is it that hard to pronounce????

bawags · September 2013

Alright, so my daughter Miriam is 8 months old now and I LOVE her name. I am really frustrated though by all the people who can't seem to pronounce it correctly. I keep having to repeat myself when telling her name and then find people (EVEN THE IN-LAWS!!!!) mispronouncing it. People call her what sounds like Maryum, Maryim, Maryam, Marian, Marion, Maryanne. Do you find it difficult to say Miriam? like mir (beginning sound of word mirror)-"e"-um

==N== · September 2013

I love Miriam!!! And no, definitely not too complicated. You'd think since it's an "old lady" name they'd have known some before.

magfranklin · September 2013

No I don't have hard time pronouncing it, it's a beautiful name, my niece's name is Eliza and people pronounce it wrong, I think when people aren't in love with a name they act like it's impossible to pronounce. It's lovely well done!

allardr · September 2013

I struggle with a lot of names but even I think that's a pretty easy Meer-E-Um

lilegg · September 2013

I think Miriam is really pretty! And no issue on pronunciation, I don't think it's remotely complicated.

diamondduck13 · September 2013

Going against the grain - with people's different accents and familiarities, and the various ways of saying names very similiar to Miriam, I'm not surprised (when they just hear it and not read it). The fact it has already happened so much suggests it's never going to stop, so I suggest decide to be ok correcting people or go with a NN if it's going to continue bugging you this much

ETA for clarity

capulet · September 2013

It's a beautiful name and not that hard to pronounce. DD has an unfamiliar but phonetically pronounced name and people get it wrong all the time. I think it's a risk when you use a name that isn't super common, but it's worth it to have a distinctive and beautiful name.

Scarlett&Gatsby · September 2013

Yeah, I think Miriam is pretty easy. But I've heard it mispronounced like "Mary-um," even in church, by the pastor. I don't know what people find difficult about this name. It's pretty straight forward.

zaramarie81 · September 2013

No, it's a classic, easy name! This happened with a family member of mine named "Elise." You'd think her poor parents had made the entire name up out of thin air the way people stumbled over it! (AY-leees?? Alice? Ellis? Uh-Uh-Ah-LEES? C'mon people! This is a classic name!).

shannm · September 2013

I like the name and think it is strange that people have a hard time saying it.

mh89 · September 2013

I love the name and wouldn't have any trouble pronouncing it.

Maybe the influx of trendy, misspelled names is making people more lazy since they expect to pronounce a name they haven't seen before incorrectly anyway.. so they don't even bother trying?

allardr · September 2013

mh89 said:

I love the name and wouldn't have any trouble pronouncing it.

Maybe the influx of trendy, misspelled names is making people more lazy since they expect to pronounce a name they haven't seen before incorrectly anyway.. so they don't even bother trying?

I will say as a teacher looking at class lists is ridiculous. Even some I think "oh a real name I can pronounce" and then they have some "special" way of saying it. It does get annoying so I start to just think I'm going to get them all wrong anyway so who cares. Maybe it does have to do with more new spelling & new pronouncing of names out there. Classics are getting forgotten.

ho11yday · September 2013

As previously mentioned, you can keep correcting people or come up with a nn that they are less likely to mispronounce. On the other hand, you can shrug and go on your way. In the end, it is not life-changing (just bothersome) that the in-laws have a problem with the meer- vs. mare- sound. Funny how my MIL cannot pronounce her own son's LN correctly.

I have a common name, traditionally spelled and pronounced and people still mispronounce it. Partly, like pp said, it is an issue of different accents/cultures. I correct them once and then call it a day. If they don't care to change it, then I won't bother correcting them.

Also consider, some people may not hear the (somewhat subtle) difference. I have a hard time hearing the difference between ruin and rune or pin and pen or crown and crayon. My mother would probably be one of those people who thinks she pronouncing Miriam correctly.

Sam Buttons · September 2013

While I would pronounce Miriam the way you, it is my MIL's name and she pronounces it Maryum. So, I understand people's confusion. Either live with correcting people or go with a nn, Eventually people close to you will catch on.

KateLouise · September 2013

I don't think there's anything hard about Miriam.

But our daughter's middle name is Hermione, and I've been shocked (in light of Harry Potter) how many people have no idea how to pronounce it. In fact they don't even attempt it, or they go, "Oh, um Her- Her- um, that's unusual, how do you say that?"

catahoulatte · September 2013

I don't think so. It's a gorgeous name, btw.

People have difficulty with what seem to be very simple names. I don't really get it. You should hear the butcherings my poor brother Sean gets.

jnnfrrose6 · September 2013

Are you sure the problem isn't just an accent thing? I go to the correct pronunciation myself, but I also live in the south and wouldn't be surprised at all with someone with a thicker drawl getting it wrong.

Also don't know what the big deal is. Pronounce it the way you want, correct when you want, don't when it's not worth it, and move on. If it bugs you that much with the ILs, have your SO talk to them about it.

micaelasmakeup · September 2013

Meer e um or mar e um, it's anne dre ah to ahn dre uh.
It's so subtle it just whether she wants to be obnoxious about it as she grows up.
But yes I expect grandparents to say it the way mommy and dad say it.

NerdyLucy · September 2013

I don't see how Miriam is difficult to pronounce, but having said that, I could see how certain accents may make it sound like Mary-um.

Where I'm from, there are people that say "miracle" like "maracle." Like the word "mare."

I could imagine those same people saying Mary-um instead of Miriam. They don't really hear the difference.

is it that hard to pronounce????

Re: is it that hard to pronounce????

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