What would you have done?

My brother and his GF are expecting a boy and today he told me the name they have decided on. It’s the name of a historical figure as well and one that many people would associate with that specific figure. But. My brother mispronounced it 🫣 At first I didn’t say anything but at the end of our convo I just couldn’t let it go and told him in a kind way that it’s pronounced differently and that I thought I would mention it since he himself referred to this historical figure as the inspiration. Afterward I felt bad that I corrected him/interfered. I told him after that I felt bad and he just laughed and said it was good I told him. But I still feel like I maybe shouldn’t have? Like, the name they love now sounds different than they thought and what if they won’t like the way it’s actually pronounced and I then messed that up for them :( On the other hand; I would have a hard time mispronouncing my nephew’s name :)

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I get why you mentioned it, but they can still choose to pronounce it how they choose, regardless of spelling, and you'd just have to adapt to that.

@Evelyn i agree

if they were using the same name as a famous historical person and mispronounced it, i wouldn’t say anything. if they were naming their kid after said famous historical person, you should absolutely correct it, at the very least so that they’re aware of the actual name in case they get asked a question later in life

I would rather know i was mispronouncing it before baby was here and officially had the name on the birth certificate. If I liked my way of saying it, I could still choose to do that but maybe with some spelling modifications

If your brother is cool with you correcting him then this sounds like a non-issue

You did your nephew a favor! My husband is named something Japanese (he’s not Japanese) His parents made up their own pronunciation. Not only can no one pronounce it the way they think it should be pronounced, the actual Japanese pronunciation is nothing like the way Americans even think to pronounce it. He doesn’t even go by that name anymore

Can they find the spelling for the name that they pronounced? It can still have the association in my mind. That’s ok

As someone that has to explain how to pronounce my name to every single person I meet that isn’t Scottish (thanks mum n dad), trust me your nephew would want them to know. While your family will adapt to saying the pronunciation they’ve created, every other person he meets will say it the historical way, and he’ll either have to correct them or accept being called something different. It’s a headache for him in the long run

@Eilidh dang girl I read “eyelid” 😂 so sorry but if I try my hardest to come up with something I only come up with the name that sounds like eye-la? So sorry lol. My kids names are constantly mispronounced as well. My sons name is asphodel and the med tech at the doctor came to the waiting door and called for assfoddle 😫😫😭

I want to know what the name is 👀 napoleon?!

@Coco it’s like Ailey so rhymes with Hayley or Kayley or Bailey etc but without a consonant at the start 😂 very popular in Scotland but nowhere else

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