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Help[Opinions] Charis, Karis or Carys?
Which do you like better-- Charis or Carys ? I like the meanings of both.
I originally liked Charis, but I don't want my little one to constantly have to correct people on the pronunciation, as our last name is pretty difficult. Karis might be a good alternative spelling, but I'm not a fan of the trendee made-up names, and I wonder if Charis would have at least more historical continuity.
Now I wonder if Carys could also be a problem when it comes to pronunciation.
Here are some of the comments under "Carys" in this database:
"It's a great name to have... except when you have to repeat it to everyone you meet! They always call you Karen, or Carol and sometimes even worse!"
"I was given 2 different pronunciations for this name, Care-is or I was told to say the name Carissa and leave off the "sa" at the end of it when saying the name."
"Many people mistakenly pronounce Carys the same as Cerys when in fact Carys is pronounced KAH-ris and Cerys is pronounced Keh-ris/Kare-ris."
"Ok, so as a proud bearer of the name, it is pronounced KAH-ris. Not Care-is (That's more like Cerys, which I prefer slightly) or Car-is or Ka-RIS."
So if I want it to sound like CARE'-iss would I have to use the Cerys spelling? Because that would be even more difficult for people here in the States to understand.
I originally liked Charis, but I don't want my little one to constantly have to correct people on the pronunciation, as our last name is pretty difficult. Karis might be a good alternative spelling, but I'm not a fan of the trendee made-up names, and I wonder if Charis would have at least more historical continuity.
Now I wonder if Carys could also be a problem when it comes to pronunciation.
Here are some of the comments under "Carys" in this database:
"It's a great name to have... except when you have to repeat it to everyone you meet! They always call you Karen, or Carol and sometimes even worse!"
"I was given 2 different pronunciations for this name, Care-is or I was told to say the name Carissa and leave off the "sa" at the end of it when saying the name."
"Many people mistakenly pronounce Carys the same as Cerys when in fact Carys is pronounced KAH-ris and Cerys is pronounced Keh-ris/Kare-ris."
"Ok, so as a proud bearer of the name, it is pronounced KAH-ris. Not Care-is (That's more like Cerys, which I prefer slightly) or Car-is or Ka-RIS."
So if I want it to sound like CARE'-iss would I have to use the Cerys spelling? Because that would be even more difficult for people here in the States to understand.
This message was edited 9/23/2009, 5:38 PM
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Replies
I prn them all the same, so I would just spell it how you want it.
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ditto this
I did have an odd experience this summer though, I was handing out yearbooks, and a woman came in and decided to pick up the yearbooks for all her daughters friends.
She gave me a surname and I found the book, and confirmed that it was the right one by saying the first name written on it. "Charis?"
She said "No, CHAIR-iss."
totally weird. but I pronounce all three the same, and I think the name is pretty unfamiliar to most people, so if you tell them it's KARE-is, they wont question it.
I did have an odd experience this summer though, I was handing out yearbooks, and a woman came in and decided to pick up the yearbooks for all her daughters friends.
She gave me a surname and I found the book, and confirmed that it was the right one by saying the first name written on it. "Charis?"
She said "No, CHAIR-iss."
totally weird. but I pronounce all three the same, and I think the name is pretty unfamiliar to most people, so if you tell them it's KARE-is, they wont question it.
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I asked a very similar question, well, it was quite a long time ago. My daughter was planning to name her second son Charis if he had been a girl. I preferred the spelling Carys, so I posted a question a lot like this one.
So, yes, I prefer Carys. I understand they're different names with different meanings and different origins, but it's hard not to treat them just like spelling variations since they sound exactly the same.
I would naturally pronounce both Charis and Carys with a broader A sound than what you hear in the word "care", so I think it would be helpful to spell it Cerys if that's the sound you want.
So, yes, I prefer Carys. I understand they're different names with different meanings and different origins, but it's hard not to treat them just like spelling variations since they sound exactly the same.
I would naturally pronounce both Charis and Carys with a broader A sound than what you hear in the word "care", so I think it would be helpful to spell it Cerys if that's the sound you want.
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I like the spelling Carys better. It's one of those names where the y looks like it belongs there.
I pronounce it as CARE-iss and I think that it's much prettier that way.
I pronounce it as CARE-iss and I think that it's much prettier that way.
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Well, in Greek Charis is actually pronounced HAH-rees which I don't find so appealing. My friend from Greece once pronounced it for me. So that would be the most authentic pronunciation for Charis.
However I also think you could pr. Charis the English way if you wanted.
Carys is KAH-ris, I think but in this case I'm not sure.
Karis could definitely be CARE-is so if that is the pr. you prefer I might go with Karis.
Cerys would also be CARE-is but doesn't look very attractive to me.
Charis I would only use with the original Greek pr. and only in Greece because in any other country it would be too confusing. I think it's kind of weird to pr. it the English way but it might work.
I like the KAH-ris pr. so Carys I prefer over Cerys and Karis.
If you want CARE-is you should go for Karis or Cerys. Personally I prefer Charis and Carys but only with their original pronunciations.
However I also think you could pr. Charis the English way if you wanted.
Carys is KAH-ris, I think but in this case I'm not sure.
Karis could definitely be CARE-is so if that is the pr. you prefer I might go with Karis.
Cerys would also be CARE-is but doesn't look very attractive to me.
Charis I would only use with the original Greek pr. and only in Greece because in any other country it would be too confusing. I think it's kind of weird to pr. it the English way but it might work.
I like the KAH-ris pr. so Carys I prefer over Cerys and Karis.
If you want CARE-is you should go for Karis or Cerys. Personally I prefer Charis and Carys but only with their original pronunciations.
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Carys is pr. kah-ris and Cerys is keh-ris. (I grew up in Wales).
I've never met a Charis and so would have assumed it was pr. CHA-ris, like Charity. So, none of them are particularly easy to pronounce for people who haven't seen them before.
Cerys is the closest to the sound you want, so I'd go with that. Or choose a less foreign name with unambiguous pronunciation. :)
I've never met a Charis and so would have assumed it was pr. CHA-ris, like Charity. So, none of them are particularly easy to pronounce for people who haven't seen them before.
Cerys is the closest to the sound you want, so I'd go with that. Or choose a less foreign name with unambiguous pronunciation. :)
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