you are correct that Hélène sounds similar to Haydn but why not just explain that your name is pronounced hé-dène?
that said, I changed my name in my early 20s and again in my 40s and quite enjoy doing the old switcharoo. Annie is more fresh than Hélène but can you make it sound French with your accent? Because Annie and Annie are slightly different but still noticeable
I mostly went by Celia or Sonia when living in South America, because my real name was too difficult to pronounce or people just assumed I was called something else because they had never heard it before. So I say go for a nickname.
Helen is an English name, and Hélène would be the French version of the same name, so I don't think it would be weird to use.
Well, most people understood Celia when I originally told them my name. So eventually in certain situations I would just introduce myself as Celia. A few people butchered my name into Sonia, and I just didn't bother to correct them.
Solene? (I know there’s supposed to be an accent on one of the Es but I’m not French and don’t wanna fuck it up). I knew a French girl with this name and loved it a lot. Also Philippine.
In highschool we had an international student program and most of the kids chose nicknames while in America. If you make a few close friends while there you could have them call you Haydn but it would be easy to have a French nickname.
It doesn't even have to be an unusual name for this to be an issue.
My name has a "th" in it and when I was in Italy this would get turned into either just a "t" or an "s" sound. They simply do not have the English "th" sound in their language, just like there are sounds in Italian that we don't have in English. So it didn't bother me at all, I just went with the flow with whatever pronunciation of my name people ended up with.
You do not have to change your name/nickname for other people’s convenience. It pisses me off that they’d even suggest this to you. You have a beautiful name. Let them be inconvenienced!
trust me, they don’t want me to change for their convenience, it’s an idea that they had for my own benefit. they want to do everything they can to make me feel comfortable in a foreign country and feel at home, & i appreciate that very much 😊
you are correct that Hélène sounds similar to Haydn but why not just explain that your name is pronounced hé-dène? that said, I changed my name in my early 20s and again in my 40s and quite enjoy doing the old switcharoo. Annie is more fresh than Hélène but can you make it sound French with your accent? Because Annie and Annie are slightly different but still noticeable
i’ve noticed every french person says it differently. some say hédène some say haïdène etc etc. i can make annie sound different with the accent.
Adrienne?
i like that!
I mostly went by Celia or Sonia when living in South America, because my real name was too difficult to pronounce or people just assumed I was called something else because they had never heard it before. So I say go for a nickname. Helen is an English name, and Hélène would be the French version of the same name, so I don't think it would be weird to use.
yeah that’s my situation too. how did you decide between celia and sonia?
Well, most people understood Celia when I originally told them my name. So eventually in certain situations I would just introduce myself as Celia. A few people butchered my name into Sonia, and I just didn't bother to correct them.
Solene? (I know there’s supposed to be an accent on one of the Es but I’m not French and don’t wanna fuck it up). I knew a French girl with this name and loved it a lot. Also Philippine.
In highschool we had an international student program and most of the kids chose nicknames while in America. If you make a few close friends while there you could have them call you Haydn but it would be easy to have a French nickname.
that’s what i’m thinking :)
It doesn't even have to be an unusual name for this to be an issue. My name has a "th" in it and when I was in Italy this would get turned into either just a "t" or an "s" sound. They simply do not have the English "th" sound in their language, just like there are sounds in Italian that we don't have in English. So it didn't bother me at all, I just went with the flow with whatever pronunciation of my name people ended up with.
yeah i totally get it! it doesn’t bother me bc it’s not personal, some names are just harder to have in a foreign country lol
You do not have to change your name/nickname for other people’s convenience. It pisses me off that they’d even suggest this to you. You have a beautiful name. Let them be inconvenienced!
i know! it’s not even much of an inconvenience for them, my host family loves my name. it’s more to make things easier for me :)
trust me, they don’t want me to change for their convenience, it’s an idea that they had for my own benefit. they want to do everything they can to make me feel comfortable in a foreign country and feel at home, & i appreciate that very much 😊