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...or I should say, where my parents' families live, in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, Beryl and Cheryl would most likely be pronounced 'Burl' and 'Churl' ('Shirl' is a common variation of Cheryl there.). It's the accent. Almost any 'er' combination is pronounced as if it were 'ur', and also, almost any name ending with an 'a' is usually pronounced as though it ends in 'y' (there are exceptions to this rule. Not all male names follow this rule, and some female names don't.). For example Marthy for Martha.

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I, however, having a more Southern than Appalachian accent, say ('BEHR-il'). I want to like it, it's a name I should like in theory, but it reminds me of the character Beryl Caighn in Adam's Rib, and sadly, that association has soured me on the name.

This message was edited 5/29/2008, 11:28 AM