12 Baby Brand Names You’ve Probably Been Saying All Wrong

Now that you’re a parent, not a day goes by that you’re not talking about baby stuff. In your pre-baby days you may have gushed about your go-to restaurants, fitness studios and clothing boutiques on the regular—but now it’s all about your favorite baby brands. (Hey, it happens to the best of us.)

But here’s the rub: Some of those brands have foreign names with pretty tricky spellings, leaving you totally stumped over how to pronounce them. Sure, you may have said “Chicco” out loud at least a dozen times, but did you actually say it correctly? To get to the bottom of this nagging parent problem, we did some sleuthing and pinpointed the proper way to say 12 of everyone’s favorite baby brands. So the next time you rave about that Medela pump or that Britax stroller, you can sound like the in-the-know product guru that you are. You’re welcome.

1. Medela: meh-DEE-la

Founded in 1961 in Switzerland, Medela is one of today’s leading brands for breastfeeding moms, offering breast pumps, accessories and more.

2. Chicco: KEE-ko

Chicco is an Italian company (hence the “kee” sound instead of “chee”) that’s been around for 60 years and is known for its trusty, affordable line of strollers, car seats, high chairs and other gear.

3. Britax: brit-tax

Another international brand, Britax hails from Britain and makes ever-popular, safety-oriented car seats and strollers.

4. Béaba: bay-AH-buh

Béaba is a high-end brand offering French-designed baby feeding products, from baby food makers and bottle warmers to baby utensils and baby food freezer trays.

5. BabyBjörn: baby-be-orn

A Swedish family-owned company, BabyBjörn (named for its founder, Björn Jakobson) has been around since 1961 and is beloved for its hipster-worthy baby carriers, bouncers and travel cribs.

6. Stokke: stow-kuh

This premium baby brand was founded in Norway back in 1932. Since its revolutionary Tripp Trapp high chair came on the scene in 1972, Stokke has been creating design-forward baby gear, including strollers, cribs and baby carriers.

7. aden + anais: A-den and uh-NAY

Hello from Down Under! The founder of aden + anais (Anais is the name of her first-born daughter) is from Australia, but the brand quickly captured the hearts of American parents with its uber-soft muslin swaddle blankets, bibs, crib sheets and towel sets.

8. Robeez: ROB-bees

After getting downsized from her job in 1994, a Canadian mom made her son, Robert, a pair of soft-soled leather shoes that other parents instantly coveted. And thus, Robeez (as in “Robbie’s”), maker of baby shoes, socks and apparel, was born.

9. Oeuf: UH-f

Michael Ryan (American) and Sophie Demenge (French) are the husband-wife duo behind Oeuf, a design-forward baby brand offering nursery furniture, decor and baby clothing. “Oeuf” is French for “egg,” which is fitting, since they launched the brand after the birth of their first child.

10. NUK: nook

These days, NUK is owned by an American company, but the brand has German roots. The first NUK baby bottle nipple, modelled on the shape of a mother’s breast, was designed by two German dental health experts. Today the brand’s offerings include bottles, pacifiers, teethers and feeding gear.

11. Nuby: NEW-be

Nuby was established in 1971 by its American parent company, Luv n’ Care, and is a leading maker of cups, teethers, pacifiers and more.

12. OXO Tot: OX-o tot

Wondering how OXO Tot got its name? Founder Same Farber simply loved the letter “O,” and his wife wanted to create a logo that could be read backwards, forwards and upside down. The brand is known for its feeding accessories, from high chairs to serveware, and its potty training products.

Published January 2019