Name Misconceptions

So, I’ve been fond of the name [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] since it was mentioned in a book I read when I was around ten. Over a decade later, I have only just now bothered to look up the pronunciation. I’ve always said [name_m]NYE[/name_m]-am. It never occurred to me it could be anything else. I just checked a few minutes ago, after reading something about people pronouncing it wrong, to make sure it wasn’t NEE-am.

It is not NEE-am. It is not [name_m]NYE[/name_m]-am. It is NEEV. That’s… unexpected. And kind of terrible, in my opinion.

Has this ever happened to you? What names have you been seriously wrong about? And what did you do about it?

(Also, can I salvage [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]-rhyming-with-iamb?)

It’s funny, I fell in love with [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] because of the fact that it was pronounced “nee-iv”. There are 2 pronunciations, plain, one-syllabled “neev” or “nee-iv” with a slight shift in vowel sound and 2 quick syllables. Pronouncing [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] “nee-am” is asking for trouble. It’s pretty gauche and akin to pronouncing [name_f]Mireille[/name_f] “mir-ell”. But I understand your pain!
I always thought [name_u]Leigh[/name_u] was pronounced “lay”. It never occurred to me that it was “lee”. :stuck_out_tongue:

Too embarrassing to admit but ever since I first heard the name [name_m]Sean[/name_m] from [name_m]Sean[/name_m] [name_m]Penn[/name_m] I always thought it was pronounced see-an or like the color cyan. I was very young though in my defense ans then one day I heard it on tv and was like what? Is that how you really say it?

Its pronounced “neev” and no, [name_m]NYE[/name_m]-am is not salvagable. You’re talking about a Gaelic name. You can’t change the pronunciation as much as you can change the pronunciation of any other Irish name, for example, changing [name_u]Neil[/name_u] (NEE-el) to neh-EEL. It doesn’t work like that. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t change it. It’s just a major faux-pas. And an Irish person would probably laugh if you changed it and/or be annoyed by it.

As far as salvaging [name_f]Niamh[/name_f]-rhyming-wtih-iamb, I meant looking for a name with a similar look and sound, not just keeping my wrong pronunciation. Is the spelling Nyamh an option?

sweetcaroline, I knew a ton of Seans growing up, but I still thought [name_m]Seamus[/name_m] was SEE-mus for a while.

Another one of mine is [name_f]Jimena[/name_f]. I thought it was Jih-MEE-nuh, and thus named a character [name_f]Jimena[/name_f] nn [name_m]Jimmy[/name_m]. Years later, I realized it was Hee-[name_f]MAY[/name_f]-na and felt foolish.

Similar names that have the ie sound of iamb…

[name_f]Nyla[/name_f]
[name_f]Nyala[/name_f]
[name_f]Naima[/name_f], Naema (Finnish)
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f], Naemi

I always thought [name_m]Sean[/name_m] was pronounced like the word seen, until someone pointed out to me that it was not. I didn’t believe them since the [name_u]Shawn[/name_u] in Boy Meets World is spelled [name_u]Shawn[/name_u], which is the better spelling imo. It took until high school till I finally accepted the fact that [name_m]Sean[/name_m] was also pronounced [name_u]Shawn[/name_u].

I think you could spell it [name_f]Niam[/name_f], without the -h, it would techincally not be the same name anymore. Then you’d face Nee-am vs [name_m]Nye[/name_m]-am, though. Maybe Nyam? Though that looks rather made-up.

Same with [name_u]Leigh[/name_u]! I never though [name_f]Niamh[/name_f] was anything but neev, but I had thought [name_f]Mirielle[/name_f] was mere-ee-ell…

I thought the same as previous posters about the pronunciation of [name_m]Seamus[/name_m]! I also never realized the alternative (actually much more common) spelling for [name_f]Elouise[/name_f] (a favorite of mine, but I had only ever seen this spelling) is [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] - I assumed [name_u]Eloise[/name_u] was pronounced “el-oyz,” which come to think of it is pretty silly considering I’ve never heard of anyone with a name pronounced “el-oyz.”