Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Y’all would really say Nadav as nay-dave? Truly bizarre.

Only thing bizarre is naming your kids nay dave.

Anti-Semite.

Name your child what you want. If people can learn to pronounce Barack Obama, they can learn to pronounce your kid’s name.

One of my worst coworkers ever had Sivan as a surname, so I have a very negative personal association. Adina is lovely. Maytal, eh.

I would probably pronounce Sivan SHEE-vahn (although I see from this thread it should probably be see-vahn and I would remember after a single correction). I’m not Jewish but I gave one of my kids a family name (Swedish) that is often mispronounced by Americans. Her aunt and great-aunt both seem to have survived their full lives in the US without issue with the same name so I assume it’ll be fine.

1. May-tahl, Ah-dee-nah, Sih-vahn

2. I gave my daughter a Western European name that is not typically American. She has to constantly correct people, but she’s happy to have a name that is distinctive. I mention that because it’s okay for my DD, but may not be optimal from your perspective.
(Though it occurs to me: if you plan to be active in your synagogue, then that would at least be a social cohort that would know how to pronounce Israeli names correctly form the start.)

I actually think those names are easier to deal with than say a name like Binyamin, which is close to an American version but slightly different and likely causes nonstop clarification. Your names just seem exotic to most Americans, not a bad thing.

I’m Arab but there is a lot of overlap with Arab and Israeli names. My children’s names have translations in both Hebrew and Arabic. That said, we gave them names that are pretty easy to pronounce and people hardly ever get them wrong (think along the lines of Maya). I think it’s easier to use names that honor your heritage but most people can pronounce. From your list I think Adina would fulfill that criteria.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Y’all would really say Nadav as nay-dave? Truly bizarre.

Only thing bizarre is naming your kids nay dave.

Anti-Semite.

Sih-vahn
Pick what moves your heart. It doesn’t have to be an anglicized name.

Anonymous wrote:Y’all would really say Nadav as nay-dave? Truly bizarre.

Yes. I'm used to names having the emphasis on the first syllable. Not bizarre, just not used to Israeli names or Hebrew pronunciation. I'd say it correctly once somebody taught me.

Adina is the easiest to pronounce for people unfamiliar. I think Sivan and Maytal are about equal, with a slight edge to Sivan because it bears some resemblance to other names they might know (like Siobhan, which also gets mispronounced, but plenty of people are familiar with). Maytal is basically phonetic but particularly among Western people who have kind of narrow ideas about names (see, e.g., this thread) they will stumble over it because there are not a lot of names that sound quite like that.

But ultimately I'd use any of them because your child's name will be used correctly throughout her childhood and by family with no problem. Also, odds are good that she will live in more cosmopolitan places as an adult because of your background. And if she doesn't, oh well -- she'll correct people and some will try and some won't. But SHE will be comfortable in her name and those closest to her will be too. That's enough. You don't have to appease some imagined ignorant, limited person with your child's name choice.

Anonymous wrote:My hebrew name is Adina. Nobody has EVER mispronounced it. My "real" (legal) name is Sharon. I've been surprised by how much it gets mispronounced. Sharon, Cheryl, Sheronne, etc.

So, that's my way of saying consider Adina as your front-runner. Also, consider that when reading the name Sivan, people won't know if that's a male or female name.

I suspect people pronouncing it Sheronne are thinking of American newscasters pronouncing Ariel Sharon’s last name.

Anonymous wrote:Hello all - I'm curious to know you're thoughts on potentially hard to say correctly/commonly mispronounced names. For some context, we live in a very Jewish area where Israeli/Hebrew names are very popular. My DH was born in Israel and our son's name is Nadav. I don't think I've ever heard anyone mispronounce his name.

I'm pregnant with a girl and we've got a few names on the list - Maytal, Adina and Sivan, Sivan being the front runner. Again, I'm sure many people in our area will know and/or make an attempt to learn to pronounce the name but of course, she will not be spending every day of her life in our neighborhood. So my questions are 1) How would you pronounce this name? and 2) Do you believe in giving your children "American" names that are not commonly mispronounced to cut down on constantly having to correct people? I feel that I am a bad judge of this as I have a pretty common name that still gets mispronounced all the time! It doesn't really bother me but I know others have different experiences.

I know kids with these names. My own kids names are similar.

1. May-tall, Ah-dee-nah, See-vahn
2. No

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Y’all would really say Nadav as nay-dave? Truly bizarre.

Only thing bizarre is naming your kids nay dave.

It would be bizarre, except that it’s obviously pronounced nah-dahv.

I could see some confusion but nay-dave is purposely dense.

Anonymous wrote:Y’all would really say Nadav as nay-dave? Truly bizarre.

Only thing bizarre is naming your kids nay dave.

Neigh dave
May tall
Ad in ah
Sihv in