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Baby names

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Original poster

Jehane - is this too weird? Is Johanna better?

41 replies

MiniPenguinMaker · 29/05/2013 16:46

I have suddenly fallen in love with the name Johanna, but I prefer a version that I think is old French - Jehane. I can't remember where I've heard or seen it but I think it's very beautiful.

But... is Jehane too odd? Would it be difficult for people to pronounce? How would you assume it was pronounced if you saw it written down? Is Johanna better? (I don't like Joanna etc - I really like that h in the in the middle for some reason).

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CounselorTroi · 03/06/2013 23:01

I knew a little Jehane-Maria. I love it because it reminds me of her :)

MsJupiterJones · 02/06/2013 21:39

I would assume you'd read Wolf Hall! But that might be because I am reading it right now.

thegreylady · 02/06/2013 16:55

My dd is Joanna.I preferref the spelling Johanna but felt it demanded the Yo-hanna prnonciation which I wasn't keen on.
I believed Jehane to be closer to Joan but then I was an Abbey fan.
Has anyone heard of a baby Joan? I think I like it :)

mewkins · 01/06/2013 22:50

I would pronounce Jo-hanna as per the Bob Dylan song (my absolute favourite). It's a beautiful name and think it has Scandinavian roots.

thegreylady · 01/06/2013 20:44

Jehane was in the Abbey Girls books as a historical character beloved of Ambrose.

RantyMcRantpants · 31/05/2013 08:48

cloverer How to pronounce Jehane

A real life Jehane

TickleMyTitsTillFriday · 31/05/2013 07:46

See I think Johanna pronounced jo - Hanna is very odd. Why not just use Joanna?

I would always pronounce it yo-Hanna...

Cloverer · 30/05/2013 23:11

I'd probably pronounce Johanna as Yo-hanna, just because to me it looks like a form of Johan or Johannes rather than Joanne iyswim.

Cloverer · 30/05/2013 23:08

I'm still curious about how Jehane is supposed to be pronounced?

AntoinetteCosway · 30/05/2013 23:04

I knew an Indian girl called Jehan who pronounced it Jey-hahn, but another Indian I knew told me it should be pronounced Juh-hahn.

Original poster
MiniPenguinMaker · 30/05/2013 22:44

Oh dear, that's me told Blush... I think I knew all along that this was a weird one, but needed some independent confirmation! I guess I just liked the idea of Jehane but the reality doesn't sound so great!

Yes, my mum also said it reminded her of a Muslim boy's name.

And the fact that everybody thinks it would be pronounced different ways means it would be awfully confusing to have to explain. I hate it when people can't say my name properly, and my name isn't very unusual at all.

Maybe Johanna is better. I would pronounce Johanna as Jo-hanna. The Yo-hanna pronunciation is also pretty, but to avoid confusion I would probably spell it as Yohanna if I wanted it said like that.

OP posts:
CityGal29 · 30/05/2013 18:39

First impression is an Arabic Muslim boys name. Sorry Hmm

TickleMyTitsTillFriday · 30/05/2013 18:36

Um surely is Johanna pronounced Yo-Hanna?

meala · 30/05/2013 18:20

Are you a fan of the old Abbey school books? The girls there managed to find Lady Jehane's jewels!

BloggingAboutTediousThings · 30/05/2013 18:13

I am German, and I pronounce my name Yo-hanna, however all my English friends say Jo-hanna.

Kahlua4me · 30/05/2013 13:38

A friend of mine is called Johanne. I think that's lovely, both the name and the spelling

BlueChampagne · 30/05/2013 13:35

Isn't there a Jehane in "Wolf Hall"?

BackforGood · 30/05/2013 12:45

Is it pronounced "Ju-hayn" ? I would assume you have a heritage with a language other than English, and ask about it.
With Johanna, Is the plan to pronounce it like Joanna or "Jo - Hannah" ?
I think it would be very irritating for the next 90 yrs of your dds life to have to be constantly correcting people's spelling, if it's Joanna.

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 30/05/2013 12:22

Yo-hanna as in the author of "Heidi".

DoingItForMyself · 30/05/2013 12:21

I'm afraid I would instinctively pronounce Jehane as Djuh-hayne which is not very pretty and the spelling doesn't look French as much as middle eastern to me.

Johanna pronounced with the H brings up images of Apartheid to me but would undoubtedly be pronounced without the H by most people.

I agree for a name that sounds as pretty as it looks Jeanne is lovely - I would pronounce it Zhee-ann.

Cloverer · 30/05/2013 12:17

How are you pronouncing both?

I've know Johannas pronounced Jo-hanna and Yo- hanna.

everlong · 30/05/2013 12:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

forgetmenots · 30/05/2013 12:02

The Johanna/johannahs I know pronounce it 'Joanna', no h sound...p

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 30/05/2013 11:09

I thought it was either Zhee-Ann, emphasis on the -ann, or Zhee-Han, I haven't heard it spoken aloud.

I knew a Jeanne, she herself told me she was Jean, I was quite surprised when I saw her name written down.

It would be a dull world if we only ever used names that are spelled as they are spoken. if you think it's a faff to have to explain, then stick with something more straightforward.

RantyMcRantpants · 30/05/2013 08:53

If you read The Abby Girl books the name crops up in them. It's pronounced Zjee HAN according to the lovely Jehane I met and is apparantly a traditional Hebrew name.

I like it by the way