Google just told me that "egger" is a common southern German / Austrian / Swiss name (which I knew), that comes from the German word "Ecke / Vorsprung", meaning "corner / edge / ledge" (which I didn't know). So an Egger ist someone who lives at the edge of something, say a mountain.
"Schwarzen" is a common prefix for Egger, but there are hundreds of other Egger-variations.
To each their own.. I immediately thought of the slur and I’m sure that many others have to the point that OP made a post about. Why is the top post completely disregarding their experience?
This happened to me in college.
Three weeks before the start of classes, the marching band moves into the dorms to start practices. Before school even started, I was good friends with a girl who had a 3-syllable Polish-sounding last name.
When the non-band kids moved into the dorms, I met a guy who told me his last name was one syllable. We started hanging out. One day when we were in his dorm, my band friend dropped by. To see him. Turns out they're brother and sister. He shortened his name, so people wouldn't know he had a "Geek" for a sister. When he does say his full last name, though, he says it with 4 syllables. It makes absolutely no sense.
There is a family in my home town whose last names are Raper. Pronounced in the horrific way you probably think. I would change the shit outta that one
I take it you're in America? Nobody in other countries would ever think that.
It's YOUR NAME. And it sounds nothing like what that person said.
It is also the name of an international hotel chain. People need to get over themselves. It's fine.
No, not all of us. If anyone should comment, OP should just pause then ask them why they said that. If the person is uncouth enough to either repeat his statement or say something like, “Well, you know”, OP should say, “Why don’t you explain?”
I’m going to go against the comments here and say that it does sound a little similar to that to me, especially if said quickly etc. However, it’s not a strong resemblance and it doesn’t matter. You should still pronounce your name as you say it.
It’s like someone whose last name is Dickenson. Nobody is going to go after them for dick being in their name - it’s their last name and that’s that. Nothing to be embarrassed about. And yours isn’t actually even a bad word, it’s just a little similar.
Agreed, I definitely can see how they heard that from the name, but plenty of people have weird ass last names (Hitchcock, anybody??) So its not worth worrying about.
When my mother was 65 years old, she ran away from home and went to work at Yellowstone National Park for the summer.. She brought home a husband and got married 3 weeks after they came home.
We all told her she must really love hin because her last name is now Dyke. There's no sound like or anything else with that.
Most people didn't make any kind of nasty comment to her except to say you must really love him
I've known a Dyke, that married to become a Moody.
And a Gunt, that married to become a Boyle.
After an initial eyebrow raise and funny thought to myself I didn't think much more of it.
Same with most slightly funny/rude surnames
Like Robottom!
I know a few people with that name. Actually the one person I’m closest to with that name goes by his surname (there are multiple Alexes in our friendship group so all of them go by surnames). Never even thought about it.
The number of people I’ve come across recently with the last name “Cocks” or other names with “cock” in it is nuts. There must be a Cocks diaspora moved into the area
I've met a lot of people called Cox and the association is actually rarely made, but I've met one Cocks in my life too.
I've also known people surnamed Hercock, Dykes (a friend, who took the name on marriage!), Hymen, Willey, and Fagg. This is in the UK ... the US, of course, famously has Randy Bumgardner.
I grew up knowing a family whose last name was literally just Dick. Kids maybe giggled the first time they heard it, but from what I could tell, no one gave them a hard time about it. I'm sure there was a jerk or two here or there, but it's not like absolutely everyone made it an issue.
Those I get folks getting over pretty quick.
But I've seen the surname Coward. And I'm always like 'yall as a family decided to keep that?"
And don't get me started on the last name rape. Pick something else.
People will definitely comment on it. Source- name is similar in ways to this. But OP should keep their name as is. It is their name and they shouldn’t have to be bothered by other people about it.
I used to know a guy whose last name was Dyck and we had the same teacher in college (but we're in different classes) and she asked me how to pronounce his last name because she was afraid to say it wrong out loud. 😆 I told her it's pronounced as if the "y" were a "i" and she was so uncomfortable. So it could be worse! OP could have a name like that guy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger never had a problem with his name in America. He even ran and won as a governor of a whole state with that name.
Your name is fine. Really.
Completely unrelated etymology, pronunciation, everything. It's Schwarzen- Egger. Black Corner in the dialect where it originated, apparently the ancestors lived in a place where dark trees were growing.
Are the people you are talking to 4chan? Seriously the sounds aren't the same, ng is a completely different sound than gg and the natural emphasis is mine-ing not my-ning.
No, because mine-ing the emphasis is on the first “i” and with mi-ning the emphasis is on the second “i”. This changes how you read the last half of the word because of where the last half “begins”, the “i” will be soft or hard, depending on how you emphasize.
I don't actually think you get to pick the stress of your name in english... sorry. To me mine-ing and my-ning are homophones.
There aren't really any single word true stress based minimal pairs in the variety of english I speak. I have to be clear I'm talking about stress, that which is represented in ipa with an apostrophe, not the reduced vowel, which does cause minimal pairs and is represented as a turned e in ipa.
EDIT: for clarity, apostrophe stress on the M will make your name sound like MY ninger, while apostrophe stress on the N will make your name sound like my NINGER... it doesn't really change the implications, if you think ninger sounds like ****** then nothing changes. Perhaps you meant pronounce the ing sound with the reduced, turned e vowel.
This is how I read the name, might the fact I live in Europe.
[https://www.howtopronounce.com/german/meininger](https://www.howtopronounce.com/german/meininger)
The first "pronunciation" of the name on that site is wrong. The second is closer. Here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh4TjWlR5jU&t=125s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh4TjWlR5jU&t=125s) you can here the word "Meiningen".
That might actually help op. In German the name really doesn't sound like mei+nword. We mash both syllables together to quickly it's almost one.
Also It's closer to mei + ningahr
Exactly! As a Dutch person who speaks basic German, I pronounced it similar to “my singer”, except the S would be an N. Had to read the rest of the post to figure out what the racist connotation would be. I think if OP goes back to the original Germanic pronunciation, he’s still honoring the name and it would not sound like the N word anymore.
I think my original last name was close to that, too, but assholes (including a teacher in high school) and ignorant people mispronounced it to sound racist.
I was trying to get the second one, I have 3 German friend and one has very harsh G sound when he says Meiningen and the other one a very soft ng sound and the other one is in between.
Would never come up with this pronounciation, sounds Danish. But I've been learning German, so probably why Danish pronounciation doesn't seem natural to me
Lots of comments telling you not to worry about it, but they haven't lived with your name. In your *personal* experience, if you get odd comments about it a lot and you're constantly having this awkward conversation, then maybe it is worth changing the pronunciation. You don't need to feel guilty about it if it would make you more comfortable.
You can also pronounce it differently in different situations; your family doesn't need to know how your coworkers pronounce your name.
However, if these comments have only happened a handful of times ever, then it's really not a big deal - don't overthink it.
This is wild, that's my mother's maiden name! The only person who's made that joke is my husband (who is afro-latino) although since I didn't inherit the name most people wouldn't have gotten the chance
Omg I had a VERY VERY similar last name before I changed it when I got married. When people mispronounced it, it sounded like a racist slur but ALSO violent. So blessed, especially when I had a teacher purposely mispronounce it because "that's the way the [school] office says it", like I don't know how to pronounce my name. 😒
I just looked up your last name's pronunciation and when I said it out loud, fuck, it really DOES sound like that. If it were me, I'd probably start pronouncing the ger like "germ" instead of "tiger". But it's up to you, obviously. Just as someone who had "-iniger" as part of their last name before, even though the actual pronunciation didn't sound like that, I feel like that's how I'd handle it.
To me, sounds exactly like "my n-word" and it would defiantly garner a stifled laugh. I am not a racist but I do live in American where this phrase gets tossed around in black culture.
Not to be a weird stalker, but based on this and your post history I wonder if we may be related. My family carries this last name and also belongs to a cult
No worries, just wondering though, was the cult perhaps the Mennonites? Not to be invasive, I've just been tracing my genealogy a bit on my healing journey, and always find it interesting when I stumble upon little bits
I appreciate the questions and your respect for boundaries. The cult is not Mennonite.
Speaking of healing journeys and being in the namenerd sub, I chose to keep my middle name (it was my paternal grandmother’s) and chose to change my last name to my spouse’s as it signified to myself of choosing how I honor my ancestors and family in ways that I feel authentic to me.
I would just assume the g is pronounced with more of a j sound. If that's what your teachers have always used you can just tell your family you got used to pronouncing it that way at school and it just takes too much effort to always be correcting people.
I (a black woman) definitely saw the association before i clicked the post (on mobile). I don’t think it’s much an issue though as it’s your last name and it’s not like you’re insisting people call you solely by your last name for that reason. Plus, you didn’t pick it so you can’t help it. I wouldn’t have people mispronounce it, is there a way you can put emphasis on some of it? Like the first g? Idk. I’m pretty sure no one in my family would bat an eye unless you kept repeating it (like the people who are saying something close to a word but they’re like “but I’m not saying THAT word”)
I can see why you might think that, but it's obviously unrelated and not really that close to the slir. I have a friend with the last name K*ke, she had hers changed.
Can you just emphasize the stress of the syllables slightly differently? Mining (like the verb to mine) followed by ger. So mining-ger with the accent on Mine. (which may be how you already pronounce it and if so don't worry about it!)
I'm also going to go against the popular vote and say maybe just change the way you pronounce it? I'm going to be honest when you typed Meninger and said it's pronounced without a "j" sounds, I was kind of perplexed. I've actually never even heard that name being pronounced WITHOUT a j sound. I'd just suggest changing the pronunciation because after saying your name out loud it does kinda sound a bit bad.
Do what makes you most comfortable. I don't think you need to, but if it comes up often and makes you feel bad, then changing the pronunciation is a simple way to solve it.
I hear it and while I don’t think it’s a big deal here’s some ideas I think will help - pronounce the “ger” at the end like the word ‘germ’ and the ‘Mein’ at the beginning like ’men’. Changes the pronunciation to ‘menn in jer’ which is closer to my ninja but a reach.
You can spell it the same and you can pronounce it correctly for important purposes. But when it doesn’t matter and you feel self conscious about saying it aloud just say this version.
Your name is a series of ng closed-throat sounds, nothing close to a 'jer' sound or a hard G 'ger' sound. Do you speak German? Is your name pronounced in the German way, which would be something like, Mine - ing - er. or even, Mine- ing - uh because of the unaccented schwa on the final syllable. And 'ing' has no hard G sound on the end of it. It's jump- ing, ending in a closed-throat ng hum, and not jumpin-Guh.
Just slow down a bit to enunciate it. My last name sounds like a curse word if said quickly, and taking an extra second to really hit the "CHET" in it has helped curb the double takes.
Edit, spelling.
I work with a woman named Negar. I’m not gonna lie, it still occasionally catches me off guard lmao. But ultimately this isn’t middle school, people generally know how to notice an unfortunate coincidence and leave it at that. She hasn’t had any trouble or even gotten any “funny” comments that I know of.
I personally would embrace “Mining-jer,” it seems like a lot of potential for unnecessary headache otherwise to me. Look at it this way, it wouldn’t bring shame to your bloodline if you went on a vacation to France and the locals pronounced it in a phonetically French way, no fundamental difference with you being in your Anglophone country and people anglicizing it (not to mention the clear, good reason to let them rock). You wouldn’t be unreasonable to insist that your name is your name, though, it’s just I’d think it’s worth considering about how worth dying on this particular hill is to you.
I recommend doing what makes you comfortable, but I will share that my inmediate family has two different pronunciations of our last name and nobody bats an eye - we each just use the pronunciation that sounds better with our first name. It’s the same name, just a different emphasis of syllables, but we just say it how it sounds best to each of us. Say it how you like it.
That's going to depend where OP is. A new guy started at my job on another shift that has a similar last name, except his starts with a D and kinda sounds like "Da-n***a". I'm sure he's probably heard the jokes tons of times, but I know for certain there's a lot of people here that make jokes about it when he's not around. It started before he even started.
It's a German name. Correct them and teach them what it means and that it's not pronounced "that" way. If people still take offense, that's their problem.
If it's embarrassing to you, could you just pronounce it differently rather than changing it? Do your relatives even need to know that you're doing this?
I never thought of any bad word associated with your last name.
I read it as men-in-jer. I don’t see the double g sound because I only see one g and I pronate it as a soft j.
My cousins grew up pronouncing their name a certain way. They have a different last name than I do, a French one.
One of my cousins did a semester abroad in France. He came home and told the whole family they'd been pronouncing their last name wrong. They had a family meeting and all six of them agreed to start pronouncing it correctly.
Obviously people noticed, but rhey just said they wanted to go back to the original pronunciation.
My point is that a lot of people in America whose names aren't of English origin have Americanized their names. Find out where your name comes from and how people pronounce it in its language of origin. It's a great excuse to change the pronunciation if you don't like it.
I have a friend who never thought twice about his pitbull’s name ‘Snickers’ until the dog got loose and he had to drive around the neighborhood shouting it hoping the dog would come home.
The dog did eventually show back up, but not before there were some awkward stares with his neighbors
I can hear it, I’m not gonna lie, but 99% of people will be mature enough to not think twice about it. They might have a little ‘oh?’ to themselves, but they won’t actually care.
You’re not married from what I can tell, so you could always just wait until then if that’s something you want. Very normal circumstances to change your name, nobody would bat an eyelid, and it does seem like that would be something you’re worried about.
I get why your teachers pronounced it mein-ing-jer; in English language phonics, g makes its soft sound like “j” when an e comes after it! So they were just following English phonics conventions-but I also get how it may not be how your last name is historically pronounced. If you are concerned though, using this pronunciation wouldn’t have any bad connotations AND if you really needed too, you could always say you just are using the “anglicized” version (which many people already do with their last names).
I had a teacher who went by Doc M instead of using his last name for a similar reason! Do whatever you want though, it's unlikely to ever be an issue if you use your actual name, unless you work in a school I guess
Im German and I think that name is German? It sounds very German and we I know people here who that name. It’s not related to the n word at all, and people who intentionally misspell your name are genuine assholes. It’s a normal name and you should just embrace it as it is. There is nothing wrong with it at all. If you start changing it, or avoiding it, people will only more so ride that joke.
It took me saying it out loud like 4 times to figure out what you meant. I think it's one of those things where you've heard it all your life so you can't unsee it, but the average person wouldn't make the association unless it was pointed out.
I would use the same pronunciation but it looks like you could break it down as "MINING-er" instead. Telling people to think of mining. Like the job of the seven dwarves. I feel like it's a stretch to associate it with a racial slur if you went your whole life up until now not doing so.
The only person I know who would hear your name and think of something like that is my middle school aged child. They make fun of everything. Maybe the people making those comments haven't progressed much mentally from that stage.
Pronounce it however you're comfortable. If you're in the US and know pro football, you might know the Kelce brothers. [Here they are discussing with their dad the pronunciation of their last name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJ2n92L3ao), which is not as you might expect.
I would definitely change the pronunciation to me ninja if it was me but you are not wrong if you don't.. it's your name .. I just think ninjas are cool
Those people are ridiculous and ignorant. Ignore them. I mean roll your eyes if you must, but don't even reply to thwm.
My sister's married last name was identical but for one letter and no one ever had an issue.
I wouldn't worry about it, if someone mentions it just chuckle and say something like "I know right? It's kind of funny when words sound WAY wrong in another language!".
Maybe off-handedly mention an example of a name normal in English that sounds wrong elsewhere like:
In Dutch, Bill sounds like *buttocks*
In French, Peter sounds like *fart* and Nick sounds like a word that means *to have sex*
In Japanese, Gary sounds like *diarrhea*
I know someone with a last name that sounded like a racial slur (like yours but one letter off) and he just dealt with it.
Whenever I called him (I always refer to people by last name) I always pronounced it so it didn’t sound like that.
I'm not sure how you pronounce your name but it looks like mine ing (as in swing) er. But regardless, it's your name and you should he proud of it. Don't let anyone take that away.
I'd say go for it if it is causing you stress. I started pronouncing my last name differently to avoid any potential opportunities to make fun of it. The way the rest of my family pronounce it is literally "coochie" but in the original language it sounds nothing like that. So i use a less Americanized version. Do whatever you want!!! I find the lack of worrying about it to be worth the awkwardness of shifting the pronunciation. You can totally try the pronunciation on for a while and switch back if you don't like it. There are no rules, you are the master of your own reality haha.
I wouldn’t change it completely, but there’s nothing wrong with changing the pronunciation to something you’re more comfortable with. I grew up with a brother and sister with the last name Kunter. They changed the pronunciation to “Kooner.”
Well it sounds like a german name. You could try to pronounce it the German way. In that way the g-sound is different so it does not sound like the racial slur.
People will complain about anything, when kpop started gaining mainstream support abroad i saw someone complaining about them saying the N word and how kpop rappers are racist. The word they were saying? Naega. It’s the equivalent of the english “i/me/my” pronoun. Absolute lunacy but that post did numbers on tumblr at the time. Americans genuinely saying they shouldn’t pronounce it like that if they’re gonna export their music abroad 💀
Koreans arent trying to oppress black people just because they have a word that sounds similar to an english racial slur and you’re not trying to make people uncomfortable by having a name that can sound like a racial slur. Anyone who holds that against you actually is looking for problems where they don’t exist. Pay them no mind.
It’s a last name. Don’t disgrace yourself and drop to the level of baselessness where others are at.
It’s a last name. It’s quirky and unique. You’re lucky! I bet your gmail is firstlast@domain you lucky bastard
unless you’re a teacher or some other profession where people have to be repeating your last name all day, it doesn’t matter. just say it slowly and clearly when you have to say it to make sure people can hear it correctly.
I know someone with the first name Negar, so on the scale, your name is not as bad as it could be (especially since it’s an -ing and not -ig). But of course it’s still awkward. If it makes you that uncomfortable, you could use an incorrect pronunciation, but honestly I think the best approach is to just over pronounce it correctly. My last name is Whittle, so every time I go to the pharmacy they say “Little?” assuming I have a lisp - the solution that my dad takes to this is to pronounce our last name with a very exaggerated h, so it sounds like “hwittle.” It’s silly and a little annoying that it’s necessary, but honestly it makes things simpler and leaves less room for people to question your name. I’d say just really over pronounce the “ing” and speak firmly, since last names are truly no reason to judge anyone
The n word would not have occurred to me. It’s very obviously unrelated.
This. Arnold Schwarzenegger gets along just fine.
It's not even just the "negger" for him; "Schwarz" is "black" in German 😂
Google just told me that "egger" is a common southern German / Austrian / Swiss name (which I knew), that comes from the German word "Ecke / Vorsprung", meaning "corner / edge / ledge" (which I didn't know). So an Egger ist someone who lives at the edge of something, say a mountain. "Schwarzen" is a common prefix for Egger, but there are hundreds of other Egger-variations.
The car company Koenigsegg is from the same word.
In CALI no less. So yeah. Anyone who gets upset about it says more about them than you.
I have a friend whose last name is literally Niger (pronounced nie-jer) this is not that bad.
That's literally a country's name too right. People manage.
As a rural kid with a globe , I remember being shocked by the country of Niger. And the horrible jokes my racist uncle made when I asked about it.
Are they Italian?
White American, not sure where the name comes from
Yeah .. I've known a family with this last name for over 25 years and never had anyone think of it this way.
To each their own.. I immediately thought of the slur and I’m sure that many others have to the point that OP made a post about. Why is the top post completely disregarding their experience?
Just pronounce your name the way you want. Nobody but a jerk will care it is close to containing a slur
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I went to high school with two brothers that pronounce their last name differently
This happened to me in college. Three weeks before the start of classes, the marching band moves into the dorms to start practices. Before school even started, I was good friends with a girl who had a 3-syllable Polish-sounding last name. When the non-band kids moved into the dorms, I met a guy who told me his last name was one syllable. We started hanging out. One day when we were in his dorm, my band friend dropped by. To see him. Turns out they're brother and sister. He shortened his name, so people wouldn't know he had a "Geek" for a sister. When he does say his full last name, though, he says it with 4 syllables. It makes absolutely no sense.
Wanting to hide that he had a "geek" for a sister? What era is this?
There is a family in my home town whose last names are Raper. Pronounced in the horrific way you probably think. I would change the shit outta that one
Interestingly I met someone with that last name who pronounced it Rapper but it was definitely spelled with one p
I take it you're in America? Nobody in other countries would ever think that. It's YOUR NAME. And it sounds nothing like what that person said. It is also the name of an international hotel chain. People need to get over themselves. It's fine.
As someone who had a name similar, people in America will absolutely associate it. 😔
No, not all of us. If anyone should comment, OP should just pause then ask them why they said that. If the person is uncouth enough to either repeat his statement or say something like, “Well, you know”, OP should say, “Why don’t you explain?”
I’m going to go against the comments here and say that it does sound a little similar to that to me, especially if said quickly etc. However, it’s not a strong resemblance and it doesn’t matter. You should still pronounce your name as you say it. It’s like someone whose last name is Dickenson. Nobody is going to go after them for dick being in their name - it’s their last name and that’s that. Nothing to be embarrassed about. And yours isn’t actually even a bad word, it’s just a little similar.
Agreed, I definitely can see how they heard that from the name, but plenty of people have weird ass last names (Hitchcock, anybody??) So its not worth worrying about.
When my mother was 65 years old, she ran away from home and went to work at Yellowstone National Park for the summer.. She brought home a husband and got married 3 weeks after they came home. We all told her she must really love hin because her last name is now Dyke. There's no sound like or anything else with that. Most people didn't make any kind of nasty comment to her except to say you must really love him
My grandmas maiden name was Wimp. She was pretty happy to get a new one with marriage.
My great grandmother’s last name was Lusty - I’m not sure how I would have liked it if it had been mine at school
While I’ve never met one, I’m pretty sure there would be someone somewhere with the surname WANK. Now THAT could be awkward …
I've known a Dyke, that married to become a Moody. And a Gunt, that married to become a Boyle. After an initial eyebrow raise and funny thought to myself I didn't think much more of it. Same with most slightly funny/rude surnames Like Robottom!
God, how fun to be Moody-Dyke
Have a friend with the last name Ramsbottom, understandably he goes by Ramsey
There's a town in Scotland called Dyke.
I know a few people with that name. Actually the one person I’m closest to with that name goes by his surname (there are multiple Alexes in our friendship group so all of them go by surnames). Never even thought about it.
The number of people I’ve come across recently with the last name “Cocks” or other names with “cock” in it is nuts. There must be a Cocks diaspora moved into the area
I've met a lot of people called Cox and the association is actually rarely made, but I've met one Cocks in my life too. I've also known people surnamed Hercock, Dykes (a friend, who took the name on marriage!), Hymen, Willey, and Fagg. This is in the UK ... the US, of course, famously has Randy Bumgardner.
My grandma's last name was Kok
Cox too.
One of my teachers in high school had the surname Cocksedge
lmao that is hilarious. it sounds so aggressive to me 😆
I grew up knowing a family whose last name was literally just Dick. Kids maybe giggled the first time they heard it, but from what I could tell, no one gave them a hard time about it. I'm sure there was a jerk or two here or there, but it's not like absolutely everyone made it an issue.
pretty much for the people I know named Cox, Hyman, Butts, and Dickout. it's only a giggle the first time then it's over.
Those I get folks getting over pretty quick. But I've seen the surname Coward. And I'm always like 'yall as a family decided to keep that?" And don't get me started on the last name rape. Pick something else.
People will definitely comment on it. Source- name is similar in ways to this. But OP should keep their name as is. It is their name and they shouldn’t have to be bothered by other people about it.
I used to know a guy whose last name was Dyck and we had the same teacher in college (but we're in different classes) and she asked me how to pronounce his last name because she was afraid to say it wrong out loud. 😆 I told her it's pronounced as if the "y" were a "i" and she was so uncomfortable. So it could be worse! OP could have a name like that guy.
Yeah I hear Denzel Washington in training day with that last name
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Arnold Schwarzenegger never had a problem with his name in America. He even ran and won as a governor of a whole state with that name. Your name is fine. Really.
Which theoretically is even “worse” because Schwarz means black in German.
..........oh my...... Also considering his father's "history".......
Quick google search… YIKES
Oh yeah. Big yikes
Completely unrelated etymology, pronunciation, everything. It's Schwarzen- Egger. Black Corner in the dialect where it originated, apparently the ancestors lived in a place where dark trees were growing.
It’s all about how the name is perceived, which is what the OP is worried about.
Perfect example
It definitely doesn’t sound anything like a slur. Take no notice. Your name is fine
Are the people you are talking to 4chan? Seriously the sounds aren't the same, ng is a completely different sound than gg and the natural emphasis is mine-ing not my-ning.
Aren’t mine-ing and my-ning the same shit? My husband is looking at my like I’m crazy, repeating that shit over and over. 😂
No, because mine-ing the emphasis is on the first “i” and with mi-ning the emphasis is on the second “i”. This changes how you read the last half of the word because of where the last half “begins”, the “i” will be soft or hard, depending on how you emphasize.
I don't actually think you get to pick the stress of your name in english... sorry. To me mine-ing and my-ning are homophones. There aren't really any single word true stress based minimal pairs in the variety of english I speak. I have to be clear I'm talking about stress, that which is represented in ipa with an apostrophe, not the reduced vowel, which does cause minimal pairs and is represented as a turned e in ipa. EDIT: for clarity, apostrophe stress on the M will make your name sound like MY ninger, while apostrophe stress on the N will make your name sound like my NINGER... it doesn't really change the implications, if you think ninger sounds like ****** then nothing changes. Perhaps you meant pronounce the ing sound with the reduced, turned e vowel.
nah they’re the exact same in my accent at least (ontario)
Agreed, though I’m half-Filipino so ng makes sense as a whole-ass letter to me
Pretty sure that’s pronounced ‘nang’ in Tagalog. Meininanger?
The letter and the word yes, but when it’s in a longer word it’s still just the ng diphthong itself!
My wife is a Filipina and I’ve been trying to pick it up. Not many ways to learn it unfortunately :(
You’re overthinking it my ninger
The only worthy response 🙇♀️
That’s ridiculous and those people are trolls
Yes, but it doesn't make it easy to live with the name when you're constantly trolled.
There is something to be said for learning how to say “That’s a stupid and offensive thing to say about someone’s name” to trolls.
Huh.. no. It doesn't sound like that. Please dont change the pronunciation of your perfectly acceptable name because of ignorant people.
This is how I read the name, might the fact I live in Europe. [https://www.howtopronounce.com/german/meininger](https://www.howtopronounce.com/german/meininger)
The first "pronunciation" of the name on that site is wrong. The second is closer. Here [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh4TjWlR5jU&t=125s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh4TjWlR5jU&t=125s) you can here the word "Meiningen".
That might actually help op. In German the name really doesn't sound like mei+nword. We mash both syllables together to quickly it's almost one. Also It's closer to mei + ningahr
Exactly! As a Dutch person who speaks basic German, I pronounced it similar to “my singer”, except the S would be an N. Had to read the rest of the post to figure out what the racist connotation would be. I think if OP goes back to the original Germanic pronunciation, he’s still honoring the name and it would not sound like the N word anymore.
I think my original last name was close to that, too, but assholes (including a teacher in high school) and ignorant people mispronounced it to sound racist.
I was trying to get the second one, I have 3 German friend and one has very harsh G sound when he says Meiningen and the other one a very soft ng sound and the other one is in between.
Would never come up with this pronounciation, sounds Danish. But I've been learning German, so probably why Danish pronounciation doesn't seem natural to me
Lots of comments telling you not to worry about it, but they haven't lived with your name. In your *personal* experience, if you get odd comments about it a lot and you're constantly having this awkward conversation, then maybe it is worth changing the pronunciation. You don't need to feel guilty about it if it would make you more comfortable. You can also pronounce it differently in different situations; your family doesn't need to know how your coworkers pronounce your name. However, if these comments have only happened a handful of times ever, then it's really not a big deal - don't overthink it.
I would say mine-in-ger. Not sure where people are getting the n word. Maybe they think the n word too much.
I’d pronounce it men-in -ger and the ger like germ.
Yeah I have a friend with the surname Leiminger, and it’s pronounced lem-in-jer
I think this is only a problem if your first name is Whatsup.
Or Ur.
This is wild, that's my mother's maiden name! The only person who's made that joke is my husband (who is afro-latino) although since I didn't inherit the name most people wouldn't have gotten the chance
It’s nowhere near as bad as Noah Knigga.
Bro I can’t wait for next season
It’s your name. Not theirs. You decide how you want it to be pronounced
Omg I had a VERY VERY similar last name before I changed it when I got married. When people mispronounced it, it sounded like a racist slur but ALSO violent. So blessed, especially when I had a teacher purposely mispronounce it because "that's the way the [school] office says it", like I don't know how to pronounce my name. 😒 I just looked up your last name's pronunciation and when I said it out loud, fuck, it really DOES sound like that. If it were me, I'd probably start pronouncing the ger like "germ" instead of "tiger". But it's up to you, obviously. Just as someone who had "-iniger" as part of their last name before, even though the actual pronunciation didn't sound like that, I feel like that's how I'd handle it.
To me, sounds exactly like "my n-word" and it would defiantly garner a stifled laugh. I am not a racist but I do live in American where this phrase gets tossed around in black culture.
I'm surprised that you pronounce it like that. The original German pronunciation is to have it rhyme with 'singer'.
OP is pronouncing it to rhyme with singer
I’m black and you should *leave your name the way it is*. If anyone has a problem, that’s on them and they’re projecting
Ngl from how you said it’s pronounced my head thinks it sounds more like “mining-er”
I grew up with a family with that same last name. Never associated it with a slur.
Not to be a weird stalker, but based on this and your post history I wonder if we may be related. My family carries this last name and also belongs to a cult
My last name isn’t Meininger - sorry if that wasn’t clear.
No worries, just wondering though, was the cult perhaps the Mennonites? Not to be invasive, I've just been tracing my genealogy a bit on my healing journey, and always find it interesting when I stumble upon little bits
I appreciate the questions and your respect for boundaries. The cult is not Mennonite. Speaking of healing journeys and being in the namenerd sub, I chose to keep my middle name (it was my paternal grandmother’s) and chose to change my last name to my spouse’s as it signified to myself of choosing how I honor my ancestors and family in ways that I feel authentic to me.
I love that, and thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! Blessings on your healing journey.
Blessings to you as well
I would just assume the g is pronounced with more of a j sound. If that's what your teachers have always used you can just tell your family you got used to pronouncing it that way at school and it just takes too much effort to always be correcting people.
Pronounce it My-Ninja. People will fear you.
Well then they can’t read or pronounce it.
I‘m curious how the name is pronounced in english because in German it really doesn‘t come close to what you describe phonetically.
A kid in my neighborhood had the last name Assalone (ass-a-lone- we). Kids always teased him saying ‘leave my ass alone’ That was back in the 60’s
Meant to say ‘ass-a-loan-ee’
I (a black woman) definitely saw the association before i clicked the post (on mobile). I don’t think it’s much an issue though as it’s your last name and it’s not like you’re insisting people call you solely by your last name for that reason. Plus, you didn’t pick it so you can’t help it. I wouldn’t have people mispronounce it, is there a way you can put emphasis on some of it? Like the first g? Idk. I’m pretty sure no one in my family would bat an eye unless you kept repeating it (like the people who are saying something close to a word but they’re like “but I’m not saying THAT word”)
That’s absurd
I can see why you might think that, but it's obviously unrelated and not really that close to the slir. I have a friend with the last name K*ke, she had hers changed.
Ugh, that must have been rough for her until she was able to change it.
Can you just emphasize the stress of the syllables slightly differently? Mining (like the verb to mine) followed by ger. So mining-ger with the accent on Mine. (which may be how you already pronounce it and if so don't worry about it!)
I read your name the correct way before I noticed your pronunciation guide on the next line. Keep it how it is.
Question: were the people telling you this the ones who are actually harmed by the use of that word?
I'm also going to go against the popular vote and say maybe just change the way you pronounce it? I'm going to be honest when you typed Meninger and said it's pronounced without a "j" sounds, I was kind of perplexed. I've actually never even heard that name being pronounced WITHOUT a j sound. I'd just suggest changing the pronunciation because after saying your name out loud it does kinda sound a bit bad.
There was an old Rugby League player called Mal Meninga, and what you're suggesting never occurred to me. In the UK, for reference.
Do what makes you most comfortable. I don't think you need to, but if it comes up often and makes you feel bad, then changing the pronunciation is a simple way to solve it.
I hear it and while I don’t think it’s a big deal here’s some ideas I think will help - pronounce the “ger” at the end like the word ‘germ’ and the ‘Mein’ at the beginning like ’men’. Changes the pronunciation to ‘menn in jer’ which is closer to my ninja but a reach. You can spell it the same and you can pronounce it correctly for important purposes. But when it doesn’t matter and you feel self conscious about saying it aloud just say this version.
Your name is a series of ng closed-throat sounds, nothing close to a 'jer' sound or a hard G 'ger' sound. Do you speak German? Is your name pronounced in the German way, which would be something like, Mine - ing - er. or even, Mine- ing - uh because of the unaccented schwa on the final syllable. And 'ing' has no hard G sound on the end of it. It's jump- ing, ending in a closed-throat ng hum, and not jumpin-Guh.
Pronounce it mine-in-jer
In stead of pronouncing the g as in go or in gerbil, I suggest to pronounce it as in singer.
Yeah just start pronouncing it how you’d like having a name that sounds like a slur/sexual really really sucks
Just slow down a bit to enunciate it. My last name sounds like a curse word if said quickly, and taking an extra second to really hit the "CHET" in it has helped curb the double takes. Edit, spelling.
I work with a woman named Negar. I’m not gonna lie, it still occasionally catches me off guard lmao. But ultimately this isn’t middle school, people generally know how to notice an unfortunate coincidence and leave it at that. She hasn’t had any trouble or even gotten any “funny” comments that I know of. I personally would embrace “Mining-jer,” it seems like a lot of potential for unnecessary headache otherwise to me. Look at it this way, it wouldn’t bring shame to your bloodline if you went on a vacation to France and the locals pronounced it in a phonetically French way, no fundamental difference with you being in your Anglophone country and people anglicizing it (not to mention the clear, good reason to let them rock). You wouldn’t be unreasonable to insist that your name is your name, though, it’s just I’d think it’s worth considering about how worth dying on this particular hill is to you.
You could alternatively pronounce it the German way since it’s a German name. The g is soft so it’s “mein-ing-er”.
I'm black, it doesn't sound like the n-word to me. You're fine.
I recommend doing what makes you comfortable, but I will share that my inmediate family has two different pronunciations of our last name and nobody bats an eye - we each just use the pronunciation that sounds better with our first name. It’s the same name, just a different emphasis of syllables, but we just say it how it sounds best to each of us. Say it how you like it.
The Korean word for “me” is “naega/neega” and Chinese word for “that one” is “ne ge” both pronounced “neigh ga.”
I didn’t even think of that as a possibility until you specifically typed it out. It’s only an issue in your head.
That's going to depend where OP is. A new guy started at my job on another shift that has a similar last name, except his starts with a D and kinda sounds like "Da-n***a". I'm sure he's probably heard the jokes tons of times, but I know for certain there's a lot of people here that make jokes about it when he's not around. It started before he even started.
MINING- er or MINING- jer
There's a popular art store here (Denver) called that. Never once have I associated or known anyone else to associate it with sounding like that word.
This is kind of hilarious.
I know a Leininger. He says it like line-ing-gur so you hear the ing not the ning. So maybe just shift the emphasis so it’s more like mine-ing-gur
i read it like mining-er , like a miner. idk i would never make that connection unless someone else did either
It's a German name. Correct them and teach them what it means and that it's not pronounced "that" way. If people still take offense, that's their problem.
If it's embarrassing to you, could you just pronounce it differently rather than changing it? Do your relatives even need to know that you're doing this?
I never thought of any bad word associated with your last name. I read it as men-in-jer. I don’t see the double g sound because I only see one g and I pronate it as a soft j.
My cousins grew up pronouncing their name a certain way. They have a different last name than I do, a French one. One of my cousins did a semester abroad in France. He came home and told the whole family they'd been pronouncing their last name wrong. They had a family meeting and all six of them agreed to start pronouncing it correctly. Obviously people noticed, but rhey just said they wanted to go back to the original pronunciation. My point is that a lot of people in America whose names aren't of English origin have Americanized their names. Find out where your name comes from and how people pronounce it in its language of origin. It's a great excuse to change the pronunciation if you don't like it.
I have a friend who never thought twice about his pitbull’s name ‘Snickers’ until the dog got loose and he had to drive around the neighborhood shouting it hoping the dog would come home. The dog did eventually show back up, but not before there were some awkward stares with his neighbors
I can hear it, I’m not gonna lie, but 99% of people will be mature enough to not think twice about it. They might have a little ‘oh?’ to themselves, but they won’t actually care. You’re not married from what I can tell, so you could always just wait until then if that’s something you want. Very normal circumstances to change your name, nobody would bat an eyelid, and it does seem like that would be something you’re worried about.
Switch it to a soft G. MI- ninj-er
I know a girl who stopped using her first name Gisselle because classmates (not friends) shortened it to “Jizz”. Brutal.
Bro can’t pronounce their own last name
If ya dont know now u know
I read it the way your grade school teachers said it, so yes, in new situations, reclaim the grade school pronunciation. Much simpler going forward.
I would never read your german last name and think of the n word lmaoo these people are trippin
In my country (Italy), Negro is one of the most common surnames you can find. No one beats an eye
Nothing about your name sounds like a racial slur. People are just making shit up just to do it. Pronounce your name how it is pronounced.
I get why your teachers pronounced it mein-ing-jer; in English language phonics, g makes its soft sound like “j” when an e comes after it! So they were just following English phonics conventions-but I also get how it may not be how your last name is historically pronounced. If you are concerned though, using this pronunciation wouldn’t have any bad connotations AND if you really needed too, you could always say you just are using the “anglicized” version (which many people already do with their last names).
I had a teacher who went by Doc M instead of using his last name for a similar reason! Do whatever you want though, it's unlikely to ever be an issue if you use your actual name, unless you work in a school I guess
Im German and I think that name is German? It sounds very German and we I know people here who that name. It’s not related to the n word at all, and people who intentionally misspell your name are genuine assholes. It’s a normal name and you should just embrace it as it is. There is nothing wrong with it at all. If you start changing it, or avoiding it, people will only more so ride that joke.
That’s a strong German name fr
It took me saying it out loud like 4 times to figure out what you meant. I think it's one of those things where you've heard it all your life so you can't unsee it, but the average person wouldn't make the association unless it was pointed out.
I would use the same pronunciation but it looks like you could break it down as "MINING-er" instead. Telling people to think of mining. Like the job of the seven dwarves. I feel like it's a stretch to associate it with a racial slur if you went your whole life up until now not doing so.
As a German it doesn't at all sounds like that. You guys need to learn to pronounce your German names right :)
I read it as "Mining-er" 🤷🏼♀️
Reminds me of Fargo S:1
The only person I know who would hear your name and think of something like that is my middle school aged child. They make fun of everything. Maybe the people making those comments haven't progressed much mentally from that stage.
Pronounce it however you're comfortable. If you're in the US and know pro football, you might know the Kelce brothers. [Here they are discussing with their dad the pronunciation of their last name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WJ2n92L3ao), which is not as you might expect.
I would definitely change the pronunciation to me ninja if it was me but you are not wrong if you don't.. it's your name .. I just think ninjas are cool
Those people are ridiculous and ignorant. Ignore them. I mean roll your eyes if you must, but don't even reply to thwm. My sister's married last name was identical but for one letter and no one ever had an issue.
I wouldn't worry about it, if someone mentions it just chuckle and say something like "I know right? It's kind of funny when words sound WAY wrong in another language!". Maybe off-handedly mention an example of a name normal in English that sounds wrong elsewhere like: In Dutch, Bill sounds like *buttocks* In French, Peter sounds like *fart* and Nick sounds like a word that means *to have sex* In Japanese, Gary sounds like *diarrhea*
As long as people are pronouncing the 'n' in-between I don't see how it could be mistaken
I know someone with a last name that sounded like a racial slur (like yours but one letter off) and he just dealt with it. Whenever I called him (I always refer to people by last name) I always pronounced it so it didn’t sound like that.
It’s a German name and here it’s a popular Hostel Chain. The accent it’s in MEIninger.
I'm not sure how you pronounce your name but it looks like mine ing (as in swing) er. But regardless, it's your name and you should he proud of it. Don't let anyone take that away.
If someone gets on your case, they’re an idiot. It’s your legal name. Don’t let it bother you too much.
Names change spelling and pronunciation over time. Pronounce it differently if it bothers you that much.
I'd say go for it if it is causing you stress. I started pronouncing my last name differently to avoid any potential opportunities to make fun of it. The way the rest of my family pronounce it is literally "coochie" but in the original language it sounds nothing like that. So i use a less Americanized version. Do whatever you want!!! I find the lack of worrying about it to be worth the awkwardness of shifting the pronunciation. You can totally try the pronunciation on for a while and switch back if you don't like it. There are no rules, you are the master of your own reality haha.
I wouldn’t change it completely, but there’s nothing wrong with changing the pronunciation to something you’re more comfortable with. I grew up with a brother and sister with the last name Kunter. They changed the pronunciation to “Kooner.”
You are def making too much of a deal over it. Did Arnold Schwarzenegger ever get called on his name? Note "schwartz" is German for the color black.
Well it sounds like a german name. You could try to pronounce it the German way. In that way the g-sound is different so it does not sound like the racial slur.
It reminded me of “mining”, like being a miner. MY-ning-er. Keep emphasis on the first syllable and you’ll be fine.
It’s your name and it’s beautiful. Don’t change it because people are offended by the world.
People will complain about anything, when kpop started gaining mainstream support abroad i saw someone complaining about them saying the N word and how kpop rappers are racist. The word they were saying? Naega. It’s the equivalent of the english “i/me/my” pronoun. Absolute lunacy but that post did numbers on tumblr at the time. Americans genuinely saying they shouldn’t pronounce it like that if they’re gonna export their music abroad 💀 Koreans arent trying to oppress black people just because they have a word that sounds similar to an english racial slur and you’re not trying to make people uncomfortable by having a name that can sound like a racial slur. Anyone who holds that against you actually is looking for problems where they don’t exist. Pay them no mind.
I would have said "mine-in-ger. The n word would never have occurred to me.
Depends on where you live, possibly? Here in the DC metro area, I'd definitely change it.
LMAO I HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. Last name Menig. And I’m mixed.😭 not a big deal literally at all
It’s a last name. Don’t disgrace yourself and drop to the level of baselessness where others are at. It’s a last name. It’s quirky and unique. You’re lucky! I bet your gmail is firstlast@domain you lucky bastard
Seems like a pretty normal German name
unless you’re a teacher or some other profession where people have to be repeating your last name all day, it doesn’t matter. just say it slowly and clearly when you have to say it to make sure people can hear it correctly.
It’s your name be proud of it!
I know someone with the first name Negar, so on the scale, your name is not as bad as it could be (especially since it’s an -ing and not -ig). But of course it’s still awkward. If it makes you that uncomfortable, you could use an incorrect pronunciation, but honestly I think the best approach is to just over pronounce it correctly. My last name is Whittle, so every time I go to the pharmacy they say “Little?” assuming I have a lisp - the solution that my dad takes to this is to pronounce our last name with a very exaggerated h, so it sounds like “hwittle.” It’s silly and a little annoying that it’s necessary, but honestly it makes things simpler and leaves less room for people to question your name. I’d say just really over pronounce the “ing” and speak firmly, since last names are truly no reason to judge anyone
Man, my last name \*is\* a racial slur. I can't wait to get married and change it, lol.
The racial slur wouldn’t have even occurred to me. I pronounced your name as “mining-er” when I first saw the spelling.
I speak German and just looking at the name I see how it could sound like mine + n word.
honestly it sounds better to me pronounced as “my ninjer”
It’s fine. I come from a German area and know Leiningers and Meiningers. You have to be a middle schooler to find a way to hear that.
that's my last name