am I missing something? -boy name-

WiFeY 4 LiFeY · June 2012

I know I have posted a few time on her about this... but I just dont get it.

We are naming our DS2 Joel Thomas (Thomas is a family name).

When you read Joel what do you think this name is?

Joe-l

or

Jo-ell (like Noelle)

I have had a hand full of friends tell me on FB and text (we moved out of state so we dont all talk very often) he they love the name, its a great pick..whatever. THEN when I talk to them they bring up how they love the name, but it is Joe-l, or Joelle? REALLY??? I thought I picked a straight forward name..humm

evaazalea · June 2012

Joe-l, it's a boy's name, why would they even think Jo-elle? It's a great name.

TripMomma · June 2012

The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

queenbone · June 2012

Hmm

Methinks your friends are idiots. Why on earth would Joel be pronounced like Joelle?

strawberrytree · June 2012

Anyone who can't pronounce Joel is an idiot IMO. It's a basic, straightforward name. If you were spelling it Joell or something things might be different, but who doesn't know that Joel=rhymes with bowl?

MississippiCatfish · June 2012

Do they know that you're having a boy? Could they be clarifying it because they thought for some reason you were having a girl?

Robbie5249 · June 2012

It's definitely Joe-l (like bowl). But, I met a Joel in elementary school and had a really hard time saying his name right. I couldn't get my mouth around the "oe" part. I'd say "jewel" "joll" etc. That's really the only thing I'd ever worry about it, it's a very handsome name for a boy, the Joel I had met grew up to be a very handsome man

Reilly626 · June 2012

I would say Joe-l but where I teach is a big Hispanic population and it is pronounced Jo-Elle a lot by that community. Perhaps you have a lot of Hispanic Facebook friends?

Magenta728 · June 2012

Reilly626:
I would say Joe-l but where I teach is a big Hispanic population and it is pronounced Jo-Elle a lot by that community. Perhaps you have a lot of Hispanic Facebook friends?

This is what I was thinking but the person I know who pronounces it like that spells it Johel. He is Hispanic.

Joel rhymes with bowl.

lily_721 · June 2012

TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

This

HannahO28 · June 2012

I had a friend in college who we jokingly referred to as Jo-elle. (his name was Joel).

So...I guess Joel has the teasing potential to become Jo-elle. But that's not how you say it.

Allycat11 · June 2012

lily_721:
TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

This

Same here. I don't see how there are multiple pronunciations of this name. It is a straight forward, solid boy name.

candaceleigh21 · June 2012

Wow, people are really searching if they are trying to make it match Noelle. I immediately say Joe-L, rhymes with Nole.

DuggysMom · June 2012

queenbone:

Methinks your friends are idiots. Why on earth would Joel be pronounced like Joelle?

Agreed 100%

I'd tell them, "yeah, Jo-elle. Like that famous singer guy Billy Joelle"...But I'm sarcastic & kind of mean

af1274 · June 2012

TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

This. And anyone I've ever known named Joel pronounces it this way also. I wouldn't have even thought that it could be pronounced more than one way.

paceyjoe · June 2012

Joe-l!

AshDahlia · June 2012

TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

Absolutely this. Great name!

nuttycoconut · June 2012

Reilly626:
I would say Joe-l but where I teach is a big Hispanic population and it is pronounced Jo-Elle a lot by that community. Perhaps you have a lot of Hispanic Facebook friends?

I agree with this. I would say Joel rhymes with bowl also but I had a Hispanic boy on my class this past year who pronounced it like Joelle.

g8trkim · June 2012

It goes both ways for me. Personally, we know two Joe-l's. But as a teacher I've had two Jo-ell's. So usually, I don't know which way to say it. Usually I think Joe-l if they're White and Jo-ell if they're Hispanic.

LadyXaverian · June 2012

Definitely Joel, if you're English speaking people.

I have a friend who is married to a guy named Joel who pronounces it Jo-elle (with a soft J sound). He's French Canadian, though.

g8trkim · June 2012

Wow, I just read the other responses. Are there really that many people who have never heard Joel pronounced to rhyme with Noelle?

TofuMama7 · June 2012

TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

This. It is a straightforward boy name, your friends are a little slow or they secretly don't like the name and are trying to dissuade you.

Aligator28 · June 2012

I have always said Joe-l. When I moved to the south I heard people pronounce it Jo-ell, which I thought was strange.

Todd&Laura · June 2012

TysMomPlusOne:
Joe-l, it's a boy's name, why would they even think Jo-elle? It's a great name.

This. Why would they have trouble with this name? It seems pretty straightforward to me.

queenbone · June 2012

g8trkim:
Wow, I just read the other responses. Are there really that many people who have never heard Joel pronounced to rhyme with Noelle?

No, I haven't. And it doesn't make any sense to me how it would be pronounced like Jo-elle in the Hispanic community. Following that logic it would be pronounced like Hole or Ho-ale. The J would be soft H sound like in Jaime, Juan, Jose, Jorge, and Javier.

BethPSU · June 2012

I really tried to sell my DH on the name Noel, but his argument was that it would constantly be mispronounced as Noelle (also as in "The First Noel". I got his point. I also tried to align it with Joel because I figured that was even more mainstream than Noel. I think it is just one of the things you will have to deal with using the name. FWIW, we are probably going with Isla for a girl and I know we are going to have a lot of pronunciation questions.

Notwifezilla7 · June 2012

Do they not know Billy Joel?

Seriously?

I think you need smarter friends! (j/k!)

sesigs · June 2012

Um, I would never pronounce the name Joel as "Jo-elle". I just find that extremely strange ...

srgw · June 2012

That's my H's name. No one has called him Jo-ell except his friends in jest.

MrsBigTime · June 2012

TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

This.

ah625 · June 2012

TripMomma:
The way I pronounce it, Joel rhymes with bowl.

Me too. But recently I've learned that different parts of the US pronounce it differently. Not sure why.

DawnJM25 · June 2012

I don't know why people would pronounce that Jo-elle. I would say Joe-l. I agree with you- a very straightforward name. Have they ever heard of Billy Joel? Not that you are naming your son after him, but he's such a well-known celeb, I would think people would know how to pronounce Joel correctly. Bizarre!

MelissaRae1525 · June 2012

SO has a friend from Puerto Rico and his name is prn Jo-ell, but I'm not sure how it's spelled. If I saw this name, I would assume it's Joel rhyming with bowl.

rainbows&unicorns · June 2012

queenbone:
Methinks your friends are idiots. Why on earth would Joel be pronounced like Joelle?

Agreed.

g8trkim · July 2012

queenbone:

g8trkim:
Wow, I just read the other responses. Are there really that many people who have never heard Joel pronounced to rhyme with Noelle?

No, I haven't. And it doesn't make any sense to me how it would be pronounced like Jo-elle in the Hispanic community. Following that logic it would be pronounced like Hole or Ho-ale. The J would be soft H sound like in Jaime, Juan, Jose, Jorge, and Javier.

I think traditionally (like if you lived in a Spanish speaking country or even in a Spanish speaking household) it is said as Ho-elle but the Americanized way is Jo-elle. It's just how it is. I work in a predominately Hispanic school and I've had two students names Joel (Jo-elle) as well as other students I've encountered with this name. It's not uncommon.

But yeah, if I met someone who wasn't Hispanic I would assume it was pronounced like bowl.

KayaXavier · July 2012

queenbone:
g8trkim:
Wow, I just read the other responses. Are there really that many people who have never heard Joel pronounced to rhyme with Noelle?
No, I haven't. And it doesn't make any sense to me how it would be pronounced like Jo-elle in the Hispanic community. Following that logic it would be pronounced like Hole or Ho-ale. The J would be soft H sound like in Jaime, Juan, Jose, Jorge, and Javier.

Uh. Ethnocentric, much? Hey, sorry entire culture of people, this white girl doesn't follow your logic so you're gonna have to go ahead and start pronouncing that extremely common ethnic name according to American pronunciation

tlong · July 2012

Reilly626:
I would say Joe-l but where I teach is a big Hispanic population and it is pronounced Jo-Elle a lot by that community. Perhaps you have a lot of Hispanic Facebook friends?

This. I have a friend named Joel (pronounced Joe-l) but his dad's name was also Joel spelled the same but pronounced Jo-elle in the family. They were Hispanic as well.

am I missing something? -boy name-

Re: am I missing something? -boy name-

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