Friend offended I couldn't pronounce baby name...

[Hippiemomlife]

Lmao I'm enjoying reading all of these responses! I'm glad I'm not alone

 

[Wriggley]

My boys names are Z.acoiya and A.lakae (without the fullstop that just to stop google searches from bringing up my posts on here - as a family member did this once!)

I expected to be asked how they are pronounced, its really nothing to get offended about!

funny enough most people can pronounce Z's name its spelt exactly as you say it Zac-oi-ya, A's name we get a few people pronounce the end as Kai when its pronounced Kay but again its not a big deal!

she will be fine! shes probably just had a few people say it and being the emotional wreck us girls are having just given birth shes probably a tad more sensitive

 

[AmeliePoulain]

I've just looked at the stats for 2013 and Isla was the 5th most common name for girls in england and wales that year, it bet it is even more so now.

I am very familiar with it but possible because of Isla Fisher - an actress who was in Home and Away years ago

My middle daugher has an usual name (as do I) and I don't mind helping people out with pronouciation and I always spell it for people when I'm on the phone.

 

[BabyMamma93]

Malakai is always said and spelt wrong, alot of people ask me how 'baby' is bcos they cant spell it, i dont like that, one thing i dislike is people calling babies 'Baby' as a name like 'will u feed the baby please' it bugs me but anyway i dont get offended or upset but i would prefer them to put M.
i also dont get offended or upset when people say his name wrong, i just tell them how its said no bad feelings

 

[NotNic]

Because I'm in the UK and it is popular I think I would have been baffled by why you couldn't pronounce it but I don't think I would be so snappy about it.

 

[liz1985]

I know how to pronounce it but its really popular where I am and i know a few children with the name. I have Esmé pronounced es-may, which i thought everyone would know how to pronounce but lots of people call her es-mee. It doesnt really bother me. Maybe your friend was just having an emotional day.

 

[kneeswrites]

Lmao wat. If you name your kid something that can't be pronounced phonetically you need to be prepared for that. We named our daughter Caoimhe (Keeva) and since we live in the US we knew people would always pronounce it wrong/ask how to say it. It's not offensive. It's just part of the deal.

 

[Larkspur]

Lmao wat. If you name your kid something that can't be pronounced phonetically you need to be prepared for that. We named our daughter Caoimhe (Keeva) and since we live in the US we knew people would always pronounce it wrong/ask how to say it. It's not offensive. It's just part of the deal.

Well, to be fair, there are a huge number of words in the English language that are not pronounced phonetically. Isla is pronounced just like the start of "Island", so it's not that weird that the friend didn't realise people would have so much trouble with it, especially as it's an increasingly popular name.

I'm not saying she was right to snap, but it seems like she might be feeling the exasperation someone might feel if people kept asking if Charlotte was pronounced "Char-lottie" (instead of actual pronunciation of "Shar-lot").

 

[Rainbow82]

Sounds like your friend was just frustrated and didn't realise people might have trouble pronouncing it. We have called our son Caleb and didn't Think it was that unusual but seems it is and a few people have had to ask how to pronounce it, TBH that doesn't bother me but it does irritate me
When people won't even try to pronounce just come out with oh I'll not be able to pronounce that as some people have done.

 

[staralfur]

I actually had no idea that so many people didn't know how to pronounce Isla until I read this thread, so it is entirely possible that she didn't realize it would be a big issue before she chose the name.

 

[minties]

I only knew how to say it as there was an actress on an Aussie tv show (Home and Away) called Isla Fisher who married Sasha Baron Cohen. I still say it eyes-lah in my head!

I had a rabbit called Hamish once and some American friends thought it was said ham (like the food) ish and asked me why I gave my rabbit an Indian name. Eh?

 

[cazi77]

I actually had no idea that so many people didn't know how to pronounce Isla until I read this thread, so it is entirely possible that she didn't realize it would be a big issue before she chose the name.

I agree totally! I have an Isla and no one has ever mis pronounced her name or asked how it's pronounced.

 

[adrie]

Canadian here, and thought Isla is pronounced with a silent s, automatically. Don't recall if I've heard it before though.

My daughter's name is Valla, and my one aunt asked about the pronunciation. hahaha... It's pronounced exactly as it is spelt, but if someone calls her Vall-a it doesn't bother me in the slightest as I like that also. Interestingly enough, she is the only person who has asked about pronunciation.

IMO, people who name their children different names shouldn't be offended when everyone doesn't automatically know how to pronounce them. It's really not a big deal...once people know, they know, right?

 

[adrie]

I only knew how to say it as there was an actress on an Aussie tv show (Home and Away) called Isla Fisher who married Sasha Baron Cohen. I still say it eyes-lah in my head!

I had a rabbit called Hamish once and some American friends thought it was said ham (like the food) ish and asked me why I gave my rabbit an Indian name. Eh?

That's right! Pretty red headed girl. Was in Wedding Crashers.

 

[Rurin]

My twins are A.oibheanna and O.isín. ( full stops for Google proofing great idea!) DH is Irish and as we're in the UK we wanted them to have a little of their culture. Part of the fun is watching people have a go at pronouncing them!
I would never get offended because they are really hard!
For the record it's ee-Van-a and Uh (as in up) sheen

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

I only knew it was eye-lah because we call the Isle of wight ' Isla white' lol but I have a friend actually called Isla and pronounces her own name as IZ-LA and she is 30 so its not your fault. X

 

[sethsmummy]

i have heard that name quite often. but tbh she shouldnt be getting annoyed at people not knowing how to pronounce it. Ive had alsorts of variations for my son Rohan pronounces Ro-"h"-an with a silent h. weve had Ro-Han, Ro-Wan and it doesnt bother me in the slightest i just correct them x

 

[mayacat]

I'm in Canada, never heard that name before and would have pronounced it exactly the way you did. Honestly, if there are silent letters in your kid's name, you can't be surprised by people who ask how to say it or pronounce it wrong. I think your friend got her nose out of joint but you will certainly not be the only one to ask and she'll soon find a hoard of people not asking and just pronouncing it phonetically.

Just saw there are a number of people here who know how to say it, which is great. I'm also speaking as someone whose name was mispronounced repeatedly for my whole life until Katy Perry became famous.

 

[lam_76]

I would have known how to pronounce it, but im scottish and its quite popular here. My lo is called istafa which is pronounced ista-fa but almost everyone says i-stafa. I corrected most people when he was born but i have a few friends i didn't correct but i wish i had as now lo is 16 months old and they still say it wrong! It doesn't annoy me or anything though.

 

[Andypanda6570]

I find it absolutely ridiculous she got offended .. Now, if she explained it to you times before and told you how to pronounce it numerous times then yea I wouldn't get offended just pissed off..