What is the first thing that pops into your head when you hear [name]Harriet[/name] Manis? Manis is pronounced with a long A. Honest opinions needed. I love [name]Harriet[/name], but the combo worries me.
[name]Harriet[/name] is really starting to grow on me, but with your last name I can see why you would have some reservations. I don’t think it’s that bad though.
I thought that Manis was said as Mannis not Marnis. I can understand using Manis if it is a family name or you are honouring a special person. However, as a good [name]Harriet[/name] combo there would be loads more combos out there that I would prefer and they would tend to be girly ones.
rollo
PS Oops so Manis is your surname? I don’t like the flow of [name]Harriet[/name] with the ah sound in your surname.
I heard the thing you are worried about IMMEDIATLY…um I would have some major [name]MAJOR[/name] reservations about naming a baby that…it IS that bad…you wanted honest…danger [name]Will[/name] Rodgers…lol
Yes, Manis is the surname. Sorry I didn’t specify that. My DH’s family pronounces it like “anus”. Although, a few people pronounce it like “mantis”. She’d be open to ridicule either way though. [name]Harry[/name] Anus or [name]Harry[/name] [name]Man[/name], take your pick. :-\
I really hate to be honest on these sometimes, but every time I hear/see the name [name]Harriet[/name], I think Hairy It. You know, like bigfoot or something 
I know that’s terrible, but kids can be really cruel, you know? I was always tall (and still am), so I’ve was called It, Bigfoot, and Sasquatch during school. Those names were [name]WAY[/name] more hurtful that Bean Pole or Stretch…
- [name]Kylee[/name]
I really hate that I can’t use [name]Harriet[/name]. 
It’s my DH’s grandmother’s name and out of all our grandparents, she’s definitely my favorite. I just love her spunky personality.
I’m not from the US so I didn’t hear the “Hairy” connection at all (hairy and [name]Harry[/name] are pronounced differently in my accent), but judging from your comments I assume that you are! Maybe you could use just [name]Hattie[/name] instead? Or something with a similar feel, like [name]Henrietta[/name]? Otherwise, I would either use [name]Harriet[/name] as the baby’s middle name or find out if Grandma [name]Harriet[/name] has a middle name you can use to honour her instead.
I’m with the others that see hairy when I see [name]Harriet[/name]. Sorry. I do like the suggestions by oldsienna, both the name and using [name]Harriet[/name] as a mn. I would like to honor my grandma if I ever had a daughter, but am not a fan of the name [name]Iola[/name]. So I’d use her mn of Margueritte as a mn for a daughter. (As I don’t really like that as a fn, either.) [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Hattie[/name] and [name]Hadley[/name], though. They have a similar feel and sound. Would either of those work?
[name]Harriet[/name] is a fabulous and strong name, doubly good with your personal connection and while Manis isn’t the best surname in the world I really don’t see how [name]Harriet[/name] goes with it any worse than any other name!
Hairy It seems a complete stretch to me, as does getting anus from Manis… kids won’t see that AT ALL unless it’s pointed out and for an adult it’s quite a distinguished name; [name]Harriet[/name] Manis MD is totally credible.
If you’re really worried then add a double-barrelled name e.g.:
[name]Harriet[/name]-[name]Anne[/name] Manis
[name]Harriet[/name]-[name]Eve[/name] Manis
etc.
But my truly honest opinion: Go with [name]Harriet[/name] Manis and stop finding tenuous things to worry about.
Personally it doesn’t really strike a connection with me at all. [name]Harriet[/name], [name]Jennifer[/name], Avrey, just another name. I wouldnt be worried to use it [name]Harriet[/name] Manis. Is [name]Harry[/name] [name]Man[/name] what your worried about? I would just give her a nn and she’ll be all set.
I like the suggestion from an earlier post to use [name]Hattie[/name]. That’s really cute. When I first read the name, before you clarified how to pronounce Manis, the very first thing to enter my mind was “praying mantis”. Given that manis is pronounced with a long “A”, I don’t hear the same thing; however, I think it would be difficult to carry that surname through junior high. I went through those years being called “measles” because of my surname, and that took a real stretch. Kids are mean.
I immediately thought of [name]Harriet[/name] the Spy. It took me a minute to get what you were saying, and that’s only because you specifically asked about the combo, so I already had it in my head that there must be something to look for.
I love the name [name]Harriet[/name] too. I don’t care as much for the nn [name]Hattie[/name], but it’s always available to your daughter if she decides she doesn’t want to go by [name]Harriet[/name].
If kids want to make fun of a name, they will find something to make fun of no matter what the name is. When I was in grade school, we got to pick a “Spanish name” for Spanish class. I chose the name “[name]Margarita[/name]” and noticed a small group of boys giggling. Why? they thought it sounded like “[name]Marga[/name]-retard.” Seriously. Kids can come up with anything and you can’t really prevent it.
It’s true that if kids want to pick on a name, they will find some way to do it. HOWEVER…
…putting a name on a silver platter for them is an entirely different story.
[name]Don[/name]'t name your child [name]Harriet[/name]. Kids [name]WILL[/name] see it. They [name]DO[/name] know this word. She [name]WILL[/name] be teased, and it WON’T go away as she gets older. I play an online video game, and one of the favorite past times of almost the entire population–adolescent and adult; male and female–of this game is taking the word “anal” and adding words from the game to it (i.e., Anal “Wrath”). It’s juvenile and disgusting, but they still do it, and they think it’s hilarious. Those of us who don’t participate in the “game” still get the jokes.
Bottom line: If you don’t want your daughter to be known as Hairy Anus, do not name her [name]Harriet[/name].
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Harriet[/name] and didn’t make the connection with Manis until others pointed it out. Of course now I can’t get it out of my head. Have you considered [name]Henrietta[/name] and calling her [name]Etta[/name]. This is my current crush, though I can’t use it (or [name]Harriet[/name]) as I have a [name]Henry[/name].
Oh dear…I saw the Hairy [name]Man[/name]/Hairy Anus, too. I think [name]Hattie[/name], [name]Henrietta[/name] ([name]Etta[/name], [name]Hen[/name], or [name]Hattie[/name]), or a double barreled name like [name]Harriet[/name]-[name]Eve[/name] would be a nice way to work the name and family memory in, too. Or maybe you can put [name]Harriet[/name] in the middle where it won’t be quite so much in the hot seat.
I definitely saw it and immediately knew what you were going to ask…It almost reminds me of one of those silly [name]James[/name] [name]Bond[/name] names that are intended to sound like something naughty.
I don’t think our accents are the same so I didn’t quite get the cnnection until it was pointed out, with that said I would not choose this name and find something else.
I love it. The nickname [name]Hattie[/name] is adorable.
Wow. Ok so [name]Harriet[/name] is off the list as a first name. I kind of already knew it was just because if I did name her that, those NN possibilities would always be stuck in the back of my mind and would drive me nutty. I was so mad at my brother in-law when he suggested that kids would make fun of my son’s name by calling him “bent over man”. My son’s name is [name]Benton[/name] [name]Grover[/name]. Now I carry that worry with me every day. :-\