Selecting a baby name that others can easily understand isn’t always as easy as it might look.
The most crucial factor in choosing a name for your child is that you adore it, whether you prefer timeless classics or something a bit unconventional. After all, you’ll be using this name for years to come, so it’s essential to pick one that you enjoy saying. You may also want to consider how easily the name can be pronounced and spelt to avoid any difficulties when introducing your child to others.
However, as one mother has discovered, some individuals seem to struggle with even the most uncomplicated names. Her daughter’s name, while not extremely common, is by no means invented, yet strangers consistently mispronounce it.
In a TikTok video, Lucy shared her frustration, stating that people “can’t seem to grasp” her daughter’s name, and encountering those who mispronounce it or label it “strange” has become a “daily occurrence”. Although she didn’t disclose her daughter’s name in this particular clip, she has previously revealed that her daughter is named Romie.
Lucy expressed her exasperation: “People just can’t seem to grasp my daughter’s name. We went to a kid’s party yesterday and somebody got it so wrong. So so wrong. And I took her to a playroom for the first time today and they just didn’t know [how to say it].”
“It took them a while to work out what I was saying, and then when they finally got it, they were like ‘Oh, that’s a strange name’. Is it really that strange?”
Lucy, in an added explanation to her video, made it clear that the employee had described her daughter’s name as “unusual” rather than “strange”. But highlighting just how often her daughter’s name causes confusion, Lucy shared a follow-up video the next day. In this new clip, she recounted a recent hospital visit where the nurses mistakenly called her daughter “Ronnie”.
The post resonated with other parents on social media, who shared their own experiences of naming woes. They pointed out that regardless of a name’s ease of pronunciation if it isn’t widely recognised, it’s prone to be misheard or mispronounced.
One commenter said: “My daughter is Rogue, and people haven’t got it right for nine years. Even though it’s a word that’s used a lot.” Another parent lamented: “My kid is called Sonny, and people can’t even get that right.”
Meanwhile, a third shared their amusement: “I find people’s attempts at my son’s name hilarious – when I handed out birthday party invites, people were so confused. It’s Llewellyn.”