Francesca - pronunciation problems? (m)

Avatar for eran01
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Francesca - pronunciation problems? (m)
9
Thu, 01-06-2005 - 8:53pm

I am pregnant and dont know the sex yet, but I was thinking of the name Francesca (nn Chess, Chessie, or Frankie). We have an Italian last name and our son's name is Vincent and daughter's name is Charlotte. I was just wondering if people would mispronounce Francesca because of the "ces" being pronounced as a "CH" sound.. or there might be a problem with spelling. ANy thoughts or opinions on the subject? My other top contenders right now are Caroline and Corinne.

Thanks,

Erin

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-29-2003
Thu, 01-06-2005 - 9:17pm

Hi!

I love all of your girl name choices, including Charlotte!

Caroline is my all time favorite girls' name, but in your case, I wouldn't use it because both Charlotte and Caroline are feminine forms of Charles, I believe. So to me they are just different variations of the same name, sort of like Michelle and Michaela are both feminine forms of Michael and Jean and Jane are both feminine forms of John.

I like both Corinne and Francesca very much. I probably prefer Corinne by a hair, but if you like Francesca, I wouldn't worry about the pronounciation. I think most people know that it is pronounced with a "ch" sound in the middle. I would not alter the spelling to Franchesca, if that's what you are thinking. It just doesn't look as pretty.

If you choose Francesca, I think any of the nns would work. Frankie if she's more of a tomboy, Chessie if she's more of a girly-girl.

Hope this helps! But I really like all of your options, so as far as I'm concerned, you can't make a "bad" choice!

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 01-06-2005 - 9:26pm

I don't think that there will be pronounciation problems. It's one of those names that people have heard before and you're not doing some cre8tive spelling or pronounciation.

I like Frankie much better then Chessie. Chessie reminds me of "Chesty."

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Thu, 01-06-2005 - 11:45pm
I love all your names, and I can't imagine that too many people do not know the correct pronunciation of Francesca -- but I could be surprised. As for Caroline and Corrine, I love them both. I especially like Caroline -- a classic. I even had Caroline Elise on my list at one point. Good luck!
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 12:16am

I think Francesca is lovely, and I don't think there would be a problem with pronunciation for most people, it is a fairly common name. Good luck with whatever you decide!

Maggie

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-20-2003
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 10:53am

I would definitely go with Francesca! Some people may mispronounce it, but most people I think know how to say it. Any name can get mispronounced, even seemingly easy/common names! I do like Caroline, but I think it is too similar to Charlotte. Corinne is okay, too, but I just think Francesca has the most personality!

Good luck,
Ali

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 01-07-2005 - 12:25pm

Our Francesca was almost Corinna ;O) We have similar taste.

Nobody ever mispronounces Francesca's name... not even her 3 year-old sister.. she's been able to say it since Francesca was born (when big sis was 25 months old).

I'm not crazy about the nn Chessi, since cesso in Italian means commode.... although if you aren't living in Italy and if you don't have Italian relatives, it really doesn't matter much.

I think Francesca is a great name-- we get lots of compliments on it too.

Danielle


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Avatar for alsatia23
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Sun, 01-09-2005 - 4:55pm
I think the pronunciation of Francesca should be straightforward.






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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2004
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 11:47pm
We're naming one of our triplets (due in March) Francesca... My six year old cousin knew that the name was Fran-CHES-ca just from looking at the name written down, so I really wouldn't worry about it. I think it's a beautiful name, and can't wait to meet my daughter(s) (we dont know if they're G/B/B or G/G/B, but we do know we're having at least one of each). Good Luck!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Mon, 01-10-2005 - 11:55pm

I really like the name Francesca and think most people would pronounce it correctly but as someone said, any name can be mispronounced, even common ones (my dd's name is Marie and is always being called Maria).