My husband and I love the name [name_f]Cora[/name_f]. We think it is adorable on a little girl, but will age well on an adult too. We can’t use [name_f]Cora[/name_f] due to our last name, so we selected [name_f]Coralie[/name_f], nn [name_f]Cora[/name_f]. Whenever we talk about having a baby in the future, my husband even calls her “little [name_f]Cora[/name_f]”.
The problem is when we told his family the name (when we were pregnant with our son), they insisted on pronouncing it [name_m]COR[/name_m]-uh-[name_u]LEE[/name_u] (with emphasis on the 1st and 3rd syllable) instead of [name_m]COR[/name_m]-uh-lee (emphasis on the 1st syllable only with the last two syllables kind of running together). The way they pronounce it sounds like [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_u]Lee[/name_u], which I dislike. I have corrected them numerous times, they still say it like that.
She will typically be called [name_f]Cora[/name_f], so it almost seems like a non-issue, but it drives me nuts. Should we let this issue deter us from using a name we both love? Or should we use it anyways and just hope my in-laws just call her by her nn, Cora?
Know when to pick your battles, and honestly this doesn’t seem like one of them. If the baby isn’t even here, then I think it really isn’t that big of a deal.
I think if you will mostly call her [name_f]Cora[/name_f], it probably won’t matter. And hopefully they will learn after some time of actually having her in their lives. My FIL couldn’t pronounce my niece’s name until she was almost a year old (her name is pronounced [name_u]Fee[/name_u]-lo-may-na but he kept calling her fil-oh-mee-na). He finally got it down…and my [name_m]SIL[/name_m] didn’t even correct him, he just started saying it that way after hearing it for a year haha.
I don’t see it as an issue to be honest. You can’t really change someones dialect. Maybe try to get your family to just call her [name_f]Cora[/name_f], which it seems like she’ll be called that anyway. This is one of the cases where I would just let it slide, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to make an issue out of something that really isn’t a huge deal.
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] and [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] sound the same to me. If [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] is too “country” for you, perhaps you should consider a different name.
Thank you all for your responses. I suppose I did not articulate my question properly. I’ve no intentions of getting into it with my in laws, I simply was wondering if I should consider changing our name choice even though we adore it, or if we should use it anyway?
@southern.maple : I feel as though I offended you, and I am sorry. That was not my intention at all. There is nothing wrong with southern names, they just tend to remind me of my childhood (I grew up in Ga), which was a really bad childhood.
I don’t think it will end up being a big deal. I had a roommate whose name was [name_u]Braylin[/name_u]. I always pronounced it with emphasis on the [name_f]Lin[/name_f] only to find out later it was supposed to be [name_u]BRAY[/name_u]-[name_f]Lin[/name_f]. If it didn’t bother her enough to correct me and it was her name, I’d imagine your [name_f]Coralee[/name_f] won’t care either, especially if she’s going by [name_f]Cora[/name_f] most of the time.
I don’t know if it’s my accent or what, but the two different pronunciations don’t really sound THAT different to me, certainly not enough that I can see loving one but hating the other. I also have always heard it pronounced [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-lee, so I don’t think your inlaws are going to be the only ones who pronounce it differently than you’d like.
I don’t think it would deter me, though. I think as it’s already been said that once you guys are regularly pronouncing the name they’ll just naturally start pronouncing it the same way.
I can’t at all tell a difference in those pronunciations you listed. If the only difference is the in laws are emphasizing the last syllable more than you do, I’m not even sure it’s considered a different pronunciation, it’s just their incantation. It’s still the same name.
If the issue was they all said “[name_m]Cor[/name_m]-UH-lye” and you said “[name_m]Cor[/name_m]-UH-[name_u]Lee[/name_u]”, I might consider changing it (or be annoyed they didn’t try to say it my way), but with this subtle difference, they may not even notice or not be able to say it the same way you do because of accents or habits or whatever.
If you really hate how they say it, I might consider scrapping it, because I think you will hear a lot of people say it that way. Personally, no, I wouldn’t let a slight variance in pronunciation, even among family, sway my choice.
I am so lost.
Pretty sure the way you are saying it and the way they are saying it are exactly the same.
I wouldn’t fuss about this, at all, there is no way the way they are saying it is really any different.
Funny you say that because [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] & [name_f]Cora[/name_f] sound sooo country. You live in the South so you’re not getting away from [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. If it bothers you then don’t use it. All you want is [name_f]Cora[/name_f], right? Why not [name_f]Corinna[/name_f], [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], or [name_f]Corissa[/name_f]?
Hmm. I don’t think [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] & [name_f]Cora[/name_f] sound country at all…they sound old-fashioned to me, as in late 19th century. I see a little [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] in a frilly dress w/a big bow in her hair wearing her prized possession of a string of coral beads that she only gets to wear on special occasions. [name_f]Cora[/name_f] is either [name_f]Cora[/name_f] from Downton [name_u]Abbey[/name_u] or the little figurine from my aunt’s '50s-era Clue knockoff, Mr. [name_f]Ree[/name_f]. [name_f]Cora[/name_f] was a refined version of Miss [name_f]Scarlett[/name_f].
I’m not seeing much (if any) difference between pronunciations, but if you do, it could be highly annoying. Personally, I might choose another name, but that is up to you.
Me, I am [name_u]Leslie[/name_u] with a z sound and NO ONE in my family seems to grasp that (I am 53!). Next thing I am going to do is leave an outgoing phone message saying [name_u]Leslie[/name_u] with a Z SOUND is out!
I would definitely keep it if it’s the name you love!! The reality is that both you and your daughter are probably going to hear various pronunciations her whole life, be it from pediatricians, teachers, fellow students, the guy making her Starbucks. The people in her life who really matter are going to eventually catch on and say it correctly. I’d just keep pronouncing it the way you intend it to be said. It might not happen right away, but they’ll get it. (And when she’s old enough to correct them herself, she might even help you without your having to say more about it.)
Your decision, but I think you’d regret changing it at the end of the day solely for that reason.
To me, no one is addressing the real problem! In the south, names will be altered to sound like [name_m]COR[/name_m] a [name_u]Lee[/name_u] no matter what you name the girl.
[name_f]Marilyn[/name_f] [name_f]Louise[/name_f] will be called [name_f]Mary[/name_f]-[name_u]Lou[/name_u] in the south, [name_f]Marilyn[/name_f] in the north.
[name_f]Janet[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] becomes Janny-[name_u]Lee[/name_u] in the south.
If you name her [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_f]Ann[/name_f], she will be called [name_u]Corry[/name_u]-[name_f]Ann[/name_f].
So you MUST plan ahead. [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] will be called [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_f]Beth[/name_f]. (YES she actually was!) [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_f]Susan[/name_f] will be called [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_f]Sue[/name_f].
So go with [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] and choose the middle name with care… [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_u]Jean[/name_u] = [name_f]Cora[/name_f]-[name_u]Jean[/name_u], [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] [name_f]Maybel[/name_f] = [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_f]Mae[/name_f] and so on.
In the north, she can be plain [name_f]Cora[/name_f]. The modern spelling seems to be [name_f]Corah[/name_f].
@sexysugarmuffin - my comment is really just a general observation of dialect/accent pronunciation but I did want to wish you luck and hope you do have a beautiful little [name_f]Coralie[/name_f].
The pronunciation issue I think you will handle with diplomacy.
Originally I opened the thread because the title is relevant to us but we are Aussies. Well Brits in Australia with our own dialect pronunciation issues.
One thought -your daughter will love ‘[name_f]Cora[/name_f] -lee’ and make you feel ridiculous as only our children can.
We say baby /cot/ as in /dot/or /hot/
we think of Americans (very generally speaking) as saying closer to /cort/ as in /caught/ a fish.
So pronunciation of [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] for me, is /Coh- ra - lie/ but [name_f]Cora[/name_f] - /caura/.
We see this mostly with the name ‘[name_u]Laurie[/name_u]’ which we say as your [name_u]Lorry[/name_u]. And its a guys name, predominantly short for [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u].
I think it comes down to an individuals ability to hear a difference and register/decide if there is a need to make an alteration and then their ability to enunciate that difference. Sometimes its not.
Perhaps we -Aussies-Brits -have the advantage of more exposure to American accents than vice verse, because of the prevalence of American TV.
[name_f]Coralie[/name_f] is very lovely:)
I don’t pronounce Cora Lee and Coralie the same way at all. Maybe that’s just me? Cora Lee is CORE-UH LEE and Coralie means coral so to me it’s CORE-RAL-LEE. Perhaps I am putting the emphasis in the wrong spot, but yes, that’s my way of saying it.
Honestly, [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] and [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] sound exactly the same to me. Regardless of what name you select, someone is always going to pronounce it a little different than you’d like. My parents really wanted the “[name_u]Britt[/name_u]-knee” pronounciation to my sister’s name instead of “[name_u]Britt[/name_u]-uh-knee” so they chose to spell it “[name_f]Brittny[/name_f].” But you know what? A whole slew of people still pronounce her name [name_u]Britt[/name_u]-uh-knee even spelled the way it is. I don’t think this is the battle you want to fight.
I wasn’t offended. I just don’t hear a difference between [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] and [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u]. So I don’t understand your reasoning when you say that [name_f]Coralie[/name_f] is a-okay but [name_f]Cora[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u] is somehow too country. It seems like there’s some hair splitting going on.
