Sorry for posting again but I don’t know what to do. With the help of you berries we decided on the name [name]Maxwell[/name] [name]Tate[/name]. We’ve been calling the baby [name]Maxwell[/name] and my almost two year old now says baby “bruyer” [name]Maxwell[/name]. I loved it. Until yesterday, I was saying it out loud and realized a big problem. In college in a public speaking course my instructor brought to my attention (in front of everyone after my speech) that I had a slight lisp/speech problem. When I say the letter “S” there is s little bit of a whistle. I hadn’t realized or thought of it until yesterday that this happens when saying [name]Maxwell[/name] ([name]Maks[/name](slight whistle)well. Now it’s all I can think about. I don’t want to feel self conscious(sp?) about saying my child’s name. Names that start with “s” were always a no but this wasn’t obvious to me. My fiance said he’s never really noticed the lisp (maybe he will now that I’ve pointed it out) but I mentioned it to my old boss after the speech who I’d worked for for years and he said it was noticeable, and that it bothered him sometimes. My last name starts with S so I do have to say it a lot and most of the time I don’t think about it. But I think I will be saying [name]Maxwell[/name] so much it will bother me. Sorry so long… what do I do? Btw I’m due in [name]April[/name], so theres still time.
Change the name selected or work with a speech therapist to get rid of or minimize the lisp or learn to accept your lisp.
Some different name suggestions:
[name]Alfred[/name]
[name]Archibald[/name]
[name]Arlo[/name]
[name]Benjamin[/name]
[name]Callaghan[/name]
[name]Gregory[/name]
[name]Halloran[/name]
[name]Heath[/name]
[name]Jeffrey[/name]
[name]Julian[/name]
[name]Magnus[/name]
[name]Michael[/name]
[name]Nathaniel[/name]
[name]Peter[/name]
[name]Oliver[/name]
[name]Rafferty[/name]
[name]Raphael[/name]
[name]Roman[/name]
[name]Theodore[/name]
[name]Vincent[/name]
hugs I’m sorry this is happening. It sounds upsetting and frustrating. First I’d like to say – having a lisp isn’t bad at all! I’d recommend against speech therapy, only because it will be VERY expensive, you’ll have to work VERY hard and practise an obscene amount, and you’ll likely not see any results at all (or very minimal). Since the lisp has not naturally corrected itself yet, it’s probably here to say (baring surgery). Since your husband doesn’t notice it, it stands to reason a lot of others don’t notice it either. If you love the name [name]Maxwell[/name], I recommend keeping it. [name]Maks[/name]/[name]Max[/name] is a lovely nickname. [name]Say[/name] it over and over to yourself and see if you can get comfortable saying it aloud. Also, “[name]Mac[/name]/Mak” makes a lovely nickname for [name]Maxwell[/name], too. That way, your son can still have the handsome name you want for him, but you don’t feel self-conscious when you call to him.
Since you have some time left before the due date, you can certainly let yourself consider other name options. Try not to stress about it too much, as in the scheme of things, a lisper with a son named [name]Max[/name] may feel really huge, but I’m sure when you see his darling face, all of those worries will dissipate.
If you love [name]Maxwell[/name], then stick with it. Who cares if you have a slight whistle. If it’s just been pointed out to you, either a lot of people don’t care or just haven’t noticed it themselves. Your kids love and will love you no matter what. [name]Sean[/name] [name]Connery[/name] has a whistle, and he’s one of the sexiest guys on the planet, right?
What a bad situation! I think you can use [name]Maxwell[/name] and have [name]Mack[/name] as a nickname- it still makes sense, and no s. This lisp is already keeping you from being totally confident in your speech, why let it keep you from using a name you love as well?
First off, I think it is ridiculous that your old boss was bothered by it. That’s like being upset that someone has green eyes. There is nothing wrong with having a lisp. Nothing. I have a speech impediment, too. I went to a speech therapist for years and it became less noticeable, but it’s still there. But it’s part of who I am and I am no longer embarrassed by it. [name]Just[/name] because there is something different about me, it doesn’t mean there is something wrong. [name]Don[/name]'t change a name you love just because of this little thing.
Well said. I’ve got a slight lisp as well, I think it’s sexy! If [name]Maxwell[/name] is the name you love, who cares? I also have to say, I find it rude that your old boss said it bothered him.
First, I would like to say that was exceedingly unprofessional of your instructor to point out something like that in front of your entire class. You shouldn’t feel self-conscious about it, most people have more tact than that nowadays than to point out someones inadequacies (in their opinion) to the public.
I think you should still use [name]Maxwell[/name], you love it, your son knows it and to change it now might confuse him a bit, but if you can’t get over this, you do need to choose another name I guess. I agree that maybe seeing a speech therapist can either a) help you control your lisp, or b) have her say that it’s not as obvious as people have said and make you feel a little better. Either way, you will gain more confidence with your speaking voice which is important.
I love someones suggestion of [name]Rafferty[/name], [name]Rafferty[/name] [name]Tate[/name] is adorable nn [name]Rafe[/name].
Your old boss sounds like an ass. I love [name]Max[/name] and don’t let someone’s stupid remark spoil the name you love. I also think [name]Mac[/name] is a really cute idea. Use what you love!
I replied but u guess it didn’t show up… anyways
I’m thinking it’s more in my head than noticeable. But I would maybe feel more comfortable with something without the sound. I’m super conflicted because we pinned it as his name and I do love it. I never noticed anything at all until my public speaking professor mentioned it. Now and again it bothers me but not as a day to day thing. We’ve been using the name for weeks, teaching my son how to say it. I said it yesterday and had a huge “uh-oh” moment. I’m just thinking it will be emphasized as I will be saying his name all.the.time. I’m not really digging [name]Rafferty[/name]…
Precisely.
I’ve got a slight speech impediment too, it’s why I struggle to say names like [name]Rory[/name] properly unless I think about it beforehand. If [name]Maxwell[/name] is the name you love, go for it. I find your boss’ comments very rude and insensitive.
This! I’m absolutely gobsmacked that your boss said this to you. This is not acceptable!
USE [name]Maxwell[/name] and may the lot of them be damned! I hope your upset calms down real quick and that you can soon embrace this slight quirk of yours. We all have our own and that is yours - own it!
What ever you do, don’t change your baby name choice because of silly twits. Hugs to you. xo
I have to agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment here. Use this name. What a stupid thing for your professor to harp on. I hope you can get your confidence up and use this name you love.
I’m a speech-language pathologist professionally, and would be happy to try to answer any questions you might have about that side of things, please private message me if you want.
Well, I think it’s odd that an instructor would mention it just because it’s not really something you can fix. I have done Toastmasters in the past and it’s one thing doing and “um” counter and another pointing out a speech problem. But, I want to point out that giving talks in a professional manner is much MUCH different than talking casually in real life. Things that people might not notice in day to day conversation might be more obvious when you’re giving a powerpoint presentation and the whole room is focusing intently on what you are saying. Also, it’s something that might be accentuated when you are nervous and talking in front of a group or superiors so it could be something that is not noticeable to friends and family.
But do what you are comfortable with. If you have people close to you (friends and family) that can give honest opinions on how you say the name, you might want to do that.
If you, and everyone close to you, never noticed it for the first 20+ years of your life, then it absolutely can’t be that pronounced. It sounds like [name]Maxwell[/name] is the name, and you say it just fine.
Thank you all for the support! You guys have been so helpful throughout this whole process. Funny thing I noticed at work today was that one of our products has the word “max” in it and I say it all the time without a problem. So maybe it’s in my head… but now that it’s there I don’t know if I can let it go. Guess I’ll have to figure it out with my fiance. He said if I’m not 100% comfortable we can keep looking. At least we have until [name]April[/name]. If we decide to go back on the name market I’ll be back for some suggestions if you guys don’t mind