I was intrigued by the thread on the name [name_f]Junia[/name_f], in which Brits (and Aussies?) pointed out that [name_f]Junia[/name_f] would be pronounced exactly like [name_m]Junior[/name_m] in their accents, while in most American accents the two words are pronounced quite differently. Which made me wonder about other names that work in American English but not British English, or vice versa.
So: [name_f]Junia[/name_f] appears to work a lot better in American English than in British English. Any others?
And going the other way: A couple of names come to mind that work a lot less well in American English than in British English.
[name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]. In British English this sounds crisp and feminine. In American English with the flatter O the Ts sound a lot like Ds and the name sounds a bit too much like “Oddly” for my taste. Which is maybe why it’s much more popular in the UK?
[name_f]Fern[/name_f]. In British English “[name_f]Fern[/name_f]” sounds airy and pretty, with just the lightest touch of an R. In most American accents the R is strong, and the name sounds much less refined: Furrn. (It’s still an okay name, just not nearly as attractive in American English in my personal taste.)
^ Yes! Ditto [name_f]Fanny[/name_f], though I guess that’s more universal…
I find that the r’s in [name_f]Aurora[/name_f] can sound slurred in some American accents, though the name is very popular is the US so that must just be personal experience!
I prefer British “CLAH-ruh” to “[name_u]CLAIR[/name_u]-uh” and “HEL-uh-nuh” to “he-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-nuh” but I love the way Americans say the Au- in [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f], [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u], etc. I find it just sounds a bit awkward when I say it.
When I say [name_f]Clara[/name_f] the British way, it just ends up sounding like “claw”. My car is named [name_f]Clara[/name_f] ([name_f]Claire[/name_f]-uh) so I might just not be used to it. I also say [name_f]Helena[/name_f] “[name_f]Helen[/name_f]-uh”.
I love how Australians say [name_f]Anna[/name_f]. I heard it a lot when Frozen’s popularity was at its peak. It’s cooler than how I say it, which sounds plain to me.
For the most part, I prefer the way Americans say Rs at the end of names. [name_u]Parker[/name_u], [name_u]Schuyler[/name_u], and [name_m]Archer[/name_m] all sound better to me in my accent.
I wonder if this goes deeper, and there are some names that sound better in certain American or English accents, such as something that sounds nicer in a midwestern accent versus a southern accent.
There is also a wide variety of accents across the UK and certain names sound better in some of them rather than others in my opinion.
In my accent, Ts in certain positions are pronounced as glottal stops so names like [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] and [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] tend to sound not very nice to my ear. I prefer the way they sound in other accents.
There’s also the [name_u]London[/name_u]/Cockney th-fronting which I know puts some people off using names like [name_m]Arthur[/name_m] (ARF-ah) and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] ([name_u]FEE[/name_u]-ah) if they’re from those areas.
I also remember posting a thread somewhere else about [name_m]Sol[/name_m] once, to be told that it wouldn’t work in the [name_u]North[/name_u] [name_f]East[/name_f] because of the tendency to preface names of friends and family with “our” when talking to or about them…
I grew up pronouncing the au in [name_f]Laura[/name_f], [name_u]Laurence[/name_u], [name_f]Lauren[/name_f] like the au in [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], but in other accents (even here in the U.S.), they’re pronounced like [name_f]Lora[/name_f], [name_u]Loren[/name_u]. I like [name_f]Laura[/name_f] a lot, but not when it’s pronounced [name_f]Lora[/name_f].
The U.K. vs. U.S. example that comes to mind is [name_m]Harry[/name_m]—I so wish we said it differently from “hairy.” Advantage U.K.!
[name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] would be butchered in my English accent, in my area we fail to pronounce our T’s so [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] would be Ohihlee. Poor girl.
Same with [name_f]Tamara[/name_f], it’s almost exactly how I pronounce tomorrow (tom-awr-ah). Sounds better in American English.
I prefer the British pronunciation of the name [name_f]Clara[/name_f].
Names like [name_f]Stella[/name_f] or [name_f]Jessica[/name_f] tend to have that intrusive R with a British accent, so I prefer it with an American accent.
I agree with poster who said [name_m]Harry[/name_m] sounds better with a UK accent! My husband is from the UK and we had [name_u]Bertie[/name_u] on our list of boys names, but when I say it it sounds like “birdy”.
[name_m]Aaron[/name_m] is an interesting one. Americans tend to pronounce it the same as [name_f]Erin[/name_f], while in [name_m]Britain[/name_m] the two are pronounced differently.
Also, as someone who is familiar with Spanish, I find it peculiar that on American TV shows they pronounce [name_m]Juan[/name_m] as “wahn” when in Spanish it’s more like “hwahn”.
