keep or toss unpronounceable name?

missingmountains · April 2013

When I was looking for girl names for our daughter, now 1, I fell in love with the name Thijs.

It's a popular Dutch name, derived from Mathijs, which is the Dutch version of Matthew. Pronounced kind of in between TICE and TIES. I still love it for a hypothetical future son, but I'm wondering if I need to fall out of love with it. Is it just mean to give a kid a name that is pretty much unpronounceable in the US?

My husband is Dutch and from a Dutch pocket in the US where people would know how to say it, but it's unlikely we'll ever live there.

Oh, and I have no interest in spelling it Tice or Tyce. That loses the Dutch connection, IMO. I do know a family that spelled it Thys, maybe that splits the difference?

(and yes, I know Matt Lauer named his kid this.)

chapstix7 · April 2013

I say go for it. What I don't like are common names misspelled, or made up names. This is neither. I like that it has a special connection and is unique in the US.

WashingtonQueen · April 2013

I think naming him Thijs would be really hard on him. It would be a great middle name, though.

Fianschneid · April 2013

WashingtonQueen:
I think naming him Thijs would be really hard on him. It would be a great middle name, though.
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Keri Marie · April 2013

We took Annika off our short list because my mom kept saying AW-nica in stead in ANN-ica. I couldn't deal with it.

MRads · April 2013

I have lived in a Dutch pocket, and I have never heard this name. I like it for the MN spot better, because it is pretty unpronounceable, probably even for some Dutch people.

oops34 · April 2013

WashingtonQueen:
I think naming him Thijs would be really hard on him. It would be a great middle name, though.
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Murphie82 · April 2013

I really like the name, but spelling it as Thijs is...not the best way to go IMO. Even spelled as Thys, I think you'd get a lot of mispronunciations but definitely not as many as Thijs. If I had come across this name and had to say it, I wo

JaysonandKristin · April 2013

With Rhys on the rise, I don't see why you couldn't name him this.

My name is Kristin and it still gets butchered. Eff it!! I say go for it!!

blu-eyedwife · April 2013

I have a thing for Gaelic/Celtic names spelled correctly and not Americanized so for me, I don't see anything wrong with using a Dutch name spelled correctly and not Americanized.

I'm sure he'd have to pronounce it the first time it was called in

cmw&tdm · April 2013

I think it should be fine. Expect people to get it wrong the first time but not after that. If that is going to bother you then I wouldn't.

SmileyJay · April 2013

I really like the sound of this name for a boy and I love that you have a personal connection with your husband being dutch.

Was your husband born and raised in the Netherlands? Do the two of you go there often? Will your son be raised

missingmountains · April 2013

Murphie82:
So I don't have any real solution here because a) I really like the name but b) don't think you should spell it as

JaysonandKristin · April 2013

missingmountains:
Murp

kmj3b · April 2013

Seriously toss them as first names. I don't need to explain why.

amberrrjade · April 2013

I don't know if this has been said before but giving your child that name is not going to "ruin" his life or hinder him in anyway. It takes just ONE time of him or you telling someone it's pronounced Tyce and then for the rest of their life the people

dancedance1 · April 2013

My husband LOVES this name (he's of dutch background).

I say 'go for it' - a lot of names need to be pronounced correctly the first time.

Brooke81 · April 2013

I just wanted to say I LOVE Thys / Thijs. I live in the netherlands and it has been on our names list for all three kids. We just scraped it though because it is just too popular here (number 8 on the top 20 list). Plus DS is Martijn and we a worried t

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