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HelpA name for the fourth child
My husband and I are expecting our fourth baby later this year. We currently have Heidi Olivia, Rhys Owen, and Griffin Henry. We're having a little girl this time around, and we've struggled with finding a name. After scouring many books and sites, we decided on Cerys Emily.
We went back on fourth on Carys vs. Cerys. While Cerys is technically the correctly pronunciation, we were worried that she'd constantly be called Cerise, Seer-ees, or something else entirely wrong because we live in the US. Using the starting "a" might at least give people the "care" sound. However, the fact that it is the wrong pronunciation annoyed me, and we settled on Cerys.
Do you think Cerys is too difficult for most Americans?
Someone told me it looked made up and trendy-- do you think this is true?
Also, do you think it goes well with our other kids' names?
Thanks for all the help, guys!
We went back on fourth on Carys vs. Cerys. While Cerys is technically the correctly pronunciation, we were worried that she'd constantly be called Cerise, Seer-ees, or something else entirely wrong because we live in the US. Using the starting "a" might at least give people the "care" sound. However, the fact that it is the wrong pronunciation annoyed me, and we settled on Cerys.
Do you think Cerys is too difficult for most Americans?
Someone told me it looked made up and trendy-- do you think this is true?
Also, do you think it goes well with our other kids' names?
Thanks for all the help, guys!
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Replies
Carys is the "original" pronunciation according to the site. Cerys is listed as a diminutive, if that makes you feel any better about choosing the less confusing of the two. I think Cerys looks prettier, however, I think she will almost never get someone pronouncing her name correctly the first time.
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First, it's a lovely name and is great with your other kids' names (which are equally lovely).
I would say that in the US Carys is more common (though by no means commonly- or overly- used) and so it may be easier for people and require less explaining for you/her. It also could be why some people think it looks less "trendy". That said, if you like Cerys (you know it's not trendily-given) then use it.
For feedback, though, I will warn you that even I, who know how this name is to be pronounced (or at least an Anglicized version of it), AM inclined to say SEHR-iss when I first look at it because of how the letters normally work in American English. I don't think many people would say CARE-iss (or even CAR-iss) at first glance - assuming that's how you're pronouncing it, of course.
I didn't think of Cerise myself, but now that you mention it I can see how someone could think of it as a way to figure out how to pronounce it.
hope that helps a bit. good luck!
I would say that in the US Carys is more common (though by no means commonly- or overly- used) and so it may be easier for people and require less explaining for you/her. It also could be why some people think it looks less "trendy". That said, if you like Cerys (you know it's not trendily-given) then use it.
For feedback, though, I will warn you that even I, who know how this name is to be pronounced (or at least an Anglicized version of it), AM inclined to say SEHR-iss when I first look at it because of how the letters normally work in American English. I don't think many people would say CARE-iss (or even CAR-iss) at first glance - assuming that's how you're pronouncing it, of course.
I didn't think of Cerise myself, but now that you mention it I can see how someone could think of it as a way to figure out how to pronounce it.
hope that helps a bit. good luck!
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I think it depends a lot on where you live in the US. Where I live, people would take it in stride. They might need instruction the first time, but that's true for tons of names. I would imagine the girl as a woman would consider her name to be unusual, but who's to say whether she'd enjoy it so much that she didn't mind spelling it / correcting people. A lot of people with unusual names don't mind, and then some do mind.
I don't think it looks made up and trendy and IIWY I would not give a rip if people thought that.
It goes well with the others stylewise, but is a couple notches more unusual than any of them. If you care about that.
I don't think it looks made up and trendy and IIWY I would not give a rip if people thought that.
It goes well with the others stylewise, but is a couple notches more unusual than any of them. If you care about that.
This message was edited 5/18/2015, 11:37 AM
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I would stick with the Cerys spelling. You might run into some people pronouncing it incorrectly. But sometimes the most simple & obvious names get mispronounced occasionally. I think it's just the era of naming we live in. There's so many spellings & pronunciations for names these days.
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Visually or the way they're pronounced? Because they don't sound at all the same.
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I live in the US and know a Cerys. From my knowledge she has had her name mispronounced a few times, but not enough to annoy her. It is expected that people might not know the correct pronunciation right away, but I don't see it as a huge issue.
For what it is worth, my name is Heidi and people often mispronounce that for some reason! I think you can't get away with have a perfectly pronounced name all the time, so use the name that you love.
Cerys Emily is adorable.
For what it is worth, my name is Heidi and people often mispronounce that for some reason! I think you can't get away with have a perfectly pronounced name all the time, so use the name that you love.
Cerys Emily is adorable.
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I'd go for Carys. Here's why:
In English, c before e usually has an S sound, as in censure and cedar - and cerise. So I think most English speakers who weren't familiar with the name would naturally read Cerys as ser is or ser ees, until corrected.
I'm Welsh and Carys is pronounced here with a short a, as in cat. Cerys is pronounced with a short e, as in kennel. Neither of them sound like care-iss to me. But C is usually a K-sound before an A in English, so at least people who are unfamiliar with Carys will get the initial sound right.
eta: if mispronunciation really bothers you, go with another name! Emily may be popular, but it's also nice and nobody's going to get it wrong. And it goes well with Heidi.
In English, c before e usually has an S sound, as in censure and cedar - and cerise. So I think most English speakers who weren't familiar with the name would naturally read Cerys as ser is or ser ees, until corrected.
I'm Welsh and Carys is pronounced here with a short a, as in cat. Cerys is pronounced with a short e, as in kennel. Neither of them sound like care-iss to me. But C is usually a K-sound before an A in English, so at least people who are unfamiliar with Carys will get the initial sound right.
eta: if mispronunciation really bothers you, go with another name! Emily may be popular, but it's also nice and nobody's going to get it wrong. And it goes well with Heidi.
This message was edited 5/18/2015, 8:49 AM
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I couldn't use Emily. I have a very tough time using anything that is even in the top 200.
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Yup, KA (as in cat) ris and KE (as in kennel) ris. But that might not make sense to someone from North America who has the Mary-marry-merry merger*, because for them, the first part of both Carys and Cerys would sound like the first part of Mary does to us - i.e. CARE iss.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mary.E2.80.93marry.E2.80.93merry_merger
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mary.E2.80.93marry.E2.80.93merry_merger
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Yes that's the way I've been saying them.
I guess its like Cara/Sara/Tara etc.
Here and in Aus they all have the short sound (as in cat) but I know a lot of Americans say them as Cair-uh/Sair-uh/Tair-uh etc. So I guess I can see why Carys might get Care-iss, but I'm not a fan at all. Cah-riss is so much prettier!
I guess its like Cara/Sara/Tara etc.
Here and in Aus they all have the short sound (as in cat) but I know a lot of Americans say them as Cair-uh/Sair-uh/Tair-uh etc. So I guess I can see why Carys might get Care-iss, but I'm not a fan at all. Cah-riss is so much prettier!
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Yup, I think most Americans would pronounce both as CARE-iss. Though in the Northeast, particularly around New England, there might be a slight difference. For instance, most people say my name CARE-uh-line. But up there, people say it more like the "a" in Cat.
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Ok that's weird. I've never known Caroline could be pronounced any other way but Cah-. Gotta say I'm not loving the sound of Care-oh-line. It's not as bad as Tair-uh (tear a what? What are we tearing?) but it's strange to me.
Not that I love all the Australian ways of pronouncing things either. -er always becomes -a in an Aussie accent and leads to things like Winta and Summah and Osca and Jaspa and Parka. It's almost enough to put me off using any -er/-ar names.
Not that I love all the Australian ways of pronouncing things either. -er always becomes -a in an Aussie accent and leads to things like Winta and Summah and Osca and Jaspa and Parka. It's almost enough to put me off using any -er/-ar names.
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And, living in the US, I don't think of pronouncing Caroline as any way but CARE-oh-line.
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Wait, I'm confused. I'm American and I'm not sure how to pronounce Cerys. Is it said the same as Carys?
I pronounce Carys as if it is the same phonetically as Charis? Rhymes with Harris or Maris?
Anyway, the problem I have with Carys / Cerys is that I don't think it goes well with the sibs' names.
I think with Heidi already being an outlier in the sense that it's primarily considered Germanic/Scandinavian and the others being names of English/Celtic origin, you may need another name to balance that out. Another name that could easily be used in both English and Germanic/Scandinavian countries would probably be the direction I took.
My second issue with Carys / Cerys is appearances. Yes, Cerys does look trendy (and, it is relatively modern even in Wales, isn't it?), but furthermore, even in the set, it looks too close to Rhys. I wouldn't use two names that short and with the same ending.
As for the pronunciation, yes, it will get mispronounced, but that's as simple as correcting people.
For years, I've had a friend named Charis and for years, I heard her correct every teacher and every substitute teacher and every person reading her name tag or ID or whatever else.
"CHAR-iss?"
"It's pronounced KARE-iss." Sometimes adding, "It's Greek."
And that's that.
I pronounce Carys as if it is the same phonetically as Charis? Rhymes with Harris or Maris?
Anyway, the problem I have with Carys / Cerys is that I don't think it goes well with the sibs' names.
I think with Heidi already being an outlier in the sense that it's primarily considered Germanic/Scandinavian and the others being names of English/Celtic origin, you may need another name to balance that out. Another name that could easily be used in both English and Germanic/Scandinavian countries would probably be the direction I took.
My second issue with Carys / Cerys is appearances. Yes, Cerys does look trendy (and, it is relatively modern even in Wales, isn't it?), but furthermore, even in the set, it looks too close to Rhys. I wouldn't use two names that short and with the same ending.
As for the pronunciation, yes, it will get mispronounced, but that's as simple as correcting people.
For years, I've had a friend named Charis and for years, I heard her correct every teacher and every substitute teacher and every person reading her name tag or ID or whatever else.
"CHAR-iss?"
"It's pronounced KARE-iss." Sometimes adding, "It's Greek."
And that's that.
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If the name comes from *caru*, then Carys looks like a good spelling, and not a bit trendy/made up, though Cerys does, a bit. I've no idea how Americans might pronounce either one, but surely most of them would only need to be told once.
I like Carys with Heidi and Griffin, but if there's any risk that people might guess at a pronunciation like kaREES, then I'd reconsider it as too close to Rhys for comfort.
Isn't Emily gorgeous? Excellent choice!
I like Carys with Heidi and Griffin, but if there's any risk that people might guess at a pronunciation like kaREES, then I'd reconsider it as too close to Rhys for comfort.
Isn't Emily gorgeous? Excellent choice!
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I actually pronounce Carys and Cerys differently.
Carys has a short ah sound, as in Cat - Cah-riss
Cerys has is an eh sound, as in Care - Cair-iss.
I love Carys. I like the look of Cerys, but I don't like the sound. If Cerys is cah-riss then I like the sound. How are you pronouncing Cerys?
I wouldn't worry about it being unusual- sure you may have to correct people once or twice but most people will get it after being told once or twice. And people can mess up even simple names- people here always get Sara wrong! And even a Caitlin will always have to spell her name. It's not a big deal IMO.
I think it goes well with her siblings.
Carys has a short ah sound, as in Cat - Cah-riss
Cerys has is an eh sound, as in Care - Cair-iss.
I love Carys. I like the look of Cerys, but I don't like the sound. If Cerys is cah-riss then I like the sound. How are you pronouncing Cerys?
I wouldn't worry about it being unusual- sure you may have to correct people once or twice but most people will get it after being told once or twice. And people can mess up even simple names- people here always get Sara wrong! And even a Caitlin will always have to spell her name. It's not a big deal IMO.
I think it goes well with her siblings.
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So, Cerys is pronounced as CARE-iss while Carys is pronounced more along of the lines of CAH-riss.
http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/pronunciation.html
http://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/pronunciation.html
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Like any name that isn't pronounced intuitively, you may have to correct someone's pronunciation once or twice. Beyond that, I do not think it will be too difficult for American use. Either would work well with your children's names.
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