Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Xochitl is the Siobhan of the Spanish-speaking world. People might not know how to pronounce it, but they'll learn and it's so memorable they won't forget it.

The problem is that Xochitl will have to teach thousands of people over the course of her life how to pronounce it. What a nightmare. Don’t do this to an American kid.

God you are dramatic. I have a name that is difficult to pronounce and I often have to correct people (if they ask or if it's someone I interact with often, if it's the receptionist at my dentist office or something I don't say anything because I don't really care). I don't even think it's an inconvenience let alone a "nightmare."

FWIW, I know two Xochitls through work and went to high school with one (in a rural town in upstate New York). It's rare, and I do think many people will struggle with the pronunciation, but I don't think it's that unheard of.

Zo-Chit-Ill

White people who have been to Xelha in Cancun can probably figure out how to pronounce it.

I also have an unusual name that people have mispronounced my entire life. I always say it made me strong as a child and learn how to stick up for myself in correcting people who mispronounced it. I was the PP who said it’s common in California and stand by you going for it. It’s so pretty.

Sochee -- BUT I just read "Catfishing on CatNet," and it's a plot point.

As a person with an unusual and hard to spell name -- go for it. If she turns out to hate it, she can always go by a nickname. And there are plenty of Jennifers and Rachels who end up going by unusual nicknames -- sometimes folks with plain names turn out to not like those, either.

So-chill

Though the t at the end throws me off a bit...

don't do that to a child. I wpuld get so sick of people not being able to say my name I would beg to get it changed

Latin American here. Work with someone with this name. Have to think about it each and every time + had to ask the person the first time. Latin America is large and diverse; this is not, for example, a common name known to people from the Caribbean unless exposed through other Latin American cultures. Anyway, if you don't mind your kid having to teach people how to say it all of the time or having people see the name and get stressed out about messing it up (right or wrong- it's what happens per the 'oh shit' poster above) go for it. I mean...name the kid something that you like.

Anonymous wrote:Im Latina and live in Mexico and I have to really think about it.

Really? I grew up in boring California suburbs, am not particularly clued in, and I can't remember the first time I encountered the name. I've met multiple women with the name and it doesn't feel unusual to me. I am not saying my pronunciation would be perfect by any means, but I know how the woman with the name would likely want to pronounce it and I don't remember when I learned that but it was when I was young. I didn't think it was especially rare.

Im Latina and live in Mexico and I have to really think about it.

I'll add...this is like a microcosm of parenting --- you have to make a ton of decisions for kids without really knowing what they will be like as people. Some people love having a name that stands out, other people hate it. I feel like there are probably a lot of things I would have done differently for my kids, if I'd known more about who they are as people when I started out with them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Xochitl is the Siobhan of the Spanish-speaking world. People might not know how to pronounce it, but they'll learn and it's so memorable they won't forget it.

The problem is that Xochitl will have to teach thousands of people over the course of her life how to pronounce it. What a nightmare. Don’t do this to an American kid.

I am in California and it's common among American kids. Sorry, but whatever place you live that apparently has no Latina population isn't representative of "American."

I’m from the SW and grew up with a lot of Mexican-Americans and wouldn’t know how to pronounce it. I would have guessed standard soanish pronunciation—so X like an H, i like eee, and pronounce all the consonants. I take it this is from a Southern Mexican indigenous language? I think that’s a more recent immigrant group to the US and maybe not prevalent in all areas with Latino communities.
I agree it’s like the Irish names—challenging for Americans and many people will get it wrong, but fine if you don’t mind correcting people and don’t take offense easily.

Same here. I'm also from the SW, but I (myself) am Mexican-American and still would have messed up the pronunciation. I recognize it as Nauhatl (Aztec) from my Chicano Studies courses, but would guess at least some of my family (if not most) would not know it either. I've only ever met one person in real life whose name was in Nauhatl, and that was easier to pronounce.

I agree with PP that it's about how much you mind correcting people. I think most people will easily remember it once told, but you and your kid will be explaining it every time she meets someone new.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Xochitl is the Siobhan of the Spanish-speaking world. People might not know how to pronounce it, but they'll learn and it's so memorable they won't forget it.

The problem is that Xochitl will have to teach thousands of people over the course of her life how to pronounce it. What a nightmare. Don’t do this to an American kid.

I am in California and it's common among American kids. Sorry, but whatever place you live that apparently has no Latina population isn't representative of "American."

I’m from the SW and grew up with a lot of Mexican-Americans and wouldn’t know how to pronounce it. I would have guessed standard soanish pronunciation—so X like an H, i like eee, and pronounce all the consonants. I take it this is from a Southern Mexican indigenous language? I think that’s a more recent immigrant group to the US and maybe not prevalent in all areas with Latino communities.
I agree it’s like the Irish names—challenging for Americans and many people will get it wrong, but fine if you don’t mind correcting people and don’t take offense easily.

Ko-chee-tul or Zo-chee-tul
(With long o and long e vowel sounds)

Oh, shit