Anja or Anya?

[Chocolocolate]

Hello,

What do people think of Anja?

I like the sound of the name but am unsure of the Anja spelling, however DH says that Anya is the incorrect spelling.

[RedFlagHag]

Lovely name.

I would probably spell it Anya (or Aine, which is Gaelic and is pronounced more like Awn-ya). But Anja is lovely, too. It has more of an Eastern European vibe to the spelling, imo. Is that accurate?

[RitaMorgan]

I prefer the Anja spelling, but I think most English speakers will be more familiar/comfortable with Anya so she may do a lot of spelling and correcting her name.

Either spelling is "correct" though.

[Chocolocolate]

Does anyone have any middle name suggestions to go with Anja/Anya?

I did like Charlotte as a middle name but the the initials would be ACH.

[RitaMorgan]

What's wrong with ACH?

[Chocolocolate]

Makes me think of ache.

[shmoz]

redflag you are correct, it's from Russia.
I know a couple of Anias (Polish spelling), but Anya is the more popular spelling in UK.

IMO ach sounds like a throat being cleared (sorry)

[cowboylover]

I think Anya is a really nice name and would go with the more UK spelling but as other posted said I think both spellings are correct.

Those initials are not too bad but if you are not comfortable with them you will always notice! How many syllables does your surname have?

[Chocolocolate]

Surname is Holmes.

[Umnitsa]

I like Anya although prefer it as a nickname to Anna / Anne rather than a full name.

I know Anja and she is Indian, I think it is a nickname for Anjali and pronounced Ahn-dzha.

[madwomanintheattic]

mine is anya elise.

quite a few people say 'on-ya' or 'awn-ya'. we have had people spell it anja too, and we have another girl with a -ya name, which also gets -ja spellings. i think it's inevitable, but not too much bother tbh.

anya is just the anglicised form.

we only know one other who is 8 years older (and ours is 7yo) although i think it is becoming more common in some places. not here though.

we like it.

[PepsiPopcorn]

Anya is the Russian spelling, Anja is Scandinavian/German/Dutch/Serbian, Ania is Polish.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anya

[PepsiPopcorn]

BTW I prefer Anya as it's easiest for English-speakers to read.

[Underachieving]

Anja is cute but Anya is an easier life for her.

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

I prefer Anja, but most people would probably pronounce it An-jar

[alexaj]

Use a 'y' unless you want people mispronouncing it for all time.

[Wafflenose]

My sister is Ania Elaine

[Chocolocolate]

I'm pleased with the positive reaction.

Still struggling with a middle name. I really like the name Elizabeth. Would..

Anja Charlotte Elizabeth Holmes

... be too much?

Elizabeth is not a family name - just one I like.

Or..

Anja Madeleine Holmes.

Again, Madeleine is just a name I like.

Family names could be Gillian, Shirley, Janet or Marcia - non of which I'm keen on. Charlotte is a close cousin's name which is I'm keen to use it.

Does anyone have any other ideas that sound good?

It's early days (8+5) but Anja (possibly Anya) is our favourite girls name by far.

[ValiumSingleton]

Anya looks like the right spelling to me. If I saw Anja I'd think you were Polish (maybe?!)

Anya is lovely though, good choice no matter how you spell it imo

[singingmum]

My dd's name with j not y is fine only one person called her an-jar but she was an idiot receptionist at docs who often pronounces names wrong to annoy.Most people have sense to ask first.
My dd(10yrs) loves that her name is different and likes to explain it as makes her feel extra special

[Edmundo]

Definitely Anya. It just looks right.