How to pronounce 'Mair'

[MummyMcCabe]

Good morning ladies. Our second girl is due 11th July, we all so super excited! We're looking at names, our 15 month old girl is called Ffion (my husband is Welsh, we live in Wales but don't speak the language or know many people who really do). Now we really like the name Mair for our new baby girl but are struggling with the pronunciation. We think it's pronounced like 'Mya' or is it 'Mya-rrr' with the 'r' really strong??? Help please!!! Thanks x

[CoffeeCoffeeAndLotsOfIt]

Hard to write down but I'd pronounce it Myr. Like Myra but without the a. I'm Welsh but not a Welsh speaker btw.

[welshweasel]

It's a really difficult name for non Welsh speakers. People will call her Mya.

[MamOfTwo]

I think it's a tricky one to pronounce (and I'm Welsh) - I would say Mya-rrr with a strong 'r'

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

I'd pronounce it To rhyme with Fair. I'm not Welsh though and have never heard of it as a name.

[BestIsWest]

More like Myra as Coffee said but almost with a bit of a hard A sound before the Y sound. A short hard rolled R sound at the end too.

That was complicated and no doubt others will have a different pronounciation!

[Spam88]

I'd pronounce it as one syllable, like Myr from Myra as others have said, with a really strong R (I'm Welsh but not a Welsh speaker).

[ElphabaTheGreen]

I'm a Welsh speaker - it's pronounced 'Mire'. If you live outside Wales, she will spend the rest of her life correcting people calling her 'Mare'. I'd avoid it if that's the case. Plenty of more obviously pronounceable Welsh names like Ceri or Megan or Carys.

[Billybonkers76]

It's like mya, without the a and a long rrr sound. It's proper welshy and quite an old name but old names are making a come back. Some other lovely Welsh names would be Bronwyn (bronwin) Menna, arianna, Nia, Betsan or Eleri.

[Mungobungo]

As a non Welsh speaker I'd pronounce it in the same way as Fair - but with the M it reminds me of the use of Meh, just slightly more prolonged, which is used a lot to signify boredom or a lack of interest.

E.g. "How was school today?"
"Meh"

[BestIsWest]

How do you pronounce 'Megan' Elphaba. Sounds straightforward but MIL pronounced it to rhyme with Pagan rather than Meg-ann

[BestIsWest]

*It was her name and she was Welsh.

[pinkblink]

M-eye-rrrr

[MidnightVelvetthe7th]

I'm good at guessing name sounds but this is difficult! I'd have a stab with mare knowing it wasn't right, but nothing else in the name gives me a clue on pronunciation.

I wouldn't tbh, if your child lives outside wales then she will be mare! Nightmare, having a mare, all kinds of horse related nicknames spring to mind!

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

I wouldn't tbh, if your child lives outside wales then she will be mare! Nightmare, having a mare, all kinds of horse related nicknames spring to mind!

This. Also saying it out loud how it's been suggested on here sounds like Myra in my accent (Yorkshire) and that has very negative connotations.

[ilovewelshrarebit123]

You'd pronounce it My rrrr and roll the r's!

People will struggle to pronounce it though, so be prepared!

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

You'd pronounce it My rrrr and roll the r's!

See if i say it like this I sound like I'm doing a piss take Somerset accent.

Out of interest how is the ops other daughter's name pronounced? Ffion? Is it like Theon with an F?

[P1nkSparkles]

I had a welsh client with this name... she got really annoyed that I couldn't pronounce it properly, but I physically couldn't roll the r's properly (I'm English). I really did try. It was a nightmare & has totally ruined the name for me.

[Gwenhwyfar]

It's [maɪr] in phonetics:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Welsh

There is also Mari [marɪ] as another Welsh variant of Mary.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"Ffion? Is it like Theon with an F?"

I've never heard the name Theon. It's pronounced Fee-ohn with the emphasis on the first syllable. Ffion Hague is the most famous Ffion outside of Wales.

In phonetics it would be [fɪɔn]

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

Ah it is basically the same as Theon then. To be fair I've only ever heard Theon on game of thrones where is a male name.

[AntsMarching]

I have a Mair, DH is Welsh. We pronounce it My-r. It's a beautiful name, although it's not the name we call her. She is called by her second name, also a Welsh name, Eleri.

[ElphabaTheGreen]

BestIsWest

Meg - Ann, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Rhymes with 'pagan'? Ooh, no, no, no...

[MikeUniformMike]

As said upthread. Like Myra but without the a. My with an r on the end. One syllable. I know several and am first language Welsh. It is NOT My-ah, My--uh, Mire etc.

[BestIsWest]

I agree with you Elphaba . Would never have told her that though.