How would you pronounce this name?

[daisysue62]

Dh and I were talking baby names the other day and this one name is a top contender. Since it's not common (at least in this country!) I was wondering how everyone else might pronounce it.

How would you pronounce Rein?

How would you pronounce Reinder?

[AttyGrl74]

Rain?

Raindeer?

[BrownEyedGirl]

My first thought was Rain and Raindeer. Then I thought maybe Rin and Rinder, or Ren and Render.

[PinkMartini]

Dh has a good friend named Rein... He pronounces his own name "Rain"

[jennylou]

rein - like to rein someone in.

reindeer - reindeer (as in the guys who pull Santa's sleigh).

[Janey]

I would pronounce the first one Rain, and the second one Rain-deer. Even though there's only 1 e, my brain would automatically stick another one in there.

[katiems118]

Ren and Reindeer

[Sol]

Rain and Rainder for me.

[Cali_Katy]

I'd pronounce Rein like rain.

If I thought about it carefully, I'd pronounce Reinder like RAIN-dur, but if I just glanced at it and had to say it aloud, I'd probably say reindeer, like Santa's sleigh.

[Sophia]

"Rain" and "Rain-dur"

I have to say I thought the second was "reindeer" first, as in Rudolph the Red Nosed.

[daisysue62]

Interesting because nobody's got the pronunciation we're going for! It's a family name in my Dh's Dutch family and they all pronounce it "rine" with a long "i" sound. Reinder is pronounced with a long "i" sound as well "Rine-der". Reinder is the full name and Rein is the shortened version.

[Megande]

Rain and Reindeer

[KrissyCat7]

Rain?

Raindeer?

Ditto.

[Sophia]

Interesting because nobody's got the pronunciation we're going for! It's a family name in my Dh's Dutch family and they all pronounce it "rine" with a long "i" sound. Reinder is pronounced with a long "i" sound as well "Rine-der". Reinder is the full name and Rein is the shortened version.

I had 2 years of German in HS, which would call for the long I pronunciation you want, but my brain is still defaulting to English and even Spanish ("reina"=queen is pronounced "ray-na"). Sorry.

[dionysia]

I agree with Sophia.

After thinking for a few seconds, I knew how Rein & Reinder are -supposed- to be pronounced, because my mind leapt to German, but my first gut thought was "Rain" and "Rain-derr."

Di

[sue-bert]

I'm sure in the Netherlands, this name would be pronounced correctly. But in the U.S., your child will be called "Reindeer" and will be teased mercilessly. Maybe reconsider...?

[MLA]

I'm sure in the Netherlands, this name would be pronounced correctly. But in the U.S., your child will be called "Reindeer" and will be teased mercilessly. Maybe reconsider...?

I'm going to agree with this. Reinder is not going to win your child any points in school. It'll be very tough on him.

If you're wanting the pronunciation Rine, maybe spell it Rhine? Or you might be able to get away with Rhein (like the river), but I think that would even cause some trouble. Americans just don't default to German pronunciations. Think about how many Americans pronounce the name Bernstein as BernSTEEN rather than BernSTINE. "EI" is just a confusing combo in English.

[kimthebride]

Looks like "rine" (rhymes with "mine").

I automatically thought "rain-deer" like Santa's sleigh until I went back again and saw there was only one E at the end. Then I thought "rine-der" and "rain-der".

[Amuse Bouche]

I think the problem you're running into is that "rein" is actually a word in English that's pronounced Rayne -- like to rein in a horse. And I, like Janey, added a mental 'e' Reinder, making it Reindeer -- another English word.

[Asha]

rain
reindeer

I'm sure in the Netherlands, this name would be pronounced correctly. But in the U.S., your child will be called "Reindeer" and will be teased mercilessly. Maybe reconsider...?
i agree with this, and i understand your dilemma of wanting a name that reflects your heritage but still sounds right in english in the united states. dh has a lot of indian names he likes for our future child, but i have nixed some of them bc i know that the names will be butchered in english and/or cause the child to be teased a lot. he has the excuse that all children get teased about their name, but that's not true as i was never teased about my name.

[daisysue62]

It's actually a family name (Dh's Opa's name, his 6 year old cousin's name, and Dh's middle name) so we're all very used to the spelling/pronunciation but I realized that most people probably wouldn't be. Dh is VERY attached to the name Rein and if we don't use it still wants to use a Dutch name if this baby is a boy. Not a lot of Dutch boys names that are easy to spell/pronounce unfortunately! The other one we both really like is Pieter (pronounced just like Peter) but our last name starts with a P and we just can't give a kid the initials PP.

Now if I can talk Dh into using my favorite name at the moment Henry and use Rein as a middle name I'll be doing good!

[t3h_wookiee]

I'd say it Rine, with a long I, as it looks German to me. But the second one I'd end up saying reindeer, as my mind automatically adds in another e.

[curlyjr]

I would say rine and rinder, becasue I have the same order rei in my name and that is how my name is pronounced.

[J&K2003]

"Rain" and "Rain-dur"


Ditto this.

[albuquerque]

I have a close friend who is Belgian--but from the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. His name is Luc, pronounced like "Luke", and I've always loved it. I don't know if that's a proper Dutch name, though. I can see both sides--I understand wanting to use a family name, especially if you're far, far from home and raising your child in a culture that isn't your own (although the family name that *I* wanted to use for our daughter was shot down by my husband :( ). On the other hand, my first name rhymes with seemingly half the English language, which made it really easy for kids in elementary school to make up long sing-song rhymes to torment me with. I hated that. Being teased in school is NOT fun. Maybe use Rein or Reinder as a middle name?

[mindy75]

My first thought with "Rein" would be confusion. I would want to say "Rain," but I would think, "it's probably rhine." I also mentally added an "e" to Reinder. My first thought was you accidently misspelled it, but where asking if we'd pronounce Rein like "reindeer." I'd think "rain-dur." I agree with pps who say Reinder isn't a good idea in the US. I hope you convince him to let you name him Henry. I love that. Henry Rein sounds great!

[dionysia]

Luc is the French version of Luke. :)

Di

[elladee]

I come from very strong dutch roots, too, but still, my first instinct was like the guys that pull Santa's sleigh. I can understand the thickest of dutch accents, but growing up in the US makes me default back to American pronunciations.

[HeatherFL]

Rain

Rind-er

~H.

[Ericka_Jarett]

Rain and Reindeer


Ditto