The T is Silent

What’s in a name, Shakespeare wrote. 

While my Margot is still as sweet even when people call her Mar-got or Mar-git, or Margaret, it makes me rage. 

I thought I chose classic names–not uncommon, but not too popular. I thought my husband was a little ignorant when he said, “you are not naming our kid Mar-got.” But she came 17 weeks before we time to debate this, so Mar-got she was. My husband was right—there, I said it. 

The real shock in all of this is how little people care to pronounce her name correctly. 

“It’s Margot,” I’ll say.

“But there’s a T at the end,” they’ll say.

“Yes, the T is silent,” I reply, and they go right on calling her Mar-got. 

While unrelated to the title of this blog post, I have to add that Margot’s sister, Vivienne, has been called Viveen, Vivianne, Vivieenie, and Vine—yes, Vine. 

With Golden Globe winning actress Margot Robbie out there doing her thing and so many other words with French roots being part of the English language—ballet, chalet, gourmet, rapport—I did not expect this to be such an issue. 

I question my decision to give my daughter that silent T every time the phone rings and the person on the other end asks if I’m the parent or guardian of Margot. I question it so much that I recently found myself searching Google for does everyone pronounce Margot wrong?

My search led me to a Reddit thread where Ellers23 wrote, “I had a cat names Margot and nurses at the vet frequently called her Margot. I lived in Florida a the time so take that as you will.”

As it turns out, my daughter’s name is not the problem. We just need to move.