This was my name before I legally changed it to something more traditional. There are many names that can have numerous spelling variations. Summer is not one of them. Here are my personal experiences with the name Sommer... 1. About 70% of people pronounced it incorrectly. The most popular pronunciation was "S-ah-mmer". I have heard "S-oh-mmer" here and there as well. People are generally confused by the "o". 2. I would have to explain the spelling and pronunciation quite often. It gets pretty annoying the older you get. I felt like my life revolved around explaining my name. 3. Employers don't seem to like it. I've literally watched employers skip over job resumes because they thought the applicant had an unprofessional name. Not saying you'll never get a job. I have an awesome job. But chances are slightly more impacted. If you are going to name your child Sommer, I beg you to at least spell it traditionally with a "u". Replacing the "u" with an "o" takes away from the names meaning. Like spelling "June" as "Joon". It just looks silly and makes no sense to write it like that. "Sommer" looks more masculine and less appealing on paper. It just looks like a word or a surname. "Summer" has a better flow to the spelling, is easier to sign, and connects to the names meaning without questions.
My name is Sommer and I love my name. It is actually very rare here in the U.S. so a lot of people make fun of it, or pronounce it wrong. It gets annoying but I wouldn't change if for the world. I didn't even know others spelled it this way till a few years ago and it was incredible to find out. To all the other Sommers out there, Rock on :)
My name is also Sommer and like the other above commenters, I didn't exactly used to like my name. But I love it now because it is unique and special. My middle name is Louise because my parents said that I can change it to that if I wanted to when I'm older. But I love my name so I'm not going to.
My name is Sommer. I love my name because it is unique, while I have met several Summers, I have NEVER met another Sommer. My middle name is Mae, which was given to me because of family tradition. I think it flows well but if you are using the name I would consider something less "nature-y". As for the rude comments about my name, I understand some of them but uneducated I do not. My mother is a successful nurse who by no means is a hick or uneducated. Sommer/Summer sounds like a pretty and feminine name to me but it does not seem mature. I am 19 but someday when I'm a grandma it will sound weird, "Grandma Sommer". ALSO, I did an exchange in Germany for a month and no one there thought I was crazy, I actually got several compliments. And when I'm in the states I get compliments too, it's hard to forget my name!
The other commentators are wrong about its usage. It is used as a name in Germany among girls. I have seen it plenty of times in the German Birth Announcements. It may be a newer name, but you certainly would not look insane if you used Sommer.
― Anonymous User 5/2/2012
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Very pretty name corresponding to the season in German and Scandinavian languages. Usually Sommer is used as a surname in these countries, but it is quite lovely used as a first name. Only undereducated hicks would think it is a misspelled name and those are exactly the people that don't matter.
Er, no. If you use this, you'll only look like an undereducated hick who cannot spell. Yes, I'm aware that this is a word in other countries, but you don't see THEM using it, do you?
This name just doesn't look right in English. If the family moved to Britain, Australia, or New Zealand, the daughter's name wouldn't even be pronounced like 'summer'. It would be mispronounced as ''sawmmer'' by people who have only seen it written, not heard it. Germans, on the other hand, haven't really gotten into season names. So, this name would sound bizarre in German-speaking countries as well.
... and in Norwegian, and it is not used as a name here.
― Anonymous User 3/7/2008
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I have heard that Sommer is the masculine version of the feminine name, Summer.
― Anonymous User 9/2/2006
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It does mean summer but it is not used as a name in Germany. If you named your child that over here, people would probably consider you insane. [noted -ed]
NO, the Germans pronounce it Z-OMMA but it's not a name over here it just means summer and a German singer married to an American singer (Sarah Connor and Marc Terenzi) named their daughter Summer and it was in the papers for ages.
1. About 70% of people pronounced it incorrectly. The most popular pronunciation was "S-ah-mmer". I have heard "S-oh-mmer" here and there as well. People are generally confused by the "o".
2. I would have to explain the spelling and pronunciation quite often. It gets pretty annoying the older you get. I felt like my life revolved around explaining my name.
3. Employers don't seem to like it. I've literally watched employers skip over job resumes because they thought the applicant had an unprofessional name. Not saying you'll never get a job. I have an awesome job. But chances are slightly more impacted.
If you are going to name your child Sommer, I beg you to at least spell it traditionally with a "u". Replacing the "u" with an "o" takes away from the names meaning. Like spelling "June" as "Joon". It just looks silly and makes no sense to write it like that. "Sommer" looks more masculine and less appealing on paper. It just looks like a word or a surname. "Summer" has a better flow to the spelling, is easier to sign, and connects to the names meaning without questions.