Get this. My cousin is having a baby girl in three weeks and she and her husband just decided on a name. [name]Niamh[/name]. And before you say “Oh, I like that name!” or “Thats pretty!” shes pronouncing it completely wrong! For anyone unfamilar with the name, its pronounced like [name]Neve[/name]. She made the announcement on facebook, so naturally thats how I thought it was pronounced! When I went over to her house I made a comment about [name]Little[/name] [name]Niamh[/name] ([name]Neve[/name]) and she said “[name]Neve[/name]? Her name is [name]Niamh[/name], like [name]Liam[/name] with an N” YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Has anyone you know ever done something like that? It is driving me crazy! Lol.
Did you tell her it’s pronounced like [name]Neve[/name]? I would be soooooo tempted to, if I were you!
[name]How[/name] could she have chosen a name without double-checking how it’s pronounced?? You should tell her she’s saying it wrong or this kid will get ridiculed. I would have thought most people would have at least heard of it 
I don’t think that you can fault your cousin really. Look at the spelling. Unless someone was really trying to do some research into it, how would they know how that name was “supposed” to sound? When I first saw the name, I had some negative thoughts and felt it was just some made up name like so many I see these days, but clicked on the name to be redirected for an explanation. With your pronunciation, it makes sense. With your cousins, however, it sounds made up.
You may just have to grin and bear it though.
Oh no… I don’t know what I would do in this situation! There is a young girl on here whose name is the word queen in French which is roughly pronounced like [name]Wren[/name], but the girl’s family has always pronounced it as [name]Rainey[/name] and she just talked about how mortified she is that her family isn’t pronouncing it correctly.
I think that it’s not too late to correct her pronunciation since she already knows that you pronounce it differently. I suppose you must make the decision at your discretion based on how well you know your cousin. But, whether she likes it or not, [name]Niamh[/name] is not pronounced like [name]Liam[/name] with an ‘n.’ It’s simply incorrect (and, in my opinion, not as lovely for a little girl).
Congrats to her on her little girl and good luck with whatever you decide to to!
I did, but I was trying to be nice so I’m pretty sure it didn’t help any! I said “Oh, I’ve only ever heard it pronounced [name]Neve[/name]. I think thats how most people say it.” And all she said back was “Oh, well I guess her name is unique then!” I was like omg. Poor kid! But I live in the US and that name is pretty uncommon as is, at least in my area, so maybe people will not even realize how terrible it is…
I would have been a little more blunt, I’d have just said “You really should check and see how it is pronounced, because you’re doing it wrong.”
I would also tell her that she is pronouncing it incorrectly. Furthermore, I would show her various websites online and have her hear outloud the correct pronunciation. lol.
As a person whose name is actually [name]Niamh[/name], i think i’d murder her!!!
Plus the ‘Neeve’ pronunciation is well better that ‘[name]Niam[/name]’ !!! [name]Silly[/name] silly people!!
I think many people do have issues correctly pronouncing names from other cultures. It seems like Irish/Welsh/Scottish names seem to get the short end of the stick! You tried your best to gently correct her, but if she likes [name]Niamh[/name]-like-[name]Liam[/name], let it go and let her deal with the weird looks and mispronunciations!
I knew a girl in college call [name]Mairead[/name] but pronounced Maaa-rid instead of the traditional Ma-raid. [name]Every[/name] person she met (including several Irish people) constantly corrected her when she introduced herself. Not an awesome way to go through life.
I imagine that will be pretty embarrassing for your cousin’s daughter if she ever travels to [name]Ireland[/name] or the U.K. That’s a shame and an awkward situation.
It sounds like your cousin likes the name “[name]Niam[/name]” - [name]Liam[/name] pronounced with an N - and not the name “[name]Niamh[/name]” pronounced ‘[name]Neve[/name]’. Perhaps she should spell it accordingly, to avoid confusion and possible mockery.
I don’t think it’s that weird, lots of names are pronounced incorrectly. Lots of websites and book have the wrong pronunciation as well. And, let’s face it, irish names can be tricky, especially if your not on the british isles. I would just tell her it’s pronounced neve and see what she says.
I totally agree with Jyoti. Why not just spell it [name]Niam[/name]? Maybe you should email her this thread :-b
Please please please correct her fully on this.
[name]Trust[/name] me, it will not be fun for her daughter.
I agree with the other recommendations…she should spell it “[name]Niam[/name]”.
At least you tried to politely warn her. Poor baby girl…
[name]Just[/name] explain that it’s a well known name across the pond and that “mh” makes the “v” sound in gaelic. Tell her people will be constantly getting it “wrong” by saying it like [name]Neve[/name] and that she should spell it [name]Niam[/name] if she wants it to sound like [name]Liam[/name].
I kind of feel like you’ve said your piece. As frustrating as it is, it just doesn’t sound like it sunk in. If someone said that to me, I’d at least start asking around or look it up, not just blow it off like it was actually even cooler that it was mispronounced. If you push the issue, she’ll probably just get pissed off and do it the way she wants to anyway. Maybe if she hears it from several people, she’ll question the decision, but I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve met a [name]Sasha[/name] and a [name]Monika[/name] whose names I assumed were sosh-a and mon-ih-ca who were really sash-a and mo-nee-ka. I’d assume those were names their parents knew most people would pronounce a certain way, and went the way they did regardless.
Honestly, no matter what she decides, this little girl will go through life having her name mispronounced. [name]Even[/name] if your cousin pronounces it [name]Neve[/name], the majority of the American public will most likely pronounce it [name]Niam[/name]. She’ll be constantly correcting everyone.
If I were you, I’d tell her firmly that in its native land, [name]Niamh[/name] is pronounced Neeve. However, if she doesn’t get it, I wouldn’t worry about it.
This name would get mispronounced in US no matter what. And to be honest, I find both pronunciations ([name]Niam[/name] and Neeve) very pretty. So whatever it is, the baby girl will have a nice name.
I lived in [name]Ireland[/name] for a couple years and I know first hand [name]Niamh[/name] is very popular Irish name. But I had never heard of it before I lived in [name]Ireland[/name]. Many Irish girls with Gealic names told me that they pretty much expected to get their names mispronounced when traveling in the US.