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Help[Opinions] Marieken/Mariken
For native English speakers amongst you: which spelling of this name would sound like Maaree-kuhn: Marieken or Mariken (or neither)? We have this Dutch name on our list for number three, but live in an English speaking country. We would like to use a spelling that causes least problems with the pronounciation. My own guess would be Marieken, as Marie is pronounced as Maaree, but what do you make of it?
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I am from the Netherlands, and frankly, both Marieken and Mariken (especially the latter) are old-fashioned variants of the much more modern name Marieke. That said, I think I like Mariken best, and think it would be easiest for non-Dutch people to pronounce. It's also the name of Mariken van Nieumeghen (modern Dutch: Marieke van Nijmegen), the lead character of a well-known 16th century Dutch play. :)
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I would spell it Mariken, and just tell people the correct pronunciation. If I had never seen the name before I would wonder if it was pronounced mah-REE-kun or MER-i-ken, but I would ask the person how to say their name.
I am not a fan of changing the spelling of a name so people will pronounce it correctly. I once met a girl name Auna. They wanted to name her Anna pronounced AHN-nah, but here in the US few would automatically pronounce it that way. (I think Auna is hideous, btw.)
I am not a fan of changing the spelling of a name so people will pronounce it correctly. I once met a girl name Auna. They wanted to name her Anna pronounced AHN-nah, but here in the US few would automatically pronounce it that way. (I think Auna is hideous, btw.)
This message was edited 7/13/2007, 10:27 AM
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Definately Marieken. At first glance I would say 'Mariken' as MEH-reh-ken
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