I was just deeply reminded of it today for some reason… ^^
I think of [name]Klaus[/name] Baudelaire of the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, and think it’s super charming and quirky and nice and all those things… In the film, they pronounced it more like house (only with a K and a long a) then the last half of [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name], a connection I’m VERY aware of… My question is this: Could it be used in spite of the [name]Santa[/name] connection?? And what do you think of it as a name? (With the pretty, rhyming with house pronunciation…)
Please be honest!! I have a hard time with this since I’m Norwegian, and we call [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name] “Julenissen” and [name]Klaus[/name] is a perfectly respectable, although practically unused name these days…
And if it matters, I can’t stand [name]Nicholas[/name]… (personal reasons…)
In the film, or at least the British version, it is spelt [name]Klaus[/name], which I think eliminates a lot of the [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name] association.
I adore [name]Klaus[/name], and I think it is both handsome and unusual, and exactly the right blend of strong and soft …
It’s been a while since I saw the film (or read the books for that matter) so I’d forgotten they spelled it [name]Klaus[/name]…
[name]Do[/name] you really think it’s enough to just change one letter and suddenly people won’t think too easily about [name]Santa[/name]? It’s hard for me to understand, 'cause the whole changing of a letter is not a phenomenon I’m familiar with in any other way than reading about it, and people usually say the opposite, that changing some letters only makes it more unique on paper, but it’s still the same name (even though I can hear differences in the pronunciations of [name]Madelyn[/name] and [name]Madeline[/name], but I know you have fewer vowels in English compared to Norwegian…)
I’m just curious ^^
(I also edited the first post to be true to facts ^^)
No need to apologise, I need honesty in order to assess the name properly and decide whether to use it as a first or middle name, or maybe not at all!! So thank you for your honesty! ^^
I think I probably think of [name]Klaus[/name] Baudelaire because I know the film, but others who don’t would most likely immediately notice the similarity to [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name] … (Also, I usually call him Father [name]Christmas[/name].)
I still love the name, though, and if I lived in a non-English speaking country I wouldn’t hesitate to use it!
I’ve never thought of it before now, but [name]Klaus[/name] is a great name. And once you see it with the middle and last names (ex. [name]Klaus[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] Johansen, first thing I though of) I don’t think of [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name] at all.
Where you live probably makes a big difference. I still can’t really wrap my head around it, but that doesn’t really matter. There are plenty of people who don’t make the association, so thats good! There may always be some people who think of [name]Santa[/name] but again, the number of those who do/don’t probably depend on where you live. Bottom line, there are always going to be differing opinions about a name…no matter what it is. So if you love it, than go for it!
[name]Klaus[/name]
Okay I think of the “ho ho ho” man. Sorry but if you live out of this country, Fantastic. But when he is in say elementary school it will be very hard for kids not to associate it. I can see them calling him “Hey [name]Santa[/name]”. Kids don’t care how it is spelled, but how it sounds.
I actually live in Norway, but it doesn’t make it any better… We use [name]Klaus[/name] as a nickname for Claustrophobia, and that’s pretty widespread… Also, the Norwegian language makes sure we have NO confusion as to pronunciation, so I can’t hide behind an alternative one to make the connection harder to make, which is blah… I also have very high ambitions of moving to [name]England[/name] in the near future, so that eliminates that “advantage”…
I’d really just like more people to tell me their first thought about [name]Klaus[/name], to get a clearer view of what majority would say if I named a future son [name]Klaus[/name] ^^
I like [name]Klaus[/name] better than [name]Claus[/name]. Okay this may seem silly but are we talking about the same pronunciation as [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name] or like klows? Is that even right? My mind read klows with the K spelling and claws with the C spelling.
Honestly with [name]Claus[/name] I would see [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name], with [name]Klaus[/name] it is very [name]German[/name] to me and I would say klows and not make the association with Jolly [name]Saint[/name] [name]Nick[/name].
Until you mentioned it, I didn’t think of [name]Santa[/name] at all, but rather [name]Klaus[/name] Meine, lead singer of the Scorpions (yes, I’m a complete [name]Gen[/name]-Xer). I actually brought the name up with my hubby last month and although he didn’t care for it, he too first thought of the 80’s heavy metal band. Most people my age (in the US, who liked that music) would know it’s “Kl-ow-sss,” not “Kl-aw-z”, but that’s a rather narrow population. It’s riskier than other names, but I like [name]Klaus[/name] very much - it’s simple and unique without going too far. Go for it!
I agree with the last few posters who do have a pronounciation difference with the change in spelling. I don’t think it’s the same as, say [name]Chris[/name] and [name]Kris[/name]. I would certainly think [name]Santa[/name] if I saw [name]Claus[/name] or heard ‘claws’ but I would not if I saw [name]Klaus[/name] or heard ‘kl-house’
Thank you everyone! the last few comments have made me more confident that I’m not completely off my rocker for liking [name]Klaus[/name], so I feel better about using him now… Thanks!
The combo I had in mind was [name]Klaus[/name] [name]Eoghan[/name] [name]Concord[/name], which is a bit heavy on the deep vowel sounds, but I kind of like that ^^
I love the name [name]Klaus[/name], but it has to be with a K. I don’t think the [name]Santa[/name] thing would be a problem once how the name is pronounced (like “house”) is explained.
I like [name]Klaus[/name] a lot, but I think I would put it in the middle. However, noting your intended middle name, I’m not sure I would put [name]Eoghan[/name] in the first spot either… you are more adventurous than I.
I am sorry but I have to chime in and tell you that I keep hearing [name]Klaus[/name] [name]Barbie[/name] and its a really negative connotation for me.
