Like most, the second my husband and I found out we were pregnant we started thinking of baby names. If you’ve had a child you’ve probably seen the popular meme, “you never know how many people you dislike until you have to name a baby.” It’s not easy! Luckily with our first as soon as we found out it was a girl we were able to narrow the choices down to two pretty easily.
With our second, it was much more difficult. We still loved our boy name but once we found out we were having another girl we were going through so many names each day not finding any that we even remotely agreed on. Some of the names we both liked were different; Elsbeth and Camila to name a few. Part of the reason my husband wouldn’t settle on them was he was worried our child would go through life correcting others on how to say her name.
Four weeks before we were due we settled on Madeline. It wasn’t too popular, we both liked the nickname Maddie and it was pronounced exactly how it was spelled. Shortly after her arrival we realized our choice of name was not agreeing with everyone. I can’t even recall how many times she was called MadeLYNN in those first few weeks. Close family, nurses, friends, everyone was pronouncing her name wrong. At first we laughed it off but after 2-3 weeks of it we started to panic that despite our best efforts she would always have to correct others on the pronunciation of her name. She’s now almost a year and a half old and while it still happens once in awhile it’s not as constant as it once was.
Here are a few tips on how to handle the situation:
- SPEAK UP – If your child’s name is pronounced wrong correct the person who said it. Have a quick phrase to associate with the name, “said exactly as it’s spelled,” works for us. This helps people think before they speak.
- KEEP YOUR COOL – Most likely the mispronunciation is not intentional. Remember while you’ve had to correct 25 people on how to say their name, it’s probably the first time you’re correcting that person.
- CHOOSE THE NAME YOU WANT – You never know how someone is going to react to a name, but if you feel strongly about the name you choose it will be easier to defend, should the situation arise.
Do you have a horror story about a name you chose for your child? Leave it in the comments!
Happy middle of the week! Find me on instagram @thestrugglingworkinmama
Jessie