If you have to explain how to say your child’s name you’ve done them a disservice

I caught sight of a discussion on a Facebook group recently with the title “Any suggestions for unusual girls names please?”

My initial reaction was to reply with “What about Calgon, Mooncup, or Donald?”, but given I was logged in to Facebook with my wife’s account I thought better of it.

So I just decided to look through the comments and see what had been suggested.

What became apparent was that so many people are happy to give their girls names which have to come with instructions on how you pronounce them.

What sounds cute when you might call it out in the playground is one thing, but when you’re child starts growing up and goes out into the world and has to spell their name to EVERY person they ever meet then that’s another thing.

I have enough trouble with my surname, which has three similar variations and I have to spell it out on a regular basis, which is immensely irritating, but when it comes to surnames a) you don’t typically have much choice about it b) more people have to do it so it’s less of an issue.