No one can pronounce or spell my daughter’s ‘old German’ name – I don’t like it either

A mother confessed she regrets giving her daughter an old German name.

She said it was a challenge to agree with her husband on a name for their daughter.

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The mother asked for advice about the situation in a forum post on the pregnancy website What To Expect.

MYSTIFIING NAME

She and her husband have “opposite” name preferences, making it difficult to choose a name for each of their five children.

“I go for more old-fashioned names (think grandparents) and he likes trendy/unique names,” she said, writing under the name Chai tea.

“We’ve never had one that we both loved and we both didn’t hate.

“With this baby we blocked each other’s names so much that we were only left with Ottilie and Echo (I didn’t love either of them).

“We did some voting, Ottilie won. She’s turning 5 months this week and I kept hoping it would grow on me, but it didn’t.

“Nobody understands what I say when I say it, nobody can spell it, it’s frustrating because it’s not even a name I like.”

The mother says she becomes “outraged” because her husband refuses to change their daughter’s name.

She revealed that during her pregnancy he picked out 15 “unique” names and rejected her long list of suggestions.

“I say ooo Love Caroline! And he says ‘Oh, that’s awful! What about Ridley!'” she said.

“We thought Ottilli was a good basis for a common cause, because it is a bit of both. And I even agreed to it, because it is not made up.

“It’s almost in the UK top 100 and it’s a very old German name.

“I thought people would recognize it as a name, even though it’s not common. But I was wrong!

“I feel like people look at me like I called her ‘spoon’ or something and then I have to explain it over and over again because they find it so weird or hard to say.”

The mother said she has tried pronouncing the name in different ways, but she still can’t get it right.

UNPOPULAR OPINIONS

Reactions to the post were mixed, but most commenters were eager to make suggestions for changing the name.

“Ottoline? Otto is VERY manly,” someone said.

“Why not something beautiful and feminine like Caroline? Emeline? Madeline? Natalie?

“With all due respect, I really don’t understand how you pronounce her name in general.

“It sounds completely made up and she will be correcting people her whole life. I would change her name.”

However, another forum member suggested that the mother would be better off choosing a nickname rather than changing her daughter’s name.

“Oh my god, she’s so cute, I see a little Tilly,” she said, pointing to a photo of the baby.

“Ottilie is precious and she has a variety of nicknames she can use. I wouldn’t change her name.”

The mother was happy with the nickname suggestion and thanked the commenter.

“I think we’re just going to call her Tilly,” she said. “It’s so hard because I think it could be a geographic issue after more research online.

“I have no doubt that in the UK or parts of the US we wouldn’t have any problems, but we’re in Arizona.”

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