Hiya
I am thinking of calling our new bub [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] if he is a boy but want it to be the proper way of saying [name]Jean[/name] and not [name]John[/name]. Its so hard to write but hope you understand. Any ideas of how I could write [name]Jean[/name] so it actually reflects the ‘zzzuuhhh’ sound of [name]Jean[/name].I’m not sure if the French have a name for that ‘zzzuuh’ type sound. [name]Hope[/name] it doesn’t sound confusing but if we call him [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] he will be called [name]John[/name] and incorrect prounounication will drive me insane!!
Was thinking about Zhon [name]Luc[/name]?? But then the [name]Luc[/name] mite look a bit naff? Would love your help please:)
It really depends on where you live. Are there very many people with names from other cultures?
If you’re going to use [name]John[/name], I would say that his full name should be [name]John[/name] [name]Luke[/name].
If you’re going to go with [name]Jean[/name], I would use [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] - so very handsome!
But I would not go with Zhon. Looks made-up.
According to Babynamesworld (Nickelodeon Parents | Printables, coloring pages, recipes, crafts, and more from your child’s favorite Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows.) [name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name] would be the pronunciation you’re looking for.
[name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name] = ZHAN luk
I know in most instances hyphenated names are silly but I’ve always seen this one formatted this way, and I believe it’s the correct version (but correct me if this is wrong).
I hope that helps.
Okay I’m probably a total nerd but I assume it’s pronounced with a “Zh” because of [name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name] [name]Picard[/name] from [name]Star[/name] Trek (see, I told you I was a nerd).
I would go with the [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name]/[name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name] spelling if you’re going for the French pronunciation.
Good luck!
I agree, you should just go with the [name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name] spelling. When people see that it is a male name and “luke” is spelled [name]Luc[/name] they will assume it is pronounced ZHAN. Immediately when I saw it I thought, ZHAN not [name]John[/name]. If people mispronounce it all you have to say is, it’s pronounced the French way, and then say it the right way. I guess it depends where you are, but I’m from a big city with a large international population which is why the name seems pretty familiar to me.
If you choose to give your child a French name in an English speaking country it would be a miracle if the French way of saying it was said by everyone. Take [name]Genevieve[/name] we (English as a first language speakers) say it completely differently to the French but it is still so beautiful.
Of course the parents and family can be educated to say it your preferred way but in general the name will be anglised. If you can’t accept that then it would be easier for you to either put the name in the middle name spot or drop [name]Jean[/name] and just keep [name]Luc[/name] ([name]Luke[/name]).
Ditto.
Hhhhmm interesting responses. I’m from the bottom of the world and there isn’t a lot of French speakers around our way and I think that if people see [name]Jean[/name] they will say Jeen [name]Luke[/name]. I do love the name [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] (the french sounding way), but am really in too minds now 
English speakers on this side of the world are lazy, dropping vowels etc and I don’t think they would bother saying it correctly. That’s why I thought if it was spelt different then it has to be read as its spelt!
Although I live in [name]Canada[/name] and a lot of us speak French, I think that most people, even in non-French areas will know how to say [name]Jean[/name] properly. Please don’t spell it Zhon or whatever, that’s just awful. If you’re really worried about people mispronouncing it like Jeen then your best bet is probably to just go with [name]John[/name].
I, too, live in [name]Canada[/name] and so might not be accurate
but I would always assume that [name]Jean[/name] was pronounced the french way, I feel like it’s recognizable enough that people will usually know. I would go with the [name]Jean[/name] spelling for sure.
i live in [name]Boston[/name] and i knew how to pn [name]Jean[/name] properly. use jean, it’ll be fine. 
[name]Jean[/name] on its own in an English-speaking context will be assumed to be the girl’s name pronounced jeen. I hope most English speakers know it’s different in French; they simply aren’t expecting French. [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] is obviously French, and should usually be pronounced correctly.
[name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] is so obviously French, and such a common French name, I can’t see people getting it wrong. Spelling it Zhan seems to me like it would create more problems than you think it would fix. I can think of several ways to pronounce Zhan that are nothing like the French [name]Jean[/name], and then you wouldn’t have anything that you’d originally wanted. Plus, Zhan just looks terrible written down, when it’s intended to be [name]Jean[/name]. I think you need to go all the way French, with [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] (and just accept that there will inevitably be a few people who mispronounce it) or all the way English with [name]John[/name] [name]Luke[/name]. [name]John[/name] [name]Luc[/name] just looks wrong to me.
I don’t think people would call him “[name]John[/name]” if you named him [name]Jean[/name]. The bigger issue might be people assuming he’s an older woman named [name]Jean[/name]. Actually hyphenating it could help ([name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name]), because then it is clearly male and clearly French. A little warning, though… [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] [name]Picard[/name] is the captain of the space ship enterprise (star trek). I’m not fan of star trec, so that must be fairly well known. If you do stick with it, though, there is REALLY no need to spell it in some strange way. You will just have to tell people how to pronounce it whenever he starts a new class or whatever. This is no big deal, though, and you’ll only have to tell people once.
I think that hyphenating it is a good idea [name]Jean[/name]-[name]Luc[/name].
I am an Aussie so not so far from you and I wouldn’t name my Aussie child [name]Jean[/name] [name]Luc[/name] even though I think it is a lovely name because it is definitely going to become [name]John[/name] or [name]Gene[/name], on the other hand if you had a child named [name]Andre[/name] or [name]Emil[/name] it would be much easier to use a French name as we can say these names much easier than [name]Jean[/name], and I for one and I think other people would feel that we were being pretentious saying [name]Jean[/name] the French way.
I apologise for reviving an old thread but as my name is [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Luc[/name_m], I thought it would be a good idea as this thread will be read by other people who may be planning on naming their baby such.
Other than the admiration I get for my name, it is sometimes challenging to live with. This is because not everyone can pronounce or spell my name. They will spell it as “[name_u]Shawn[/name_u]” but often pronounce it as “[name_u]Gene[/name_u]” or “[name_m]John[/name_m]”, the latter being acceptable. I’ve been called [name_u]Gene[/name_u] so many times that I’m almost at the point of considering it a nickname. What is worse though is that I’ve been accused of prank calling as the person on the other end doesn’t believe my name exists.
Alongside the above, quite a few online forms treat double-barrelled first names as invalid. It isn’t a big deal but it is frustrating to be told your name isn’t valid. As time progresses, double-barrelled names are becoming more and more accepted so choosing such a name may be beneficial. Anytime I come across a form that does not allow hyphenated names, I will often contact them so they can allow such names.
I also prefer hyphenating [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Luc[/name_m]. This is because most people will realise that it is not an English name and be hesitant while pronouncing the name whereas other people will confidently read “[name_u]Jean[/name_u]” as “[name_u]Gene[/name_u]” as that would be the entirety of your first name.
I personally dislike my name because of the fact it does present it’s challenges. I have also considered changing it to [name_m]John[/name_m] but whether I will or not, I don’t know.
Overall, [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Luc[/name_m] is a very unique name in English speaking countries but it may come with it’s difficulties. I think that if you named your child [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Luc[/name_m] and they are experiencing difficulties with it then you should offer a name change if they would like one. I’ve considered changing my name to [name_m]John[/name_m] because [name_m]John[/name_m] is English for [name_u]Jean[/name_u], and I dislike the look of “[name_m]John[/name_m]-[name_m]Luke[/name_m]” myself.