Hello! I’m sooo confused - hoping the experts in this forum can help me!
I have an adorable 3-month-old son whom we named Pau (yes, like the NBA player, it’s pronounced “pow”). I’m from Barcelona and I wanted a Catalan name. However, at the hospital my husband shut down every name from our finalists list and came up with this one and another one which doesn’t work with the surname. I had never considered this name but I was exhausted after labor, felt a bit cornered / caught off ward by the sudden changes, felt pressed to make a decision, so I thought okay. It’s Paul in Catalan and it’s super common in Barcelona, top 10 for the past decade or more. However, we live in NYC and plan on being there for the foreseeable future. The first 3 months postpartum were hectic and, although I never loved the name, I thought it was my postpartum hormones and I should stop overthinking things. But I can’t quite wrap my head around that name yet. I worry it sounds super weird in the US, when an English-speaker looks at it. That it lacks gravitas, sounds like a little kid name…
What do you folks think? Am I overthinking it? Or should I consider changing it? Is changing names even possible in New York?
Thank you!
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[name_m]Hi[/name_m], and welcome to nameberry!
[name_u]Pau[/name_u] is an adorable name, but if you really want to change it, I do believe it’s possible as far as I know. and if you don’t love your sons name I would consider changing it,
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Personally, I think [name_u]Pau[/name_u] is really handsome 
I don’t think it’s a strange name. NYC is a city with a huge immigrant population, and non-English names are nothing extraordinary there! That said, if you don’t love the name and want to change it, it’s definitely possible. If you decide to change it, I think it should be because you don’t like the name for your son, not because of what other people may think.
If it would help reassure you, it might be worth asking your friends or acquaintances who live in [name_u]New[/name_u] [name_u]York[/name_u] what they think!
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Thank you so much!!! Good point on asking folks in NYC! 
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I think having a name connected to your culture is great, especially if your son doesn’t grow up in said culture. [name_u]Pau[/name_u] seems easy enough tbh, it’s a simple correction and not a very long and complicated name to spell out. NYC is a pretty multicultural place anyway, people are used to names beyond [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_u]James[/name_u].
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[name_u]Pau[/name_u] is charming and distinctive, but I think the key thing here is that you’re comfortable and happy with it before he gets old enough to know his name - I’d say consider a few possible alternatives and see if they feel better than [name_u]Pau[/name_u]
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Thank you! Yes, one of the reasons we went with it is because it was short and simple, and almost impossible to misspronounce. However I’m now wondering whether it’s too short and simple - a monosyllabic name…
Thank you Greyblue!
Our initial choice was [name_m]Ferran[/name_m] (Ferdinand) but that proved hard for people to pronounce when we tested it with a few American friends. The next in our list was [name_u]Jan[/name_u] (John), which I looove but, out the blue, this is the one my hubby rejected in hospital, despite it being on our list for months. I think I should have insisted more but at that point I hadn’t slept in days!
Other possible alternatives that were not in our finalist list but might be better than [name_u]Pau[/name_u]: [name_m]Josep[/name_m] (Joseph), Domenec (Dominic), [name_m]Bernat[/name_m] (Bernard), [name_m]Marcel[/name_m], [name_m]Ernest[/name_m], [name_m]Conrad[/name_m], [name_u]Robert[/name_u] (same as in [name_f]English[/name_f] only slightly different pronunciation).
Any thoughts from this group? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you feel any of these are much better than [name_u]Pau[/name_u]? And from an English-speaking lens?
I don’t love [name_u]Pau[/name_u] but I could learn to live with it, I think. It was a compromise name rather than a name that either of us loved. [name_f]My[/name_f] main concern here is doing what’s best for my baby - ensuring he has a good name that won’t get him made fun of (I was bullied in school, so I’m very sensitive to that), that presents him to the world in a representative and meaningful manner, and that won’t close doors to him in the future. A name he will be happy with - really that’s all I need!
Thank you so much!
First, sorry to hear you’ve had this foggy and difficult postpartum situation - those first days/weeks/months can really do a number on us women.
First, I like Pau - it seems elegant, charming and friendly to me. Am not a New Yorker and I tend to think cultural meaning is more important but of the names on your list that I like and think could work in potentially more contexts than Pau and avoid the pow-pow joke (not that this is a big deal but it is a small risk with the name in a primarily English speaking country): Conrad and Marcel jump out. Robert is nice too but I think the others (Conrad & Marcel) have a bit more spunk! I also like Ferran - but I’m likely mispronouncing it (I’m saying it in a straight English way “FER-in”). What about Farren or Ferris or too Irish/Brit? I do think Jan might have been a bit tricky for a kid with (English) Jan being a pretty dowdy woman’s name - and a meme from the Brady Bunch “, “sure Jan” (meaning “whatever you say”). But as others have said, it is on others to adapt and be internationally minded!
Good luck, you have about 6-12 months until it gets a bit messy for an infant to have a name change. 
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Thank you, this is super helpful!
I wasn’t aware of the [name_u]Jan[/name_u] connotations in the US, so I’m definitely glad now that I didn’t push for that (you’ve just alleviated one of my major regrets, I.e., should I have pushed more for that).
You’re actually pronouncing [name_m]Ferran[/name_m] the right way! we just thought the double R was a bit too phonetically convoluted (and not something my 4 year-old can pronounce!).
Thank you, thank you!
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I’ve met a [name_u]Pau[/name_u] in Australia and it wasn’t hard to say or understand, I think it’s a lovely name. I agree with the above poster and if definitely stay away from [name_u]Jan[/name_u], I also went to school with a boy by this name and he was mercilessly teased, I know it’s a common masculine name in Europe but it is definitely a woman’s name in Australia at least and the kids are not as understanding as they could have been! I hope these actual meetings of people help with your decisions! All the best!!
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[name_f]Glad[/name_f] to have helped - and again, wish could just say “any name is fine” but [name_u]Jan[/name_u] would be a burden, unfortunately. I think you should ask a few more people about [name_m]Ferran[/name_m], it’s really nice! This is of course if you have your own concerns about [name_u]Pau[/name_u]. It has a gentle authority to it, so if you like it more than the others on your list, I would keep it.
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[name_m]Ferran[/name_m] is charming - how is it pronounced? I’m in the UK so my accent is different, but from looking at it and making a guess, it would be fine for me to pronounced. Is it Feh-ren or Feh-ran? those would be my instinctive guesses.
Of your other alternatives, I love:
[name_m]Conrad[/name_m] - strong, charming and cool
[name_m]Marcel[/name_m] - gentle but with solidity, I like it
I also think [name_u]Robert[/name_u] is a good choice too, if you don’t mind that in the US, people will instinctively pronounce it differently.
I do think people are more accepting of names these days, and yes, [name_m]Conrad[/name_m] and [name_m]Marcel[/name_m] might ‘blend’ more easily in an American classroom, but [name_u]Pau[/name_u] doesn’t feel too out there, if you think it’s right, and don’t prefer your other options. Is the NBA player familiar to people (I know nothing about basketball)? That could help make it more familiar?
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It’s so helpful to hear you’ve actually met a [name_u]Pau[/name_u] in Australia! And to help me feel better about not pushing for [name_u]Jan[/name_u] - so glad I didn’t now! It’s so common in Europe (John version not only in Catalan but also in [name_m]Dutch[/name_m], [name_m]German[/name_m], Polish, etc.). I didn’t know it was a woman’s name in Anglo-Saxon countries!
So relieved now that I didn’t push for [name_u]Jan[/name_u]! I was beating myself thinking it was better than [name_u]Pau[/name_u] and I should have insisted but I see I was wrong! [name_f]Glad[/name_f] to hear!
You’re spot on, it would be Feh-ran. I lived in the UK for a decade before relocating to the US and I think this is how a [name_u]Brit[/name_u] would pronounce it, yes! 
This is all soooo helpful! I’m from [name_f]Barcelona[/name_f] but haven’t lived there for 15 years - I’ve been between the US and the UK. And I think we’ll probably stay in either long run. [name_m]Hence[/name_m], my worry that names make sense. I want something that carries some of my culture but fits OK in Anglo-Saxon counties AND doesn’t sound as a perennial little boy name (another concern with Pau).
[name_f]My[/name_f] eldest was born while we were in the UK and she’s called [name_f]Emma[/name_f] - so easy and I absolutely love her name. Never thought I would struggle so much with a boy one! 
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@BcnToNyc that makes sense. [name_f]Emma[/name_f] is such an international and solid choice that I can see why naming a boy with the same qualities could be hard! Best of luck in deciding on the right thing for you and your family 
Congrats, & welcome!!
Regarding your question: I have to be honest that even though I really like the name Pau when I see it written down, if I heard it spoken I would immediately think, “Pow!”
I think it’s very likely that many kids will hear it this way too, which could create teasing potential on a playground. So with regard to what you said here, I don’t think Pau is the safest choice:
I also think what you wrote here is very important to consider:
It sounds like your intuition is telling you that this isn’t a name you feel 100% happy about, so I would probably vote for changing it.
I think Ferran is an amazing choice! It looks super cool, unique, and strong. Yes, it’s slightly unfamiliar, but I don’t think it would be difficult for an English-speaker to master fairly quickly (and it’s certainly no more unusual than Pau).
Domenec & Marcel are great choices too, and I especially like Conrad! I’ve always found it to have a slight association with “comrade”, which gives it a kind, friendly sound.
Robert is a completely safe and solid choice, too - just a bit less “interesting”, and he’d almost certainly be nicknamed Rob, so you’d need to be okay with that. (Note: I agree with others that Jan tends to read much more as a female name.)
P.S. Another idea: you could also use a slightly longer version of Pau (e.g. Paul / Paulo ) and nickname him Pau at home… Or perhaps change to Pol, which I think is Catalan as well?
Very best wishes!
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Fwiw, while [name_u]Pau[/name_u] is still popular in Catalonia for little kids, it’s also becoming popular for adults, so it’s maturing nicely.
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