It's September, which means back to school time, and sending your little cherub off to meet a new teacher and new friends. The morning register should be a pretty uneventful part of the school day, but it could cause a bit of bother when it comes to name pronunciation. Prashant Patel, a naming expert from the personalised gifting website PersonalisedBee.com has revealed the top 10 names that teachers find the trickiest to pronounce – will you still want them on your baby list?
Nottingham Trent University conducted research into mispronouncing student names and found that it can "negatively impact learning motivation and sense of belonging". Within the study, "the students revealed that they see pronunciation of names as an issue of respect, equality, and inclusivity, and appreciated any efforts to try to say their name correctly".
Here are the name most commonly mispronounced names*:
1 | Evelyn |
2 | Mila |
3 | Maeve |
4 | Louis |
5 | Beau |
6 | Aoife |
7 | Niamh |
8 | Ralph |
9 | Cian |
10 | Fionn |
Prince William and Princess Kate were clearly not too concerned about the name Louis, and chose it for their second-born son. My close friend Monika Kucharska has chosen Louis for her son and she admits his name causes "plenty of confusion" but she still loves it. "Our two-year old son is called Louis - a name I chose, though to my husband it sounded a bit 'too French' so we decided to pronounce it as 'Lewis,' even though it's spelled like 'Louie'. Unsurprisingly, this causes plenty of confusion (especially for our toddler), made worse by how much people’s pronunciation of the name depends on where they’re from."
Prashant's advice for parents if a teacher mispronounces their child's name:
Explain the correct pronunciation
"Clearly articulate the correct pronunciation, emphasising any tricky sounds or syllables."
Provide comparisons
"If possible, offer examples of words which share similar sounds or a famous face that shares a similar name."
© Getty ImagesRecord the pronunciation
"A short audio recording can even be helpful so the teacher can hear the correct pronunciation."
Explain the importance
"Politely express your concern about the mispronunciation and how it might impact your child's self-esteem or confidence. Share any feelings your child has expressed about the mispronunciation."
*Personalised Bee analysed UK Google search data (via AHRefs) to identify the most frequently searched "how to pronounce [name]" queries. This list was then cross-referenced with BabyCentre’s data on the number of babies registered with each name every year. By combining the two datasets, the team identified the most popular children’s names that are the most commonly mispronounced.
