[name_m]Hi[/name_m]! I’m expecting a baby girl any day now and am still really struggling with finding a name my husband and I both love.
We have two boys, [name_m]Bennett[/name_m] and [name_m]Foster[/name_m] and I’m trying to find the perfect fit with those names. In an earlier post, a few of you suggested [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f], which my husband immediately loved (which is unusual…he usually likes simple, traditional names). I like it, but I am really struggling with the pronunciation confusion she may deal with forever.
My husband’s preference is [name_f]Em[/name_f]-eh-line vs. [name_f]Em[/name_f]-eh-leen or [name_f]Em[/name_f]-eh-lyn. I think I prefer that as well but again am mostly worried about the debate/confusion because there’s no "right " answer.
So how would you pronounce it? And where are you from? We’re in the Midwestern part of the US, for your reference.
I asked about this a while back because I also love [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f], but can’t quite get over the pronunciation problems. At that time most commenters thought that -[name_f]LINE[/name_f] would be most intuitive for most people in the U.S. Personally, I really like it with the -[name_u]LYN[/name_u] ending, but that’s not traditional, so I’d feel odd correcting people who assumed -line or -leen.
My daughter’s name is [name_f]Helena[/name_f], pronounced [name_f]Helen[/name_f]-a, and I’ve actually been surprised how many people assume He-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]-na. (I figured being in the Northwest U.S. would mean most people would use the same pronunciation as [name_f]Helena[/name_f], [name_u]Montana[/name_u].) It doesn’t really bother me since I like both versions, but it makes me cautious about [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]. Both names seem like ones where geography doesn’t dominate the way it does for other names — it’s more about what any given person assumes from their personal experience.
I like both the -line and -leen endings, but not so much the -lyn one. That being said, I instinctively pronounced it -leen when I first came across the name.
Coincidentally, I also think the -leen pronunciation goes the best with your other two kids’ names, actually. That’s just my opinion =]
[name_f]EDIT[/name_f]: I’m from Northern Illinois, btw. Sorry forgot to add that in!
I am also from the midwestern US and would pronounce it [name_f]Emma[/name_f]-[name_f]LINE[/name_f]. I had a student a few years ago who pronounced it that way.
I pronounce it emma-leen- I haven’t met anyone named [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] but would pronounce it with the same ending as [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]. I think whether you use emma-leen or emma-line, you’d have people assuming the other, so use whichever you like best. Both pronunciations are common enough and comprehensible enough (looks reasonable from the spelling) that they both work, and it’s not an established enough name that one is “correct”. The -lyn ending tends to be used for names spelled -lyn or -lynn, so that would be a bit more confusing.
Around here the pronunciation is definitely -[name_f]LINE[/name_f]. Those who want the -[name_u]LYN[/name_u] pronunciation typically use the name [name_f]Emmelyn[/name_f]/[name_f]Emmalyn[/name_f]. I’m in the Great Lakes area.
I adore [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]. I personally prefer the [name_f]LINE[/name_f] ending. Your family, friends, and the people in your daughter’s life (teachers, doctors, etc) will learn quickly the pronunciation you wish.
I think [name_m]Bennett[/name_m], [name_m]Foster[/name_m], and [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] make a PERFECT sibling set.
I love [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]! It’s one of my favorites. I instinctively pronounced it emma-leen, however my youngest sister has a good friend who says it emma-line. If I were to guess from a piece of paper, I would say it “line” since I’m sure that’s what most people in my area (central US) would say, even though it’s not my preferred pronunciation. I don’t understand how it could be emma-lyn.
Fascinating discussion, as I would always pronounce it line and definitely not leen – that one never occurred to me! The issue isn’t so much how you pronounce it but that you’ll have to train other people to say it your way and also put up with a lot of mispronunciation and misspelling too. If you can deal with those challenges, it’s a lovely name
I’m in Ohio, and I like [name_f]Emma[/name_f]-line the best, though the first time I saw the name I did assume it was [name_f]Emma[/name_f]-leen (based on similar-looking names, not on the spelling itself). Without adding another “e” a la the [name_m]French[/name_m] [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f], I don’t understand how anyone could get [name_f]Emma[/name_f]-lyn out of [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f].
I grew up just outside Chicago, and my instinctive pronunciation of [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] is ‘Emm-ah-LEEN’.
To use -[name_f]Line[/name_f] ending like [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] would not be assumed. However, most people only need to be told how to pronounce a name once so
I’m from the midwest also and intuitively pronounce it [name_f]Emme[/name_f]-line.
Also, just a thought – but most of the time, unless it’s a birth announcement, class roster, or job application scenario, people won’t be learning your kid’s name from reading it, but rather from your kid introducing themselves or someone else introducing them. So they’ll learn the pronunciation right off the bat. And even if not, you typically only have to correct someone once for a familiar name like [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f]. I wouldn’t think it’s a problem!
I live in [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] but I would say it with the -leen ending unless told other wise. I guess its just how my brain works.To me, the -lyn ending doesn’t sound right.
I kind of have the same problem with our daughters name, [name_f]Thalia[/name_f], whose due in [name_u]December[/name_u]. We plan to pronounce it Thah-lee-ah but on other name sights & here I have seen people pronunce it as [name_m]Tah[/name_m]-lee-ah.
I think once you correct people, they’ll remember how to say it correctly. I have a tendency to ask people it is pronounced as this or that if I know there are various pronunciations.
I have an [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] pronounced with the -lyn ending. She mostly goes by [name_f]Emme[/name_f] but introduces herself as [name_f]Emmeline[/name_f] and 99% of the time people hear [name_f]Emily[/name_f]. We always have to spell her name at least twice when making doctor appointments or any time someone who doesn’t know us needs to write her name. But it’s really not that bad. I have a super common first name that’s only four letters long and people still manage to mess that up. Some people are just going to get names wrong I guess!
That being said, my first instinctive pronunciation was -line. And my [name_f]Emme[/name_f] most frequently hears -leen from people taking a guess based on the written spelling. We are in Northeast US. But I really wouldn’t worry about it, if someone gets her name wrong it takes a few seconds to correct them and then it’s done
