The name you select for your baby is something that will accompany them throughout their life.
A great deal of consideration goes into picking a baby name. It’s important to think about names you like and then carefully consider any potential issues those names might present regarding pronunciation, spelling, or even unfortunate nicknames. After all, unless they decide to change it, your child will carry this name for their entire life – so it needs to be suitable for both their childhood and adulthood.
One mum has expressed her concern that her daughter will spend her whole life “justifying” her name to others, as she’s already having to do so on her behalf. The mother explained that while she adores her child’s name, no one she talks to seems to comprehend it – and they consistently mispronounce it.
Mum Emma posted a video on TikTok in which she stated that people don’t “understand” her 13-month-old daughter’s name, spelt Elae, and she constantly has to correct them when they attempt to pronounce it. She began by recounting an encounter she had with a staff member at Home Bargains who was visibly perplexed by the name.
She said: “The lady at the checkout was like ‘Oh she’s beautiful, what’s her name? ‘ So I tell her her name, and she’s like ‘Oh, Ellie? That’s beautiful’. I said it’s not Ellie, and I tell her her name again, and she’s like ‘Oh, cute’. But you can see it in her eyes. I can see her brain working, trying to figure out what the hell I’m on about.”
Emma also mentioned that earlier in the week, she had taken her daughter to the doctors, and when her name was called out, they pronounced it like “Eely” – which Emma insisted was not correct. The mum didn’t disclose the proper pronunciation in her initial video as she wanted viewers in the comments to guess it; however, towards the end, she indicated that her daughter’s name was spelt “Elae”.
To her, the name “reads how it’s spelt”, and she’s baffled why others can’t pronounce it properly. She added: “This poor girl, bless her, for the rest of her life, is going to have to justify her name to everybody. I know not everyone’s going to like it, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I like different names, I like unusual names, and I can guarantee there’s going to be no other girl in her school with this name.”
Following the initial wave of responses, Emma uploaded a second video stating that she’s “not complaining” and she’s “not mad” about people mispronouncing her daughter’s name. She merely assumed it “read how it was said” and found the reaction puzzling. Finally, she clarified that her daughter’s name should be pronounced “El-ay” – like the acronym for Los Angeles, LA.
Viewers on the follow-up video were swift to back Emma, commending her distinctive choice of name for her child. Several others chimed in with stories of their own children’s uniquely named identities, which people frequently mispronounce.
One person stated: “My daughter is called Capri and people say cap-ri and it drives me mad.” Another added: “My son’s name isn’t even hard to read. It’s Hartley but they try to call him Harvey or Harley. Just say it how it’s spelt! “.