Hello writers! Wowee, it’s been a long time since I’ve so much as even [ITALICS]thought[/ITALICS] about writing let alone got so far along that I need help naming a character! (5 years to be exact). But hey! Here I am.
I have the perfect name in my head for a developing character, my only problem is I’m not sure how to spell it…the name is two syllables with the first syllable pronounced like the word ‘fee’, but with a ‘th’ at the start instead of an ‘f’ and the second syllable is the more prominent one and sounds like ‘ace’
Is this for a male name? It feels male to me and having the stress on the second syllable is going to be hard since the majority of male names have the stress on the first syllable so people will likely naturally place the stress there when reading. If you added an additional syllable you’d be more likely to get the pronunciation you’re wanting since most male names that don’t have the stress on the first syllable are 3 or more syllables.
Thiase seems like the most straightforward. Though I do think people would more naturally fall into pronouncing it THE-ace. You’d probably have to put it in a covert pronunciation guide–like one character mocking his name and rhyming it with [name_m]Boniface[/name_m] or something.
Making it Thiassen (thee-[name_m]ACE[/name_m]-en) or something similar might increase your chances, but again, it’s such a natural/common instinct to stress the first syllable of a man’s name that it would be difficult outside of tricks to be sure of having it the way you like.
Thanks for the replies! I completely understand where you’re coming from @kala_way. I’m not sold on adding an extra syllable, but Thiassen, even with the first syllable stressed gives me the same vibe, so I will consider it. Thank you.