Name begging to be mispronounced?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-07-2007
Name begging to be mispronounced?
14
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 8:57pm

I just found out by ultrasound I am definitely having a daughter. (I have a poll up too).
My husband is set on an Italian name to go with our very Italian last name.
One of the names I love is AGNESA, which is pronounced without the Hard "G."
The pronunciation is Ahn-YAY-za. This is the Italian version of Agnes, and is more like the French pronunciation of Agnes, which is Ahn-yes.

Anyway, I am very interested in honest opinions whether people like this name, is is too hard to pronounce, too much for a little girl. Does it sound pretentious to the American ear.

Thank you!

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2007
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 10:21pm

Hi....

I don't think it's pretentious...., but I do see teachers mis-pronouncing her name for the first week of every school year.

You could always have it as a middle name and have a first name of like.... Katerina (I think this is the Italian for Catherine/Katherine ).... or Sofia/Sophia

Connie

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-02-2003
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 10:22pm

Well...yes, I think it will be mispronounced a lot as Ag-ness-a. BUT...I don't think that should stop you from honoring your heritage if you don't mind making the corrections.

Oh...and those of us that watched the Bachelor last season (the one the filmed in Italy) should get it right since that was the Italian girl's name. :-)

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 10:57pm

I think a lot of people will mispronounce it, but it doesn't sound pretentious, esp. with an Italian ln.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-15-2007
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 11:36pm
I like this name. But I definitely think it will be mispronounced 99.9% of the time by people who are reading it for the first time, i.e., who haven't yet met your daughter in person or been told in advance how to pronounce her name and are reading it from a chart at the doctor's office, from a class attendance list on the first day of school (or whenever a substitute is teaching the class), at interviews later in life, in business calls, etc. And frankly, lots of people will continue to pronounce it incorrectly even after they have met her and/or been told how to pronounce her name. I see this at work all the time. But that doesn't make the name "pretentious," in my opinion - it's just a lovely name that is: (1) unusual by US standards, and (2) not pronounced in English the way it is spelled. So it depends whether you want the hassle of explaining it over and over again, and whether you want your daughter to have to do the same throughout her life. Maybe the name is so beautiful to your ear that that simply outweighs the inconvenience - only you can decide that. If it were me, I think I would choose something else. But that's just me.
Avatar for dr_kae
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 11:39pm
It doesn't sound pretentious, it sounds lovely--but I do think it will be roundly mispronounced.
<Photobucket
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2005
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 11:56pm

I've never seen this version of Agnes! It's lovely, but there's a very good chance it'll be mispronounced often, since you don't see it much. I don't think it's too difficult that people would have to be told repeatedly how to say it, though. I would choose a mn that's a bit more common, just to balance it out, though, and give her an option later, if it does become irritating to her, to correct people on the pronunciation. Alternatively, she could go by Aggie or Ness/Nessa/Nessie.

Anyway, like I said, it's a lovely name, and you shouldn't let the possibility of mispronunciation stop you from using it, if you really want this to be her name. After all, most people's names these days end up being mispronounced by someone they meet, at some point. My name isn't off-the-wall at all (Colleen), and I always get Connie, Carleen, and Pauline.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-14-2003
Tue, 05-15-2007 - 8:00am

It is a very difficult name for us Americans!! I think almost everyone will say it w/ the hard "g", as I thought it was pronounced.

"I am very interested in honest opinions whether people like this name **not particularly**,

is is too hard to pronounce **definitely**,

too much for a little girl **probably here in the US**.

Does it sound pretentious to the American ear **It doesn't sound pretentious, really, just confusing**."

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2005
Tue, 05-15-2007 - 5:55pm
I love it, but I do think most people would mispronounce it with a short "A" and hard "G" (as in "bag" - AG-nessa) - and that takes away some of its loveliness.

AJ, enjoying life with C.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-07-2007
Fri, 05-18-2007 - 12:43pm
Thank you everyone for all the replies. It was really helpful to know what others think because we are not really discussing names too much with friends/family. I am going to choose something else, even though I really love the name when said correctly. I grew up with people always mispronouncing my first name, but once corrected people were really good. I agree that Agnesa might just be too confusing and some people might not even remember how to say it once corrected. Plus, whenever anyone sees it on paper for the first time they will mispronounce it in their heads. Thanks everyone for letting me get it out of my system!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-02-2005
Fri, 05-18-2007 - 5:10pm
You could always use it as a mn. :)

Pages