Hi Jennifer!
First off, let me just say I love looking at your website. I’ve been coming to your website since I was young just to look at names for fun and I love all the advice you give!
I’ve always wondered how to pronounce the name Maille. I’ve looked up how to pronounce it and some sites it says it’s pronounced like ‘Molly’ or ‘Mehl-leh’ or ‘May-lee’ or ‘My-lee.’ Is there any certain way you would pronounce this name?
Thank you!
Georgie
Dear Georgie,
Maille is a French surname. It came from the name of a small coin, and subsequently a tax of the same amount. Most likely the surname came from a nickname for someone who collected this tax.
In its original language it would be pronounced similar to “My” or possibly “MY-ah.” However, since the name is so rare and nobody in the U.S. really knows the proper pronunciation, you can pronounce it any way that you want.
Sincerely,
Jennifer
Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.
Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.
