[name_f]Clara[/name_f] and [name_u]George[/name_u] are some of my favorites when using my (not so convincing) vaguely British accent, but the rhotic R my native Midwestern dialect puts on both of them hurts my soul.
Iām hesitant with names with ātā in the middle, because they are changed to ādā in my familyās accent, which works fine with some names but not others. (@choupette I actually became very conscious of my accent as a kid and ācorrectedā this, and now my mother says I pronounce the ātā in [name_f]Greta[/name_f] too harsh. )
Colm! I think that [name_m]Colm[/name_m] said w/an Irish accent is the most beautiful boy name Iāve ever heard. I love it so much. I married into a big Irish American family w/an Irish ln, but we all have boring old midwest American accents. [name_m]Colm[/name_m] just doesnāt sound nearly as nice w/out the proper accent.
Aine is another name that Iād have near the top of my list if it were only to be said by people w/Irish accents. But I donāt love it as much as [name_m]Colm[/name_m].
[name_f]Cosima[/name_f] - every time I say this name I try to say it in a British accent (COh-see-muh). I could see it being pronounced a few different ways here (cozy-muh, co-sim-uh, etc.) but they all feel so lackluster.
[name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] - With an American accent the Ts turn to Ds and the whole thing gets mangled.
[name_m]Soren[/name_m] - I love how this sounds when Iām not speaking [name_f]English[/name_f]. In the US the Ćø is completely lost (sounds like soaring).
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f] - the Rs almost hurt my mouth to say, feels like Iām slurring my words. Iām not sure another accent would help much though.
[name_m]Viggo[/name_m] - another thatās currently on my list. Sounds so strong when Iām not speaking [name_f]English[/name_f] (VEE-goh), feels like a Viking yelling it out over thrashing seas. But here the emphasis and trills are lost.
I just can NOT pronounce [name_f]Aurora[/name_f]. It sounds GROSS. I canāt pronounce āRā sounds when theyāre repeated so close together like that.
Iām fine with some R sounds repeated. I can pronounce Briar, for example.
This is such an interesting topic! I feel like there are so many names my hybrid accent probably mangles but the one that comes to mind first is [name_u]August[/name_u], which is such a shame because I love it so. In my accent and the areas where my family lives, there is no difference in sound between āauā and āorā, they both just sound like āorā. This is not sooo awful in [name_u]August[/name_u] as āorr-gustā (although I donāt love it), but when saying the otherwise adorable nn [name_m]Auggie[/name_m] ā¦ the first syllable pronounced as āorā definitely makes it sound too similar to other things, in my opinion.
Omigosh I had never made that link between [name_m]Auggie[/name_m] and something else very close. I also have an accent that doesnāt distinguish between au/or!