So I really love the name [name_m]Miles[/name_m] for our baby boy due in [name_f]October[/name_f]. [name_f]My[/name_f] only concern is whether it will be a bit awkward to say in the possessive form - for example “Where are Miles’s shoes?” [name_m]Or[/name_m] “It’s in Miles’s room”. Would you rule out a name for this reason? Anyone out there with a [name_m]Miles[/name_m] in their life who can comment?
(PS understand there is debate and different style guides on how to write this (Miles’s vs Miles’) however I’m not concerned with how it’s written, only about whether it’s awkward to say out loud)
I don’t think it’s awkward. There are lots of names that end in S so there are plenty of examples- ie
[name_m]Curtis[/name_m]
[name_m]Otis[/name_m]
Lewis/ [name_m]Louis[/name_m]
… all lovely names !!
[name_m]Miles[/name_m] is a great name. It’s strong recognizable and has some really cool associations
[name_m]Miles[/name_m] [name_m]Davis[/name_m]
[name_m]Miles[/name_m] [name_m]Teller[/name_m]
[name_f]Alannah[/name_f] [name_m]Miles[/name_m]
I know what you mean, but for some reason I feel like [name_m]Miles[/name_m] is slightly harder because of more of the “Z” sound like “My-ulz-uz”. I am probably totally overthinking it!
Personally that is an unfortunate deal breaker for me for any name ending in ‘s’. It is too awkward to me personally that if I were the parent it is just too much and I wouldn’t/couldn’t do it. In this case, I do really like [name_m]Miles[/name_m], but I would never use it personally. I typically will try and find variations of the name that way I still feel like I am using the name I love.
And I know you stated that writing it down doesn’t bother you, but I would also say that even it written down looks awkward and is also why I wouldn’t use it. I even feel awkward if I have to call out somebodies name with it being in possessive form and I still find it super awkward.
It just isnt for me. Sorry.
Personally I do not find Miles awkward at all. I think he’s a lovely name that I actually toyed around with as an option when I was pregnant with my daughter. I think he’s soft, charming, romantic and handsome.
My sister’s partner is Myles he has no issue with his name! Of course as a result of my sisters partner being Myles I say his name practically on a daily basis and I’ve never found it awkward to say. I think you’re overthinking it slightly.
Oh and re [name_m]Milo[/name_m] - I do love it, but unfortunately in Australia all I can think of is the chocolate drink!! Not sure if this is a thing anywhere else (:
So, I kind of had this concern about my son’s name but just in a different language - he’s [name_m]Robin[/name_m], and the possessive form in my native language (Finnish) is Robinin and I initially found by the inin a little strange to say. But for me at least that stopped being a problem like, two days after he was born! You say their name so often it just quickly becomes natural, I think.
For what it’s worth, I love [name_m]Miles[/name_m]!
I personally don’t find it odd. I’ve had a guinea pig called [name_m]Otis[/name_m] (and it was easy to say Otis’s) and I’ve had students at work called [name_f]Carys[/name_f] and [name_f]Lois[/name_f] and I’ve been able to say Carys’s and Lois’s.
When I say Miles’s room, I say the 's bit sort of lightly, a sort of half sound, so I don’t find it too odd
I like [name_m]Miles[/name_m] but I don’t love it in the Aussie accent where I think it gets swallowed. But I would let the possessive form worry you. It’ll slip into the background.
I think it would definitely be a personal preference thing if it is something that could be used to. As personally, when I notice something I know it difficult for myself to shake and I dont think I would personally get used to it, in my opinion. For example, I had loved the name [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f] for a bit until I realized it sounded like a sentence “is a bell” and even that I can’t shake and to this day it sounds awkward to me. I just know I couldnt use it and it would bother me. But, I think everybody has their own reasons with any name and theres definitely nothing wrong with that
Perhaps you could try using this name on a regular basis for a week or two and specifically in a possessive form. For example: when you get ready to go somewhere (depending how comfortable you are with this idea) quietly or just regular toned you can say: “Where are Miles’s shoes?”. “Did you get Miles’s hat?”. “Is Miles’s diaper bag ready?”. And see if that helps you get used to it. If it doesnt, then I would assume that it would be bothersome for you for a name altogether.
Im sorry to be the only one who finds this bothersome and awkward, but I hope this helped
I don’t think it is awkward! I bet if you play around with it now for a few days by saying things like “Miles’s clothes” and “Miles’s room” and “Miles’s kicking” in context, it wouldn’t feel strange anymore, but just natural.
My son’s name ends in a soft S, and while it is different than a double Z sound, I feel like it’s similar enough. It did seem a little awkward when I first realized that’s how it would be said and written, which did cause some hesitations, but it ended up being totally fine
I’m sure you’ll get some people that pronounce it like Miles’ instead of Miles’s, but I think if you lead with it as Miles’s, they’ll figure out it’s fine. I imagine most of the awkwardness would be just at the beginning of meeting him and using the possessive for th first time, but they’d get used to it. Thankfully for his case though, Miles is a common enough name for his age group that I don’t think it would be much of a problem along with other names that are common than end in a soft S sound, like Brooks, Max, Knox, Jax, Silas, Lucas, Elias, etc. which wouldn’t be quite the same, but similar enough that I think they will help people feel fine saying it as s’s for names like Miles as well
Names ending in S is a personal pet peeve of mine, so I wouldn’t do it. That said, it is certainly not a dealbreaker in general, and I don’t think it would cause any problems whatsoever.
If it is bothering you, maybe you would like [name_m]Milo[/name_m] as an alternative?
Great to know you got used to it so quickly! I do feel we debate so much over names and things like pronunciation, but whatever it is they end up suiting and we get used to saying for sure
That’s a great point, i hadn’t thought about how you’d sort of change the pronunciation to make it a bit easier. Especially in Australia, we are very good at dropping the endings of our words!!
Not at all, I appreciate the honesty! Great idea re practicing it out loud. So far I’ve just been saying it in my head which is just not the same. I’ll give this a go!
Now that you mention it, I could see it being a little more awkward to say than other names. But that doesn’t stop the name from being popular, so if you love it don’t let that deter you!
