Mathilde

[Anonymous]

I'd only do it if you were going to go directly to the nn Maddie.
And that might sort of obviate your purpose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think we could get away with the French pronunciation (Ma TEEL) in the DC area?

Trying to honor a family member whose name was Matilda, but I just personally cannot make myself like this pronunciation.

Thoughts?

You can try, but I don't think you'll succeed.

Agree. I have a much, much simpler name than that and I have to correct everyone on first meeting. People are not good at this, and that's not at all a common name / pronounciation (in the US, at least).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In French you still hear the d at the end, not sure if you intended to leave that out. The pronunciation is closer to mah TEELD.

Love the French version of the name but that pronunciation isn't something you can expect people to adopt here. Be prepared for DD to be called Matilda and Matildé (Spanish pronunciation, doesn't have accent but sounds like I wrote it).

I have a French name and even my family and I only say it with a French accent when we're speaking French. IMO switching accents midstream is jarring for both speaker and listener. YMMV

Oh that is an excellent point. It is more about the accent than the pronounciation (as opposed to say, Siobhan). Another strike, I'm afraid.

[Anonymous]

She will always be called Ma-till-duh. When she corrects people, will she be able to pronounce her name as the French truly do? Will you? Are you French? If not, this is just an exercise in pretension that is best forgotten.

[Anonymous]

It's cute with the French pronunciation but I don't think it would pan out like you expect. We used a welsh name and ended up changing the spelling to the Anglo form of the same name because people were constantly confused on the pronunciation.

[Anonymous]

Seriously pretentious, sorry. math-ild to most, and then the correction...

[Anonymous]

Could you at least drop the "H" so it could be spelled "Matilde"?

[Anonymous]

Personally, I hate it, and think it will be pronounced and spelled incorrectly all the time. But what really matters is if you love it (or if you think honoring a family member is worth choosing a name you don't love). If you don't love and it really want to use the family name, perhaps think middle name?

[Anonymous]

I have a (Dutch) relative with that name. She goes by Tiel. (Teel). I think it's a lovely name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In French you still hear the d at the end, not sure if you intended to leave that out. The pronunciation is closer to mah TEELD.

Love the French version of the name but that pronunciation isn't something you can expect people to adopt here. Be prepared for DD to be called Matilda and Matildé (Spanish pronunciation, doesn't have accent but sounds like I wrote it).

I have a French name and even my family and I only say it with a French accent when we're speaking French. IMO switching accents midstream is jarring for both speaker and listener. YMMV

Oh that is an excellent point. It is more about the accent than the pronounciation (as opposed to say, Siobhan). Another strike, I'm afraid.

Yes, save me from people who think I should adopt their preferred accent when pronouncing their DC's names. (I'm talking to you, friend with Ukranian-named kids!) The best you can expect is a U.S.-accent applied to the foreign pronunciation. So Juan will be called "wahn" not "hu-ahn." In this case, you will get "matilda" every time, and if you correct, you might eventually get an annoyed "ma-teel," but it will sound like a rock in the person's mouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a (Dutch) relative with that name. She goes by Tiel. (Teel). I think it's a lovely name.

Why not name her ~ (prounounced "tilde")?

[Anonymous]

Ma~

[Anonymous]

Sure, you and she can go around correcting people for the rest of her life. Is it worth it?
I also hate this name, even if it was popularized by Michelle Williams. I think it's hideous and falls into the category of classic, unused and ugly names that are being brought back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She will always be called Ma-till-duh. When she corrects people, will she be able to pronounce her name as the French truly do? Will you? Are you French? If not, this is just an exercise in pretension that is best forgotten.

+1

[Anonymous]

horrible.