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Pronunciation Debate/ vent?

Katm89Katm89 member
in Baby Names
Hi Guy,
So my husband and I have had names picked out for FOREVER. I just found out that our hypothetical daughters name is pretty controversial and now I am second guessing using it but I am so in love with it. Our two names we have been set on are: Atom Davis( for a boy) and Halley Florence( for a girl). We picked Halley after "Halley's comet" but I just looked up reviews of the name and some people believe the comet to be wrongfully pronounced and actually be pronounced like Valley. We really want it to be pronounced like Hailey but we want it to be after the comet to invoke the image. This is the only name DH has agreed on for a girl and we love it deeply but I read that if a child's name is often mispronounce and spelled wrong they will have a harder time with reading comprehension and do bad in school. Help!? What do you guys think? I know our names probably won't be anyone's taste lol, but I am more curious about how you believe the comet is pronounced. Apparently its old english from the 1600s and is believed to be pronounced both ways.
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Re: Pronunciation Debate/ vent?

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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    So interesting! In school they pronounced it like "Hailey" in class. Mind me asking what part of the country you are from? I wonder if the pronunciation difference is a state by state thing. I just youtubed some videos of Halley's comet and they pronounced it like Valley, it's so crazy I've just never heard it like that haha. Whatever I don't hate it... but on wikipedia they say it's pronounced both ways and both ways are right lol
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbsDPbr8qoM

    he pronounces it like "hailey" lol why is this so difficult
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  • benmel31benmel31 member
    As a reading teacher, I can say I have never heard of a correlation between a name and reading comprehension. That said, I also consider Halley as in the comet a rhyming word for valley. There are many spellings and pronunciations for this name. I would go with the combo you like best.

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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    Haha, okay so I just did a bit more research and turns out in the 1950s Billy Halley and the comets came out and influenced the pronunciation like "Hailey" so for a while they taught it in schools pronounced like "hailey" but scientist pronounce it like "valley" and they say their is evidence that it is actually pronounced "Hawley" but no one knows for sure because Sir Edmunds last name changed spelling a million times. I would like it keep it referring to the comet even if the pronunciation changes but then it screws up the sound of the middle name which was a grandmothers name.
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    edited August 2015

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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    @jeanbug12 you are the first person to call the comet that lol. I thought I was going crazy. Dh is sad bec I obviously want her to be named after the comet and if most ppl pronounce that like valley then so be it
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  • jeanbug12jeanbug12 member
    I actually like the name Halle (like Halley pronounced like valley) better than Hailey! If I named my daughter after the comet though I would want to say it like Hailey since that is how I pronounce the comet, but if all the scientists are saying it the other way maybe I am wrong! Do you like it pronounced like valley? Maybe go with that!
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    I like it like Hailey lol but I'd hate to have to explain that we'rd not ignorant every time we correct ppl. I don't hate it like valley but it sounds bad with the middle name florence
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  • kanga915kanga915 member
    I say the comet as rhyming with valley. I like that better than Hailey, personally. Yes, she will correct people a lot. No, it will not hurt her academically. That's just silly.
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  • parenthood4parenthood4 member
    I've always said it and heard it pronounced like valley. My dad liked the name for me, but my mom said no.

    My understanding has always been Halley/Halle are pronounced the same (like valley) and Haley/Hailey are pronounced the same, with a long a.

    If you want it pronounced Haley/Hailey, then spell it that way.

    If you want it pronounced Halley/Halle, then spell it that way.

    I wouldn't be worried about the school connection, but I would be worried about what a pain it would be her entire life if her name is not pronounced correctly. I wouldn't want to deal with that, and I wouldn't want my child to either.

    For what it's worth, I think Halley/Halle/Haley/Hailey are all perfectly nice names!
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    Thanks guys!
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  • Lindsaym5!Lindsaym5! member
    Maybe it's just me but either way you pronounce it I have never thought of the comet when I've heard either of these names.
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    That's a shame
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  • theGDpaterfamiliastheGDpaterfamilias member
    I pronounce it like Valley as well. The comet is the only thing I think of with that pronunciation and doesn't come to mind at all with the Hailey name. That said, I'm pretty heavily anti-surname as FN so I'm not really into it. For what it's worth, you'll do just as much explaining with a name like "Atom" as you will "Halley."

    Anyway, some other astronomy suggestions:
    Despina (one of Neptune's moons)
    Elara (Jupiter's third largest moon)
    Sally (Sally Ride)
    Lyra (a constellation)
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  • PreggersinParisPreggersinParis member
    I've always thought Halleys Comet was pronounced "Hailey." There's a even a Phish song with this title and it's pronounced this way, but those guys (including me) are east coasters, so perhaps it's pronunciation is regional. Great name and reference, by the way! Good luck!
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    Yea, I think the east coast thinks its Hailey. Shame. We found another name we like just as much without the frustration of Halley. Rhea ( Ray-uh) the Goddess is pronounced this way but it is also a moon but they pronounce the moon Ree-uh.... I'll go with Rhea Florence. Halley just makes me angry lol
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    @theGDpaterfamilias most people won't get that it is "atom" unless they see it spelled. So at say a play group I wouldn't have to explain and who can't pronounce Atom? Sure, it's different but I won't have to explain that
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    Thanks, DH found it today over coffee, it is the mother of Zeus as well as a moon of Saturn
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  • CaboBride2015CaboBride2015 member
    Lindsaym5! said:

    Maybe it's just me but either way you pronounce it I have never thought of the comet when I've heard either of these names.

    I was thinking this as well.
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  • CaboBride2015CaboBride2015 member
    Atom as in Adam? I'd be way more concerned about people's confusion and bias's when they see Atom than any Hailey pronunciation issues.
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    I'm not spelling Adam like Atom. Our son's name will be "Atom", it sounds like Adam and that's fine. I know it's out there but its perfect for our family and we have been calling our future son Atom for 3 years now and we only love it more
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    https://www.babynamescience.com/baby-name/Atom-boy

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  • haileeshailees member
    Thought I'd weigh in with my personal experience. I am a Hailee and my maiden name sounds a lot like comet. As you can imagine, growing up I got a tooooon of comments. Not super funny after the 100th time! It's not as common for people to say that now, unless they're older.

    Even with my name being spelled fairly phonetically, it still got pronounced incorrectly (like Valley) quite often. With the Halley spelling, she will most likely be correcting people for the rest of her life if you are truly going to pronounce it as Hailey. And reading it, it also looks like it could be pronounced as Holly (considering how hall is pronounced). Whether your ok with that is totally up to you!

    All that being said, one of the spellings of Edmonds last name was Hailey. If you want to make it easier to pronounce, you could spell it that way and the meaning would remain the same, since technically that is a variation of his name. Plus, it is a version of his surname that is also a true first name.

    Personally, I have not enjoyed having a difficult to spell and pronounce name. When naming my children, I will choose names that are spelt correctly (not that yours is incorrect) and easier to pronounce. I should add, I excelled at reading at a very young age so.. Not sure I'd be concerned about that :)

    Good luck!
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  • Katm89Katm89 member
    edited August 2015
    https://www.babynamescience.com/baby-name/Rhea-girl

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  • groovylocksgroovylocks member
    edited August 2015
    Yeah my  name was long, hard to spell (not mispronounced though..) and i was reading (not perfectly literate but literate) before preschool. I also read above my grade level consistently all the way through school. Why? Because my mom read to me and I, i turn, loved to read. Had nothing to do with my name :) I now write for a living. As in, professional writer. 

    Don't worry about any of that. 

    Btw, just as a side note, I really love that you chose names like Atom and Halley. We were considering "sciency" names for a long period of time and were really fascinated with "Edison" (back when we thought she was a he) but didn't want to content with "Eddie" as a nickname. 
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  • Rabbitheart15Rabbitheart15 member
    Rhea is such a great name!

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  • BeeKayy21BeeKayy21 member
    https://www.behindthename.com/name/halley/submitted

    The actual pronunciation for Halley is like Valley. Why not just spell Hailey/Hayley correctly if you do not want confusion?
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  • sarahsnowballsarahsnowball member
    jeanbug12 said:

    I say the comet like Hailey, but when I first read the name I said it in my head like valley. Without the comet reference I would pronounce it that way, I think she will be correcting people her whole life.

    ^^^ all of this. In the UK it's known as 'Hailey's' comet but when I first saw your post I read it like valley.
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  • groovylocksgroovylocks member
    BeeKayy21 said:
    https://www.behindthename.com/name/halley/submitted The actual pronunciation for Halley is like Valley. Why not just spell Hailey/Hayley correctly if you do not want confusion?
    There it is. I wasn't sure myself, honestly. 

    No, I get why she wants to spell it Halley. Because of the nod to science. (Am I right op?)

    This is a tough one.. Because the nod to science gets a little shaky if it turns out it's mispronounced. 

    If it helps, I think the pronunciation "Halley like Valley" is quite pretty and less common than "Hailey like Bailey". It probably doesn't help since you already said you prefer the latter. But just saying.. 
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  • lucky1187lucky1187 member
    I would spell it the way you want it pronounced. Correcting people daily does get old, and irritating. I have a great name, but I believe you as parents you will feel better if you spell it how it is said. Also people will not know that Halley's Comet is spelled differently then Hailey. Besides after the comet image is gone, and you look at your beautiful daughter making her life easier probably is not a bad thing. Just my 2 sense, coming from someone who's name is a beautiful legitimate name, but no one can spell or pronounce properly.
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  • letyourheartbeyourguideletyourheartbeyourguide member
    If you want the name in reference to Halley's comet, spell and pronounce it that way (fwiw - I'm from the east coast and pronounce Halley like Valley). If you want it pronounced Hailey like Bailey, spell it that way.

    I have a friend whose name is Caroline, pronounced Caro-lynn rather than Caro-line. She's constantly correcting people.
      

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