Looking through my family tree I discovered the surname Khoury which is Arabic for “priest”. As it derives from the Latin “Curia”, I thought Curie would be a great way to honour my ethnic and faith heritage. It would also be a nod to [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie and Irène Joliot-Curie, and therefore a way to share my love of STEM with a daughter. I love it when multiple name meanings collide!
I don’t think I’m bold enough to use it as a first- I worry that people would butcher it and pronounce it like “[name_u]Curry[/name_u]”! Paired with a traditional first name though, it could make a powerful middle. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] Curie, maybe, or [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] Curie?
What do you think? [name_m]How[/name_m] would you pronounce Curie? Would you use it as a first or a middle? What would you pair it with?
I think Curie makes a great middle name! FWIW, I would’ve said it like [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie, not like “curry”. [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] Curie would be my fave but [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] Curie is also gorgeous!
To be honest, it does look like “[name_u]Curry[/name_u]” on paper. I pronounced it “curry” and “q-ree”, but obviously knew it was the latter. Also, I would use it as a middle as this was one of the common issues I came across, and that’s if the name is kind of difficult to say, then it’s safer to use as a middle just to be on the safe side.
I think it makes a nice meaningful middle but to be honest, I find the original Khoury more intuitive to pronounce, although in day to day life we rarely have the opportunity to know/say another’s middle name so I wouldn’t worry about mispronunciations. Khoury/Curie/Curia would all work so it really just depends on your preference.
I think it’s nice in the middle, but Khoury by itself would also be perfectly fine in the middle. I’d steer clear of it as a first name for the same reasons you state - I’d love to see someone use [name_f]Marie[/name_f] or [name_f]Irene[/name_f] in the front in honor of the Curies, though, but of course that loses your double meaning.
I love the idea! In terms of sound alone, Curie isn’t my favourite name ever, but I still wholeheartedly endorse it, especially as a middle name. I think the connection to the Curies is a fantastic one for any little girl to have (especially if you’re a scientist yourself), and almost everyone has heard of [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie, and therefore will know not to pronounce it like “curry”. The link to a name from your family tree is just the icing on the cake.
[name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] Curie especially is a fabulous combo! I saw someone considering Lovelace as a middle for a traditional first a while back and this gives me the same feeling: awesome, empowering and unexpected.
Omg I play Fallout 4 and in the game there’s a character called Curie you can choose as your companion and usually I’d be ‘ehh’ about using names from games but Curie was so cute and just wanted to help everyone she saw (she was sort of uh… a medic, lets say)
I also never once thought of “curry” mainly because Curie was french and she said it like kyure-ee with a very slight roll of the R consonant which made the name sound so graceful, elegant, adorable
Okay- fangirl rant over I’m so sorry lol, what I’m actually saying is: go for it. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if people do recognize the name from the game it’s not a bad association. And the name by itself is just down right cute. And honestly? I WOULD use it as a first name, if you’re willing to use [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] as a first then I see no reason why you couldn’t use Curie. Besides- Curie [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] sounds 10x better than [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] Curie.
[name_f]Edit[/name_f]* After reading the other’s responses- I myself would go with Curie instead of Khoury because Khoury is just… incredibly hideous.
Although I’d pronounce is Cure-ee I wouldn’t be sure I’m pronouncing it correctly. If you’re honouring a surname, use the surname. It’s traditional to put a surname from your family as a middle name. My father’s middle name is his grandmother’s maiden name. I would spell it Khoury. Either way though it reminds me of curry.
I think its perfectly fine! I like [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] Curie the best, I think it would be very beautiful. If you want to use Khoury that would be perfectly fine as well. I really see no problem with Curie, especially as the middle name. Its unique/unusual but also no too out there (must people know [name_f]Marie[/name_f] Curie). I would pronounce it like the last name, but like “curry.”
As a first name I was about to say I loved the intention but didn’t think it would work.
As a middle name I love it and I think it’s wonderful - so much meaning in one name. I also like Khoury as a more direct nod to your heritage, but I think Curie is a cool mix of heritage and awesome women in science.
I love how a name brings so many meanings together. That being said I really love the name. I think it would work best as a MN. Khoury would be cool too if you wanted to be more direct. Curie brings much more meaningful impact while still touching on your heritage a bit.