Alexei vs Alexi

Boy Names
1

We had such a difficult time deciding on a name for our son. A week before he was born, we came back to the name ‘[name_u]Alexi[/name_u]’ and it stuck. However, as a teacher, I was so worried that he would be forever grouped with girls on name rosters, especially because his middle name is [name_u]Lee[/name_u] (a family name that I couldn’t dispute).

So I suggested [name_m]Alexei[/name_m] instead, which is what we ended up using. I have some Ukrainian heritage, so I felt like it was okay. I actually liked the reference to that part of my family. The problem is that we still use the [name_u]Alexi[/name_u] (ah LEKS ee) pronunication - it just kind of stuck, especially bc we have a 4 year old daughter who says it this way - so I feel like there’s no changing ourpronunciation at this point. [name_m]Alexei[/name_m] is traditionally pronounced (ah leks AY).

He is one month old now, and no one is sure how to pronounce his name… Some people just pronounce it way wrong. Others pronounce it correctly (ah leks AY), but then I have to feel stupid informing them that we are deliberately pronouncing it wrong (ah LEKS ee).

I’m not offended if people mispronounce or pronounce it differently, but I’m starting to worry ( a lot) that I’ve set him up with a pronunciation / spelling nightmare. And it’s embarrassing to correct the people who pronounce it the right way!

Should I consider changing his name to ‘[name_u]Alexi[/name_u]’ and embrace the gender ambiguous name? [name_m]Just[/name_m] deal with it and hope that as people get to know him it’s less of an issue? I also don’t want to come across as ignorant by improperly pronouncing a name from a different culture - would our mispronunciation offend you if you were of Ukrainian /Russian descent?

Thoughts are appreciated, thanks for the help.

2

I would likely go with the [name_u]Alexi[/name_u] spelling in this situation. I wouldn’t want to correct people who are saying it correctly and I wouldn’t want to purposely pronounce a name incorrectly.

I think the name in general will come off as feminine to a lot of people because a lot of people are not exposed to anyone besides little girls named [name_u]Alexis[/name_u] or [name_u]Lexi[/name_u]. I don’t think the spelling will be the root of the problem, I think it will be people automatically assuming anything with the “lexi” sound is a girl. However, I don’t think that will be a long-term issue and once people are familiar with him & his name it will be a complete non-issue - especially if he decides to go by [name_u]Alex[/name_u].

So, yes, I’d go with my son being assumed female over people assuming his parents are ignorant to proper pronunciation/spelling (especially since you aren’t!)

3

I agree, I’d go for [name_u]Alexi[/name_u] in this situation.

4

Personally, I would keep it as [name_m]Alexei[/name_m] and just change your pronounciation to ah-leks-AY. If your son is only one month old, I doubt he recognizes it well enough that he would be confused. [name_m]Alexei[/name_m] looks more masculine and it’s a nice nod to your heritage, also saves you the hassle of changing all the paperwork. Unless you don’t like that pronunciation, of course. If you’re going to pronounce it ah-LEKS-ee, I would change the spelling to [name_u]Alexi[/name_u].