My husband recently saw the name [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] and he is now obsessed with it. I have to confess it threw me a little to begin with. I do like the multiple nicknames she provides and the fact it is not so popular as our other favourites. However, I am nervous about the pronunciation. We are British but have recently moved to [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u], so any daughter will grow up in this beautiful beloved State. Is this a difficult name for the American tongue?
All this to ask, what is your opinion of Otillie? Likes, dislikes etc. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think she is an international name?
I’m in the states and I went to school with an [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] and she didn’t have any problems. Most of the time she went by [name_f]Tilly[/name_f]. I think its a beautiful name! You might like Tallulah as well
For me personally it’s hard to say the name [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]. I either end up over-emphasizing parts of it or else it sounds like “oddly,” which is a shame because I think it’s a really cool name. But I am closer to the northeastern part of the US so I don’t know how it will sound in other areas.
I grew up in [name_u]Tennessee[/name_u] and would pronounce that ‘AW-duh-lee’. I really like the suggested NN of [name_f]Tilly[/name_f] if you’re interested in that. Depending on which part of the state, it might sound international. [name_m]Even[/name_m] in any of the major cities, I feel that it would be relatively uncommon, but I think it’s a beautiful choice!
I suspect Americans may have trouble pronouncing it or may pronounce it differently than you do. I’m Australian and I say oh-[name_m]TILL[/name_m]-ee, or basically [name_f]Tilly[/name_f] with an o at the beginning, which I think is right but I can’t say I’m totally sure.
I would worry, if I was in [name_u]America[/name_u], that the t would become a d, which a previous poster has already said. It also seems that others are saying it as if it is like the word ‘oddly’ or even ‘utterly’ but with an o, which it isn’t at all for me.
Anyway, I think it’s a really lovely name! Definitely international, and the nickname [name_f]Tilly[/name_f] is really sweet.
[name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] is lovely!! I think the pronunciation is fairly instinctive from the spelling and it does provide several very familiar nicknames if it was causing problems
I like [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]. It has a lovely sound and is unusual without sounding too different.
I don’t think it’s very international though. I suspect that outside of the UK, people may not have heard of it or would use a different pronunciation.
I pronounce it like [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] with the “Ot” sound (as in “otter”) at the beginning.
I believe Americans would pronounce it with a D sound rather than a T.
I love [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] but it loses something when pronounced with an American ‘d’ rather than English ‘t’. What about [name_f]Ottaline[/name_f] or Ottilda?
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback! It has been really great reading over. Also found the suggestion of [name_f]Ottoline[/name_f] really interesting. Thanks again.
I prefer [name_f]Ottoline[/name_f], to be honest – [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] is much loved here in the UK but I have to confess that I’ve never really seen the appeal. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a lover of [name_f]Tilly[/name_f]/[name_f]Tillie[/name_f] at all, and this shares a lot of the sounds. (But I do think [name_u]Ottie[/name_u] or Otter are sweet!)
It’s pronounced “OT-il-ee” over here, but I’m not sure how that would fare in the local accent where you are.
Also, I notice that you’ve spelt it two different ways in your OP, and I think frequent misspelling would be something that you’d have to make your peace with, if you were to choose this name.
