N00B NAME CHALLENGE: the reveal!

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Before we reveal the answer to all these riddles, Justin and I thought we'd share some of the name hints that didn't quite make the cut (most of which were rejected when we decided to allow Googling):

• The first historically notable bearer of this name was an empress.
  
• Were proper names allowed, playing it would be worth 12 points in Scrabble.
  
• It is

Comments

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It's definitely because of the hiatus; in Greek, there's no ambiguity because both vowels HAVE to be pronounced, whereas English that letter combination would more logically be thought to rhyme with "Joe."

However, I'm pretty sure that anyone who thinks that Zoe rhymes with Joe probably also doesn't know what a diaeresis is. They'd just think it rhymes with Joe AND is the name of a heavy metal band. :-)

We're not going to use the diaeresis officially, for the logistical reasons you have in mind, but I think it looks kind of nifty so I have been using it inconsistently in less formal contexts. Somehow it's hard to feel consistency is terribly important when you live somewhere where a single name might get transliterated into English three dozen different ways.

[jcreed]

Oh Zoe-as-rhymes-with-Joe makes a lot more sense. I was kind of imagining it diaresislessly as "Zoi".

[y_pestis]

I was just really glad it was "Zoe" and not "Zooey". My niece is nothing like a zoo.

Diacritics aren't completely uncommon in the UK - a fairly common name of Welsh origin is Siân (pronounced "shaan"), although as mentioned here my brain doesn't want to pay attention and I always have to check which vowel wears the hat.

I didn't realise Zoe was also the name of a Neil Gaiman pet. At least you're not calling her Cabal.

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Uh-oh... I have a new coworker named Sian and have been pronouncing it pretty much like Sean. Is it a different vowel sound? I'll go consult with my Welsh colleague tomorrow.

[y_pestis]

In my accent they're different vowels. I'd pronounce "Sean" with a long backwards-c vowel (same vowel as in "caught") while Siân is a round-a vowel (same vowel as "car"). Wait, I'd pronounce "Sean" the same as "shorn". Thus Shawn the Sheep. Yeah. Siân's vowel is much further forward and unrounded.

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I also pronounce those vowels differently. The Americans from whom I learned the new coworker's name don't, which I guess is how I got it wrong.

Do you remember when I was in preschool and started working out that I should insert an r into anything Mum pronounced with a long ahh sound? For a while I said "mother and farther." Overfitting!

[kit_ping]

An excellent name! The last Zöe I had as a student was a really neat, really creative girl. May the trend continue. :)

[marialuminous]

I love the name! And although I didn't submit any guesses, I did enjoy the pondering over the clues. Thank you! This is such a fun way to tell us her name.

[dubaiwalla]

I love the name. But I hope you realize she's going to get called on last in class for everything!

[y_pestis]

Zoe Carlson would probably get called sooner in class than Marjorie Tillinghast ever was! :-) (The schools we went to, they went alphabetically by surname.)