'Friend gave baby name with wrong pronunciation - I feel so bad for the child'

20 June 2024 , 10:28

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Baby Ochre won't be smiling when she has to constantly correct her name (stock) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Every parent wants to give their child the perfect name and sometimes that means thinking outside the box. When actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin had their daughter Apple in 2004, people scoffed at using a 'real word' for a name - but this style has surged in popularity.

However, it is very important to understand the correct pronunciation of a word before you tie it to a child, as it could lead to a lifetime of issues. One woman has revealed how her relationship with a former friend crumbled after finding out she had mispronounced her daughter's name.

Sharing her embarrassing discovery* on social media, she wrote: "I reconnected with a friend (reconnection didn't last) who had since had a baby. In our emails I see the child is named Ochre and when I meet her, I keep calling her 'oker' the word meaning yellowish brown pigment.

"And mum keeps correcting me. Less like 'oh-kah' and instead pronounced 'Awkree', which rhymes with Aubrey. Finally, I say, 'now, what is that; So I remember because I don't want to keep mispronouncing the name?' she says 'it's how I thought Ochre was pronounced'. [It's] self-centred, thinking the world owes you your made-up mistaken word that you doubled down in the worst way. I feel most bad for the kid. Dad too but mostly kid."

People reading the Reddit post were in fits of laughter over the unusual pronunciation of ochre. One user joked: "Interesting name.. You should tell her 'weird, but okay' but then okay pronounced as ochre…"

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Another person added: "I'm a [school] secretary and we have a kid, spelled 'Jamair', pronounced 'Jamari' as his mother will scream-tell you when you forget your crystal ball and rely instead on the order in which she chose to place the letters. We also have a "Joesph". My eyes are the only thing keeping Autocorrect from f****** up all his awards and paperwork."

Someone else shared: "I remember once I was at work and Fleetwood Mac's 'Rhiannon' came on, and my coworker said 'my friend Brianna is named after this song but her parents misheard it'."

*Post has been edited for clarity.

Eve Wagstaff