A man who was born in the south of England but currently lives up north has claimed some baby names don’t suit his southern accent – but sound great in a northern one
Some names need a certain accent to really make them pop.
When choosing a baby name, it’s not just about how it looks when written down or which spelling you want to use. Many parents will also consider the way it sounds when spoken out loud in their accent. For example, some popular names in the US like Tucker and Chad don’t really roll off the tongue the same way in many of the accents found across the UK.
This observation was also made in a viral video on social media that has been causing quite a stir, as one man claimed some baby names even become more or less appealing depending on where in the UK you live.
Joel Wood explained in a video on TikTok that he is a Southerner who currently lives in the north of England, and has found that some names sound “beautiful” in the Yorkshire-based accents he hears every day – even though he thinks they sound horrible in his own southern accent.
He first pointed out the boys’ name Paul, stating that in his own accent, the name sounds exactly the same as the words “pull” and “pool”, as he doesn’t pronounce the letters differently enough. However, he stated that in a “northern accent” the name Paul sounds “warm and inviting”.
Joel then commented on the name Sandra for a girl. He said: “In a northern accent, Sandra is maternal, she’s loving, she’s kind, she’s sweet, she looks after you. Down south, Sandra is a b***h. Sandra works in HR, she hates everyone, she eats a salad leaf for lunch with a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar to suit her bitter personality.”
He finished his video by jokingly calling for Southerners named Paul or Sandra to “change your name, babes” and wrote in the caption of his video that anyone living in the South should avoid using these names for their kids at all costs.
Joel’s video comes after he previously made another viral clip talking about the opposite problem – baby names that sound great in his own accent but that don’t suit those in the north.
In that clip, he said names like Felicity, Romeo, and Sophie all sound “beautiful” in his accent but claimed none of them roll off the tongue the same way in the accent he hears where he currently lives.
However, northerners quickly defended their accents in the comments, highlighting a major oversight in Joel’s video. He spoke of a “northern accent” as if it were uniform, ignoring the vast differences between regions like Liverpool and Newcastle.
One viewer commented: “THE northern accent? Just that one generic accent we all talk with? ” Another noted: “As a Geordie, I don’t tend to speak with a Yorkshire/Lancashire accent.”
In response, Joel clarified that his comments were a generalisation meant in jest, pointing out that there isn’t a single “southern” accent either.
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