I finally had my baby girl today after a long, painful labour. She’s gorgeous BUT, we still aren’t sure what name to go with - [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u] or [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u].
The problem with [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] is that there are varied pronunciations of the first syllable here in Australia and we have encountered some issues/confusion when we’ve said the name. It bugs me and I don’t want her to have issues with it. At the same time, the way we’re saying it is very much like in the film and I’ve had [name_m]French[/name_m] people say our pronunciation is good.
The problem with [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] is that it’s very popular here in Australia (it’s 13 this year) - in fact it seems it’s skyrocketing. That bothers me quite a bit but I don’t know if I just need to get over it? She’ll never have to explain or repeat her name if we go with this.
We love both names but each has a flaw. What do you think? I don’t feel she looks more like one than the other…
I really like [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u], however I think both are lovely, I just have a personal preference for [name_f]Amelie[/name_f].
I love both but [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u] wins for me -it’s lovely and i think people would get used to the pronunciation.
Congratulatuons, by the way!
You can’t go wrong with either, but my personal favourite is [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]. I know it’s popular, but if you love it I don’t think it’s an issue. I work with young children and rarely come across the name … Top names aren’t used nearly as much as they used to be. It has so much spunk and I love the association with [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl’s [name_f]Matilda[/name_f].
[name_f]Amelie[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u] definitely has my vote, even if it could be complicated. I have a name that I’ve also had to repeat/spell for people my whole life, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. She could also always decide to be called by a nickname or her middle name. In any case, I think it would be more bothersome to grow up with a name that everyone has. I know a lot of people that have grown to dislike their name because it’s just like everyone else’s.
I don’t think challenges with pronunciation and memory is necessarily a deal breaker. I think of it like this; the people on the peripheral of her life may sometimes struggle, but the people who really matter are going to get it right. That said, I also butchered the pronunciation. I guess it’s no help that I’m Australian too.
I understand your concerns about popularity. It’s something that bothers me as well. But I wonder how often she will actually bump into one. In 2018 [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] was ranked #21 with 773 occurrences out of approximately 309,000 births. If my maths is correct that works out to be 1 [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] in every 2 schools at any point. On the other hand, [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] looks and sounds very similar to [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] ranked #4 with 1344 occurrences. Does that detract from the name?
My personal preference is [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]. The film definitely gave me a great impression of the name, but I also prefer the clearer, more distinct sound of [name_f]Matilda[/name_f]. I find the last two syllables of [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] run together because the “m” and “l” produce more closed sounds.
For [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] you could always use a nn, if popularity is a problem? [name_f]Tilly[/name_f], [name_f]Millie[/name_f], [name_u]Mattie[/name_u], [name_f]Tilda[/name_f], [name_f]Tilla[/name_f], etc.
As for [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] I can understand that mispronouncing or spelling problems. But if that occurs, I’m sure you can get pass that. Itll be a sometimes occurrence, and most people are fast learners.
I like [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] more, but that’s personal preference.
Thanks so much for your input and well-wishes everyone. It’s so hard but I think we’re going to go with [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] - I think! We’ve been calling her that for ages now and even though it may come with some difficulties it feels odd switching now. If it were just me there’d be some other options ([name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Margot[/name_f], [name_f]Celine[/name_f], [name_f]Violet[/name_f]) that I’d consider but my partner adores [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] and that’s important. And we can always use [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] next time if we have a girl! Thanks again
BUT, we still aren’t sure what name to go with - [name_f]Amelie[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u] or [name_f]Matilda[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u].