Do you have an easily mispronounced name?

jhunter89 · July 2013

Our top girls name (not totally set in stone, but pretty much), is Elin, pronounced Ee-lin. I know that the vast majority of the time, someone reading it (i.e. off an attendance sheet etc.) would say it like Ellen.

If you have a name like that, how much did it bother you? I figure it will be a once-per-person type deal since they would be corrected and everyone would move on and whenever she introduces herself, obviously people would hear the correct way to say it. Idk, thoughts?

twobluelines · July 2013

We have a coworker who pronounces her name ViviANNE not Vivian... she clearly gets irritated have correcting everyone, all the time... and I get the sense that some people roll their eyes that she is so particular about it.

Also we have a cat named St. John (pronounced Sin-Jin) and everytime I go to the vets I either correct them or have to just let them call the cat St. John. I don't really care.. but I would say it depends on the personality of your child.

For the record, I like the name Elin.

Unknown · July 2013

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aessary03 · July 2013

I don't think it will be pronounced as incorrectly as often now because of Elin Nordegren Tiger's super gorgeous ex wife. I have a name that is commonly mispronounced. Audra always gets turned into Audrey. When I was little I was too shy to correct adults. Now it just annoys the heck out of me that people can't read. It's not that hard. But most names are often mispronounced or misspelled no matter how common.

Edited because mobile bump ate my parenthesis.

PreDempsey · July 2013

I am Alisa, pronouced Alyssa, and people call me every thing under the sun (ali-sha, alicia, aleesa, alice, etc.)

My children will be getting traditional, easily spelled, and pronounced names.

waterlily2k2 · July 2013

So, my name is Liisa [yes with two i's. no one stalk me!]. Not only was it an every day question from anyone who saw it "is it a misprint?" but since I also wore glasses in school, that just added more fuel. I'm a cashier and have to wear a name tag. I get asked at least once every single day about it and always get "oh that's interesting". With all that said, it is a family name, and I really love it. I think that's why it bothers me so much even still. I think no matter what you name your kid, even it's the most traditional generic name, some kid some where will always find a way no make fun of it. So whether you name your LO Elin or Ruth [just an example] they'll run across some kind of hardship with it at some point in their life. HTH!

cdsmith714 · July 2013

my name is Cassandra, pronounced Ka-SON-dra, everyone likes to pronounce Ka-SANDRA.

It doesn't bother me really, I've been correcting people forever so I got use to it.

bethughknee · July 2013

As a Bethany I got a LOT of Brittany, some Beverly, and people who think I want a nickname and just start calling me Beth.

The Brittany thing did get old but now I just think of it as people who don't slow down and READ. It really does depend on the person, I think.

I also think Elin is a very pretty name.

genaruthp · July 2013

My name is Gena pronounced "Jenna." It is annoying but you do get used to it. It makes it easy when telemarketers call.

Dishylo · July 2013

My name is Trisha and it's easy enough to pronounce but EVERYBODY spells it Tricia (which I hate - sorry if there's any Tricia's out there.....it's just that after 34 years, I'm done with it lol) and I always get "is that short for Patricia?". No - my name is Trisha, that's why I told you Trisha when you asked me what my name was. *sigh*

My last name is unpronounceable but it's a very old and British name and if you're not British, you likely wouldn't be able to pronounce it so it doesn't both me that much.

shakespearenluv · July 2013

One of my son's names is Brigham. I can't believe the mispronunciations I hear! It's Brig-um. Seems easy enough to me.

cpm1223 · July 2013

My name is Christine and every single dance teacher I ever had called me Chris and I hated it SO much but I was young and didn't feel like I could correct people.

Other than that, my name is pretty straight forward.

dland0201 · July 2013

My name is Devra. You would think it would be simple only one letter difference between Debra and Devra. I have so much trouble with it people always call me Debra or Devorah. Even when people can see how it's written they will try to pronounce it as Dev-er-a, rather than just Dev-ra. It's really hard to spell to people on the phone. My email at work is my first name then the company name, I have to spell the entire thing out for people so many times. Whenever I go anywhere with other and you have to give a name I always give the other persons name that I'm with.

This is why we decided to do a more common name rather than uncommon for our child.

frenchielove777 · July 2013

Yes. My name is Merica (like "America" without the A in front). I'm so used to correcting people that it doesn't bother me anymore. It sort of did when I was younger.

FWIW, when I read Elin, I read it the way you want it pronounced. As PP said, I think people know the name well bc of the Tiger scandal!

MissSusieQ · July 2013

DS's name is Jeremy. Even DH pronounces in Germy. I'm sure he'll will get some horrible nick name do with that when he goes to school. I'm not too worries about it though. I think you could find a way to mispronounce any name. For goodness sakes I'm Susan. And I get Suzann all the time or people, like one if the Drs I work for, call me Sue. I just roll with the punches.

MountainRose12 · July 2013

My name is Alicia (pronounced a-lee-sha, which I consider to be the "normal" pronunciation). People get it right about 50% of the time. Initial mispronunciations don't bother me too much; the repeat offenders are annoying.

Elin is very pretty. And for what it's worth, I would pronounce it as Ee-lin under the assumption that if you wanted Ellen you would've spelled it that way.

csandroo · July 2013

I adore the name you have picked out! I've never heard it before, it's beautiful!

I always wanted a more unique name ... I think even if she has to occasionally correct people - once they hear her name they'll remark on it's lovliness and she will appreciate it!!

dland0201 · July 2013

carisue143:
I adore the name you have picked out! I've never heard it before, it's beautiful!
I always wanted a more unique name ... I think even if she has to occasionally correct people - once they hear her name they'll remark on it's lovliness and she will appreciate it!!

To go off the bolded, I do agree, after having to explain to people my name it always makes it easier when they comment on how pretty it is or how they've never heard it before.

teresakay78 · July 2013

For what it is worth...I love Elin and did no think Ellen for one second. I did think of Tiger's exwife though. I think people bootch names no matter what. I would go with it.

purple.cow.0206 · July 2013

cdsmith714:
my name is Cassandra, pronounced Ka-SON-dra, everyone likes to pronounce Ka-SANDRA.
It doesn't bother me really, I've been correcting people forever so I got use to it.

I'm EXACTLY the same, except for my name is spelled with 1 s, not 2. I get more annoyed with the spelling than the pronunciation.

sugarland726 · July 2013

PreDempsey:

My children will be getting traditional, easily spelled, and pronounced names.

Exactly this. My name is not pronounced wrong ever, but is spelled wrong constantly because there are easily 15 different ways to spell it. All my children will have conventional pronounced and spelled names. We even debated Caroline (care-oh-line) for this daughter, but then I realized it would likely be pronounced Carolyn (care-oh-lynn) frequently, so that name was crossed off.

jhunter89 · July 2013

Thanks for the input ladies! I agree with PP that pretty much regardless of what you end up naming a kid, someone, somewhere will misspell and or mispronounce it. I have a straight forward name with straight forward spelling (Jamie) but I get all sorts of different spellings, not limited to the other common Jaime spelling.

As for the whole Tiger Woods thing, all I can say is at least he cheated and not her so I don't have too many negative associations with the name

Thanks for all the love on our pick, it took a long time to settle on and I think it'll fit in with our DD's name and our boy pick nicely.

mrsjenni · July 2013

I think a lot of people would pronounce it correctly due to the whole Tiger Woods affair/scandal thing that went on. His ex-wife was Elin and it became fairly common after that! I know I pronounced it correctly right away.

That being said, my maiden name was hard for most to pronounce and I really didn't care about correcting people. If you love the name, I'd use it! It's very pretty.

karah4816 · July 2013

My name is karah, pronounced careuh a lot of people pronounce it caruh. I love my name because I've only met a few people with it and no one that spells it the same. By the way, I knew how to pronounce Elin

Shannahbee · July 2013

I think Elin is a beautiful name, and I would I assume it's pronounced that way by the spelling... That being said, my name is Shannah, which I also think is pronounced just like it's spelled Like Anna or Hannah but with the SH and more people get it wrong than right. I get SHAWNA or SHAYNA mostly. Sometimes Shannon. If I go to like a Starbucks, they always think I'm saying 'Jana' for some reason.
I do have to say... It does really bug me. Because even after correcting people, it's like they know they said it wrong the first time, but can't remember what the right way is. SO frustrating. Usually if it's someone I know I'll never interact with again, I just don't even correct them.

washyourhandsplease · July 2013

My name is simply Candi. However, people tend to think my name is Candace or Cindy .

nbbride06 · July 2013

My last name is easily mispronounced and it's super annoying. Sometimes wish I had kept my maiden name. I wouldn't do it to my kids, but to each their own. It is a beautiful name.

curlyfries1079 · July 2013

jhunter89:
Our top girls name (not totally set in stone, but pretty much), is Elin, pronounced Ee-lin. I know that the vast majority of the time, someone reading it (i.e. off an attendance sheet etc.) would say it like Ellen.
If you have a name like that, how much did it bother you? I figure it will be a once-per-person type deal since they would be corrected and everyone would move on and whenever she introduces herself, obviously people would hear the correct way to say it. Idk, thoughts?

HI, My name is Alicia but everyone pronounces it Alishia... It has been an irritating thing for me all my life to have to correct people. I even had to correct my sermin in the middle of my vows during my wedding... I love my name don't get me wrong but do feel like people get annoyed and irritated when I correct them... been that way all my life. I even went the point of not correcting people sometimes...

Also, I wanted to say The first time I saw Elin I totally sounded it out that way.

jamiecal · July 2013

jhunter89:
Thanks for the input ladies! I agree with PP that pretty much regardless of what you end up naming a kid, someone, somewhere will misspell and or mispronounce it. I have a straight forward name with straight forward spelling (Jamie) but I get all sorts of different spellings, not limited to the other common Jaime spelling.
As for the whole Tiger Woods thing, all I can say is at least he cheated and not her so I don't have too many negative associations with the name
Thanks for all the love on our pick, it took a long time to settle on and I think it'll fit in with our DD's name and our boy pick nicely.

I'm Jamie too! I don't know about you, but I get a LOT of people who don't know me that address me as Mr. Jamie (last name) - or even worse Mr. Jaime (pronounced hi-may)! That's the one thing I've always said about my baby name. If it's a girl, it will be a feminine name, and if it's a boy it will be more masculine.

My sister's name was a unique spelling, and she has had to correct a lot of people, but I think that's true of so many names. Elin is easy enough once you say it, and it's a beautiful name! It sounds exotic - in a good way!

jcbb12 · July 2013

My name is easily mispronounced and a typical boy's name. My mom had this great idea to name her child after a great uncle that she never met (thinking I would be a boy). When I came out a girl, she kept it anyway, and I get crazy looks from people all the time. So, moral of my story, there are certain names that should stay one gender or the other, and I keep that in mind when naming my children. But if a name can clearly go either way, I'm fine with that.

However, mispronouncing is so common, I don't think that's a big deal. And I love the name Elin, btw.

ac1259 · July 2013

bethughknee:
As a Bethany I got a LOT of Brittany, some Beverly, and people who think I want a nickname and just start calling me Beth.
The Brittany thing did get old but now I just think of it as people who don't slow down and READ. It really does depend on the person, I think.
I also think Elin is a very pretty name.

My DD's name is Bethany and I figured she wouldn't have to worry about any of that! On top of the fact that our last name is ALWAYS mispronounced...Its my married name and I don't correct people anymore and it's only been 4 years. I've actually had people get mad at me when they don't say it right and I don't correct them!

Also, when I decided to name DD Bethany, everyone asked me if we were going to call her Beth....which we aren't planning on.

But I really do like the name Elin...it's pretty and unique!

jhunter89 · July 2013

MarBee1214:
I get irritated pronouncing and spelling my name for everyone...I specifically want to choose names for my kids that they will not have to spell to at least a semi-educated person. There are always idiots who can't spell or pronounce to save their lives but I'm trying to save my kids the frustration.
My girl name was going to be Livia but all I could hear in my head was my little girl telling everyone "its like Olivia without the O" ... so I'm re-considering

One of my best friends named her DD Liviya (I guess the 'y' changed the meaning), anyway, she already gets this and her DD is 10 months old. It's a pretty name, but yeah, the voice in your head is right.

salsamommy · July 2013

My name is Leah ... pronounced Lee-ah ... I have SO many people call me Lea (Lee) or pronouncing it Lay-ya ... it drives me crazy, but I can't be bothered to correct that many people in a day!

KEfam5 · July 2013

My name is Emyle, pronounced Emily. It is commonly pronounced Emil (E-meel) or Emil like Emily but without the "ee" sound at the end. I find it pretty irritating. Although, if a salesperson calls and mispronounces my name I know I can hang up because obviously they don't know me. It normally happens only the first time someone is calling my name, but increasingly more so as I grew up. It is irritating, but not so much as I would want to change my name or something, more along the lines of it's a silly thing I wish I didn't have to "worry" about.

berenely · July 2013

My name is Elyse and I mainly get called Elsie (mostly by older people). Sometimes Alyssa. Honestly, after 25 years, I answer to anything. It doesn't bother me because I like my name and I'm used to correcting people: school, doctor's office, and at my job (bank). It's getting better though, because it's becoming more popular.

I think Elin is a beautiful name. If you like it, go for it. GL! HTH!

tesskerr · July 2013

My friend is an Alicia, but she pronounces it uh lee see uh. So I guess for a semi common name, there are so many ways to spell it!

LittleMommaBlueHen · July 2013

I have a very hard to read & pronounce Irish 1st name and though always having to correct people drove me nuts as a child, I now really like my name. I am cautious not to give my children names quite as odd as mine, but if I really loved a name I probably would throw caution to the wind.

sunkiss674 · July 2013

My name has been mispronounced my entire life....my name is Halia pronounced (Holly-ahh) People just panic when they see my name but I've gotten so use to it I pretty much can tell when people are going to try to say my name.

BTW I really like your name choice!

baby2ra · July 2013

I think Elin is a beautiful name. I pronounced it correctly when I read your post. I would go with it if you love it!

forevergraceful · July 2013

My name is Tamara. There are 3-4 ways to pronounce my name. As a kid, I hated my name. As I have grown older, I have learned to love it and it's uniqueness. I do not correct people anymore though, I'll respond to any pronunciation. People eventually get it correctly.

I love the name Elin. As long as you are okay with consistently having to correct people, I don't see a problem with a name that is difficult to pronounce.

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