(pronounced zhahn, not blue-jean)
This is the only variation of [name_m]John[/name_m] I like, but I don’t think it’s particularly useable in the US, especially with my lack of [name_m]French[/name_m] heritage…
Thoughts on the name & its usage in the US?
I would automatically say [name_u]Jean[/name_u] if I saw this. I live in the states. Is there another way to spell it? Zhahn is a cool name though.
I don’t think it would work in the US, at least not spelled that way. I work with a [name_u]Jean[/name_u] and even in a country where [name_m]French[/name_m] is the second language, it gets butchered all the time and he’s just given up correcting people.
Plus, I think of the movie What a To Expect When You’re Expecting and how much fun gets made of one of the moms pronouncing her baby’s name the [name_m]French[/name_m] way, even the kid’s own father laughs at the pretentious pronounciation. Was it [name_m]Henry[/name_m] / [name_m]Henri[/name_m] (Awn-ree)? Can’t remember.
I am in a state that has many [name_m]French[/name_m] speaking people and [name_u]Jean[/name_u] is pronounced [name_u]Gene[/name_u]. If it were a hyphenated name, as in [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_u]Claude[/name_u], [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Louis[/name_m], or [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_m]Luke[/name_m], it might have a slightly better chance of being pronounced as you intend.
Here are a few websites that list variations of the name [name_m]John[/name_m]:
Good luck!
I think [name_u]Gene[/name_u].
No go in the US.
I think trying to force that pronunciation in the U.S. without any [name_m]French[/name_m] heritage would come across as very pretentious and silly.
[name_f]My[/name_f] brother has a hyphenated [name_u]Jean[/name_u] name and hates it. No one ever pronounces it correctly, so he’s dropped the [name_u]Jean[/name_u] altogether. Unfortunately, I think it’s a no go in the US.
I’m familiar with both the zhahn and [name_u]Gene[/name_u] pronunciations and speak conversational [name_m]French[/name_m], but I would still guess [name_u]Gene[/name_u] before zhahn. The only thing that tipped me off for your thread was that it was in the boys’ names forum. If you have a last name that seems [name_m]French[/name_m], or hyphenate it with another [name_m]French[/name_m] name, that may help people get it right, but no guarantees. I think it sounds classy and intellectual without being pretentious- it’s a variant of [name_m]John[/name_m] after all, hardly posh!- but it would be awfully troublesome.
Why does it have to be [name_m]John[/name_m]?? I’m all for family names but only if you like them. [name_u]Jean[/name_u] only looks distinctly [name_m]French[/name_m] if the last name is also [name_m]French[/name_m] or if it hyphenated as mentioned by others.
Can [name_m]John[/name_m] not be a middle name??? It’s YOUR son, I don’t think it’s selfish to want to love your own son’s name!
(pronounced zhahn, not blue-jean)
Please note that the “n” in [name_u]Jean[/name_u] is not pronounced. In API, [name_u]Jean[/name_u] is pronounced [ʒɑ̃], the last sound being a nasalized “ah” sound. In [name_f]Jeanne[/name_f], however, the feminine form of [name_u]Jean[/name_u] (equivalent to [name_f]Jane[/name_f] in English), the “n” is pronounced. [name_f]Jeanne[/name_f] is pronounced “zhahn” ([ʒan] in API), which is the pronunciation you originally gave for “[name_u]Jean[/name_u].”
That being said, I do like the name [name_u]Jean[/name_u] in [name_m]French[/name_m], but I unfortunately don’t see it working in the US as we have no nasal vowels in English.
Pronunciation of [name_u]Jean[/name_u] for reference: http://www.forvo.com/word/jean/#fr
Pronunciation of [name_f]Jeanne[/name_f] for reference: http://www.forvo.com/word/jeanne/#fr
I live in the USA and my parents named me [name_f]Jeanne[/name_f] (female version) of the name [name_u]Jean[/name_u] for males. Since they use the [name_m]French[/name_m] pronunciation for my name, they chose to make up their own spelling that would hopefully prevent people in the southern states from pronouncing my name like blue-[name_u]JEAN[/name_u]. They chose to spell my name ZHAN. Pronounced Zh-ah-n.
They taught me from an early age to help people have a better understanding of proper pronunciation of my name to use the examples of the famous actress [name_f]Zsa[/name_f] [name_f]Zsa[/name_f] Gabor, of course adding the final ‘N’ sound to [name_f]Zsa[/name_f] [name_f]Zsa[/name_f]. And also the famous actor [name_u]Jean[/name_u]-[name_u]Claude[/name_u] [name_u]Van[/name_u] Damme.
Forvo.com has several great audio pronunciations for the name [name_u]Jean[/name_u]/[name_f]Jeanne[/name_f] in many different languages including [name_m]French[/name_m].