To be honest, I don't think dumbing down is ever a good idea because people can be easily educated. Most Carolinas I've ever known or heard of spell the name traditionally (I've never known any Karolinas which is also a traditional spelling). As someone who lives in
Virginia, even we know that the name
Carolina is pronounced ca-ro-LEE-na. I actually prefer it to
Caroline which is my youngest dd
Anna's mn but chose
Caroline to avoid the ca-ro-LIE-na pronunciation. Sometimes, I question that decison. (As it is, I call her
Anna Carolina or
Anna Cara pretty often.)
If you live in another part of the country, especially Texas, Arizona, California or New
York, then I think you'd stand a good chance of her name being pronounced correctly.
If you love the name enough, it'll be worth it to you.
My name is
Elena and 98% of the time, it gets pronounced the way I prefer.
Edited to add that because my name is
Elena, my first instinct is to say ca-ro-LAY-na with Carolena.
This message was edited 10/29/2006, 9:54 PM