We’re trying to narrow down our list of boy names because it is impractically long.
We like the names [name]Noah[/name] and [name]Noam[/name] (I can’t get past the Chomsky association though) but I like No” even more. It’s pronounced no-Eh.
Right now we’re taking the name for a test drive with native English speakers and we’ve gotten mixed reviews. Some people find the ” daunting and off-putting but others say it’s a no-brainer.
Is it too “ethnic” or could it make a succesful transition to English?
And, what do you think of the name itself?
Thank you for your opinions in advance =)
cheers, [name]Lula[/name].
I like the way it looks (pronunciation is pretty obvious I think!), and the way it feels, but when I say it out loud it ends up sounding a little like “No way.” Not entirely-- but it’s something to think about!
I personally love [name]Noam[/name] for what it’s worth!
With the accent mark, people will get that it’s an A sound. Without, you’ll get a lot of people assuming it’s like [name]Zoe[/name], with a long E. And I don’t know if legal documents accept accent marks…
My main concern is that it looks very feminine - especially as it is very close to ‘[name]Zoe[/name]’ and ‘[name]Chloe[/name]’ if you’re not so sure what to do with an accent aigu.
I really wouldn’t know how to pronounce [name]Noe[/name]. I can see that it has an acute over the ‘e’ so that helps but in an English speaking country you won’t have that to help out.
I would choose an easier to pronounce first name and if you want to include it put it in the middle name spot.
For me, it sounds so much like [name]Noah[/name] to nearly be indistinguishable - and by going with [name]Noah[/name] (which I think is great) you overcome all the possible pronounciation issues.
We’re actually planning on naming our baby No” in the next couple of weeks (hopefully) or month (uggghhhh). My husband is francophone and I’m bilingual, so its interesting to hear what english speakers are saying here. I have to admit that the no way thing has me a little worried, but all in all I don’t think its going to be a problem, and the english speakers I’ve queried all seem to pull it off without too much of a problem. Let me congratulate you on your excellent taste
I knew how to pronounce it, but I also hear ‘no way’
I really like [name]Noam[/name], for what it’s worth, but I feel like my positive associations with [name]Noam[/name] Chomsky may play a large role, because otherwise it really reminds me of garden gnomes . . .
Being that the accent mark will be left off practically 90% of the time, I think people will be completely confused about how to pronounce it. Like others, said, the similarity to girls’ names like [name]Zoe[/name] and [name]Chloe[/name] could be expected to be a problem. I think that since the pronunciation is so close to [name]Noah[/name], and that [name]Noah[/name] is clearly pronouncable in English speaking countries, I’d go with [name]Noah[/name]. (I also find myself thinking ‘Chomsky’ every time I hear [name]Noam[/name])
[name]Just[/name] to add, as far as [name]Noam[/name] is concerned I also think that the chomsky reference is actually a positive thing but I do tend to thing of gnomes. . .I really prefer No” to [name]Noah[/name], I think that if you like it you should go with it.
