What are names you like but dislike because of your pronunication

I’m not really sure on the title and I’m not sure if this has already been asked but I’m curious… what are the names you like but you dislike / wouldn’t use because of how it’s pronounced in your country or even just if you prefer another pronunciation?

For example: I’m Australian and I wouldn’t use the name [name_u]Rocky[/name_u] with the Australian pronunciation but I always thought it sounded so cool when Americans say [name_u]Rocky[/name_u].

Similarly with any -er ending names (like [name_u]Parker[/name_u], [name_u]Carter[/name_u], Walker), I personally think these names sound so much nicer with the prominent -er ending rather than the ‘uh’ sound when these names are said here.

So what names do you like except for how they’re pronounced in your accent?

This is a little different, but I love Spanish girl names when pronounced in Spanish! I do actually speak Spanish, so I can pronounce them well, but I live most of the time in [name_f]Canada[/name_f], where they would be constantly said the [name_f]English[/name_f] way. So it’s not that I don’t love them in my accent, I just don’t like them being said the way that everyone else in [name_f]Canada[/name_f] would pronounce them.
A couple examples are:
[name_f]Margarita[/name_f]
[name_f]Allegra[/name_f]
[name_f]Mariposa[/name_f]
[name_u]Carmen[/name_u]
[name_u]Alma[/name_u]

As a Canadian, I feel that I don’t really have an accent (because the way we talk is mostly a mix of [name_f]British[/name_f] and American,) but I guess I do. I actually like most names pronounced in my accent the best (I also like the R at the end, and only recently realized that the [name_f]British[/name_f] said EL-en-nuh for EL-uh-nor. I always thought they were just saying Elena.)

Oh, one thing is that I really like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] variants said with a [name_f]British[/name_f] accent, like: [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], Lilibath, [name_f]Elspeth[/name_f], etc…I think the repetitive Ls sound so cute with that accent!

2 Likes

I don’t think it’s ruined, but I do love how the way [name_f]Ginevra[/name_f] sounds when spoken by Italians - if I try to say it as such, it sounds a bit silly/like I’m mocking.

1 Like

In my accent, certain sounds in words just disappear (yep, there’s no R in [name_u]Parker[/name_u] for me). This is annoying with some of my favourite names ending in T because the T sound is hidden, meaning it is there but it is very hard to hear, so [name_u]Merit[/name_u] sounds like [name_f]Merri[/name_f] and [name_m]Art[/name_m] sounds like [name_m]Ah[/name_m].

I like my accent for names like [name_u]Parker[/name_u] and [name_f]Clara[/name_f] (clah-ruh).

1 Like

[name_f]Unice[/name_f] in an italian accent :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Back to the topic, it’s not so much pronounciation but more how it comes out of my mouth. I like [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] but when I tried saying it (when i was younger), it came out like a jumble of mess. I also like the pronounciation of [name_f]Cosima[/name_f] that isn’t English/British (I forgot the languages and emphasis on syllables and I’m not looking it up again), and I’m [name_f]English[/name_f] so it feels a little weird.

1 Like

[name_u]George[/name_u] & [name_u]Arthur[/name_u] — They both sound so classy in an [name_f]English[/name_f] accent, but not so much in my American accent.

2 Likes

[name_u]Fern[/name_u]. It sounds so much nicer with a [name_f]British[/name_f] accent, or just someone who doesn’t have very heavy R sounds. :weary:

3 Likes

i hate leighton in my accent, i find it super annoying! :two_hearts:

1 Like

I thought the name [name_f]Soleil[/name_f] was beautiful and wanted to use it for my dog! Then I learned it was sow-lay instead of so-leigh and I didn’t love it as much.

1 Like

This is a bit of a deviation from the question, but there is a name I loathe in american english, but I find it tolerable in british english: [name_m]Bernard[/name_m]. The emphasis on “NARRRD” in my accent (american) sounds so gross.

But when the brits say it, I don’t mind it as much.

[name_m]Rupert[/name_m] is similar in this regard.

2 Likes

What you’re describing are names whose pronunciation differs based on whether the accent is rhotic (all r’s are pronounced) or non-rhotic (r’s pronounced only when followed by a vowel sound). A lot of people find names with heavy “consonant clusters” a bit clunky under present fashions, and in the case of names like [name_m]Bernard[/name_m] and [name_m]Rupert[/name_m] not pronouncing the r-followed-by-a-consonant eliminates the clusters.

An example of a name where the converse applies (sounds better with a rhotic pronunciation IMO) is one of my early favorites - [name_f]Kirsten[/name_f] (especially with my preferred “ear” pronunciation).

1 Like

I LOVE the name [name_u]Basil[/name_u], but with the bah-sil pronunciation and not my American bay-sil pronunciation.

Same with the name [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f]— zhahn-vee-ev is SO PRETTY but I dislike the gen-uh-veev pronunciation that most people here would give it (I think it stems for my dislike of the nickname Jen/Jenny, which people would most likely naturally go with).

1 Like