You guys have been so helpful so far, I need to pick your brains some more!
My H and I love these names, but for some reason none of them is perfect:
[name]Coralie[/name] - pretty, but sounds too much like a pet name for [name]Coral[/name], and somehow not a name in its own right.
[name]Eulalie[/name] - I love this, but my H says it reminds him of eukelele :shock: and isnt quite sold on it.
Otillie - again, I love this, but we live near [name]London[/name] where people drop their “T’s” so she risks being “Oh’illie” or confused with utterly.
We love 3 syllable girls names, unusual but feminine and pretty and are kind of stuck on the “-lie” ending, but that’s not a necessity.
[name]Coralie[/name] - [name]Coralie[/name] has always sounded a bit… flimsy in my opinion. I much prefer [name]Coraline[/name], or just [name]Cora[/name].
[name]Eulalie[/name] - I agree with your OH on this one. I actually really dislike the English pronunciation (Which I believe is you-lay-lee, is it not?). However, I absolutely adore the French pronunciation which is oo-lah-lee
Otillie - I love this! It sounds gorgeous and exotic.
[name]Rosalie[/name]
[name]Natalie[/name]/[name]Nathalie[/name]
[name]Amelie[/name]
[name]Millie[/name]
[name]Tillie[/name]
[name]Billie[/name]
[name]Aurelie[/name]- Be careful, pronounciation on this one can be tricky and if said wrong… :shock:
[name]Sylvie[/name]
[name]Julie[/name]
[name]Ellie[/name]
Thanks ladies, I think we might have to give up on the “lie” ending, so many of the names are nicknames or just alternative spellings of “proper” names. I really don’t want anything trendy or cutsie IYSWIM?
I like [name]Aurelie[/name], but, it’s far too close to “orally” for my liking! I also like [name]Eugenie[/name], the only one I know is [name]Fergie[/name]'s daughter, which I think is what most people would associate it with.
Hmmmm, I’m terrified she’s going to end up being called “thingy”!
I’m not sure if this is of any comfort, but many of the names suggested might look like alternative spelling of “proper” names but they are actually the French version of names and are spelled correctly (In [name]France[/name] it would be bizzare to have a daughter named [name]Coralie[/name] who spells it “[name]Coraly[/name]” or “[name]Coralee[/name]”)
Seen as though I have a [name]Eulalie[/name], I thought I might as well chime in.
We are in Australia and pronounce her name “You lay lee”. I have to admit, there has been the odd ukelele comment but it doesn’t bother me at all.
You could always go with “You la lee” to avoid the association - and it’s closer to the French pronunciation anyway. I just liked that the ‘You [name]Lay[/name] [name]Lee[/name]’ version offered the nn of Lalie (lay-lee). It also felt more intuitive and less pretentious to our ears (for where we live). It really is just a matter of personal preference, though.
There is also [name]Eulalia[/name] if you’re willing to let go of the ie ending.
I think [name]Ottilie[/name] is gorgeous, too! I love suggestions of [name]Eugenie[/name]/a, [name]Elodie[/name], [name]Sylvie[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name].
[name]Do[/name] you like [name]Penelope[/name]? She was another contender for my daughters name. I too love that “ee” sound at the end.
I’ve never heard that one before. [name]Eulalie[/name] is beautiful.
Are you from the [name]East[/name] End? That’s the only accent or dialect I can think of where the name might be said like that.
I’ve heard a Londoner say [name]Ottilie[/name] over the web and it was nothing close to utterly and the Ts were not dropped. They were very obvious. I would expect most Londoners to pronounce a short “O” as a short “O”. Not a short “U”. I’m happy to be corrected otherwise.
I love the [name]Eugenie[/name] and [name]Sidonie[/name] ideas.
Kessed, we’re not quite the [name]East[/name] End, but Londoners in general have a habit of dropping their T’s when talking quickly or casually, of course it’s possible to pronounce [name]Ottilie[/name]/Otillie properly with a [name]London[/name] accent, I would just hate to hear such a pretty name pronounced so badly. As for the utterly/[name]Ottilie[/name] thing, it’s pronounced the same way except for the first sound and the “uh” sound is quite similar to the short “oh” sound really, I think it’s more open to teasing potential than mispronunciation on that score though.
I must have been listening to a horsey snob type or something. Everything was enunciated perfectly, perhaps overly (you know) and there was no ‘orrible letter droppin’. :lol:
To be honest, [name]Eulalie[/name] might get mucked up worse. I don’t think a lot of people would know what it was. [name]How[/name] much would [name]YU[/name] lally annoy you?
There’s nothing really wrong with -IE names. [name]Remember[/name] that lots of names that may not seem to be nicknamish really are. [name]Elise[/name] is a nickname. It’s really no more formal than [name]Elsie[/name]. We are just used to seeing the eeeeeee sound as sweeter than others. Lots of legit French names (like mentioned up thread) end in -IE.
