January 2011

It looks really pretty. "Kal-lay" sounds cool, but everyone will mis-pronounce it. You may even get people calling her "Callus". IMO.

kck329 · January 2011

Its not bad but unless most people you know speak French, are geographers or historians, I have a feeling it will be mispronounced often.

MrsW801 · January 2011

I like he pronunciation but I think few people would get it right (I wouldn't have).

alliejo725 · January 2011

deepblue789:
It looks really pretty. "Kal-lay" sounds cool, but everyone will mis-pronounce it. You may even get people calling her "Callus". IMO.

Yep. This.

vpr105 · January 2011

I think it is so pretty but unfortunately I agree with everyone on this board that it will be mispronounced.

Bride7-7-07 · January 2011

I would have never know that is how you pronounce it. I thought it was Cal iss or Cal eyes.

BrideBuddies · January 2011

Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais. 'Nuff said.

KleanFreak · January 2011

I love the name...drew instant nostalgia and memories of France.

IMO, I have a hard to pronounce name, and I have very very very rarely in life taken offense to people mispronouncing it. In fact, what I have found is that my name has been one of the best built in ice breakers throughout my entire life.

mlf625 · January 2011

BrideBuddies:
Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais. 'Nuff said.

My first car. And my first thought when I heard this name. However .... with Oldsmobile being dead and the people who would remember the unfortunate model that was the Calais very few and far between, I do think it's pretty if you're not concerned about nobody ever, ever, ever pronouncing or spelling your child's name correctly.

ETA: holy run-on sentence, batman. Sorry.

forensicmama · January 2011

That's kind of neat, as a place name. MUCH better than your run-of-the-mill Sydney or Savannah.

char62011 · January 2011

First thing that came to my mind when I saw the name was Cialis (it's a pill for erectile dysfunction). Just a thought.

lemen99 · January 2011

I'm sorry but this is way too confusing IMO.

AmyinSoCal · January 2011

I think it would be hard to pronounce. Use as MN only, or try Kelley, Kaylee, Kayla, or something similar.

abell77 · January 2011

not my style, and you would always have to correct people on the pronunciation.

klv · January 2011

It is also a town in Maine, pronounced Caal-iss (long A sound). Not the greatest town either.

Unless most of the people around you are French descent, I would not use it. You would not name your kid Venezia unless you were Italian would you?

unamilagra · January 2011

I actually like it, and would have pronounced it correctly. But it looks like I am in the minority, so you might want to take that into consideration. It definitely has the making for a beautiful middle name though, I bet it would flow well with lots of first names.

MarxieVonTrapp · January 2011

It's a lovely name...for a town. Unless there's a connection to Normandy, I wouldn't use it.

lily87 · January 2011

So while Calais is a city in France and is pronounced that way, Calais is also a city in Maine and pronounced Callas.

I would just make sure that wherever you live, there isn't a city mispronounced like that nearby. Because, if I named my baby in Maine Calais, eveyone would call her Callas. But, if I did it in France, I would get the correct pronounciation. So, I think it depends on where you are in terms of what you are going to get from people.

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