It’s one of the main things every parent considers when they’re thinking of what to name their unborn child:
Is this a name Gwyneth Paltrow would use for her kid?
Joking! Apple and Moses are beautiful names.
No, what parents think of is how will other people, outside the family, pronounce the name? This is especially if you, for example, have a unique name such as Nama… which, even though is only four letters, two of which are the same, is still regularly pronounced in a dozen (incorrect) ways.
This is why one proactive dad this week decided to cast a preemptive strike: he’s asked the internet how they would pronounce his unborn daughter’s name.
Harjinder Singh Kukreja is a man of may trades, including global businessman and ‘tech and travel influencer’, with a following of 1.6 million on Twitter, and almost 300,000 on Facebook. Already dad to two young boys, Rehras and Aad Sach, it seems Kukreja is experienced in the ways of people mispronouncing names, which is why he asked the internet for some guidance.
“Friends, I need some help,” he begins. Explaining that he and his wife are expecting their first daughter in February, Kukreja says they “plan to name her MUL MANTER KAUR.”
Then the loving dad makes a somewhat unusual request, and asks people to record themselves saying the name so he can hear how it would be pronounced in different parts of the world.
You know, so they can decide if it will be as messed up as Nama is when people say it.
Please support me in finding out how people of the world will pronounce the name we are considering naming our daughter. Pls send your voice/video recordings below. RT ????????????????❤️ pic.twitter.com/TrEbjfrjbs
— Harjinder Singh Kukreja (@SinghLions) December 24, 2018
But Kukreja doesn’t want just Indian voices, he wants “Americans, Australians, Italians, Chinese, Turkish and Iranians” to all give the name a shot, so he can ascertain how the name would be pronounced in different parts of the world.
Now, that is a forward-thinking dad, with obviously global plans for his daughter.
It was a tweet met with delight by the businessman’s followers, with people from Sweden, Spain and France recording how they’d say the name.
“If they can learn to say the names of Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Stravinsky, they can learn to pronounce yours” as someone with an ethnic name (Citlali), I think Mul Manter Kaur has a beautiful ring to it ❤️
— Citlali ???? (@musician_shy) December 24, 2018
If I worked with her, I’d call her Muls – I always like adding sss as in William – Wills my cat Chloe is Chlos. I like Muls – I don’t know anybody else named Muls. She would rock it. :) ♥
— Lisette (@woodedlane) December 24, 2018
1- It should be Mool as in cool. Not Mul.
2- She will be called MMK if you are happy with that.
3- Keep in mind how the school /college peers will address her.
And congratulations! God bless.— Pankaj Pachauri (@PankajPachauri) December 24, 2018
Best I could come up with. pic.twitter.com/l2k7KqbTt4
— Aderibigbe David (@davholla) December 24, 2018
Here ya go…. pic.twitter.com/lsAvBQROsW
— A White Beatboxer Named Shockwave (@nonteentitan) December 24, 2018
The thread attracted hundreds of responses, with people trying their best to be useful, and just help a dad out. Many people also complimented Kukreja on the beautiful name, and the impending birth.
Which just proves the internet can be a heartwarming place, after all.
And, for the record, this is how I’d pronounce the name: Mool Manther Kore.
However you say it, though, one thing’s for sure: little Miss MMK is one lucky baby to have a dad so dedicated to her future.
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