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Original poster

Why call her "Eva" but pronounce it differently?

107 replies

anxietycentralallthetime · 25/09/2017 19:52

Hope this isn't too outing.
Basically there's a little girl that goes to the same nursery as my kids.
So on her peg, her coat, her bag, on the class list for party invites etc her name is written "Eva". However when you speak to her mum and say "oh did Eva get the party invite" etc, then her mum will reply "it's Ava. Just spelt with an E"
All the nursery staff call her Ava too.
This mum appears very normal and intelligent, so can anyone explain why you'd name your daughter Eva, but make everyone pronounce it Ava? Do you think she named her Eva and then preferred Ava?
Or is Ava a known pronunciation for the name Eva?
Most weeks I hear her mum correcting parents and other members of staff within the nursery.
I'm too polite to ask her myself!

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Original poster
anxietycentralallthetime · 25/09/2017 20:29

Isn't Lila like Lila and Stitch (leela and stitch)
Also I didn't realise Mila is Meela either!

OP posts:
PeasAndHarmony · 25/09/2017 20:28

I know 2 Evas pronounced Ava, both from Eastern Europe

Original poster
anxietycentralallthetime · 25/09/2017 20:28

It's really been annoying me for months. I genuinely thought the mum did it to be different!!! I thought everyone on here would agree with me that she's a complete tit!!!
I stand corrected! I won't be able to do an imaginary eye roll now every time she corrects someone!!!

OP posts:
Hersetta427 · 25/09/2017 20:25

We et a family on holiday with a daughter called Lila but it was pronounced Leela which I thought a bit odd. Poor kid will have to correct people every day of her life.

Imstickingwiththisone · 25/09/2017 20:21

I would say Eeva too, but I've heard it as Ayva by a Spanish and German person. There might be a connection or, just as you had only heard it pronounced Eeva, she may have only heard it pronounced Ayva and assumed everyone else would too. I can imagine it's frustrating.

Nuttynoo · 25/09/2017 20:21

That’s how I pronounce it and I’m Indian. It’s always Ava, whether you spell it Eva, Iva, or Ewa.

Original poster
anxietycentralallthetime · 25/09/2017 20:18

I'm really shocked that people would automatically pronounce Eva "Ava"! Literally only ever known Eva spelt with an E or Ava with an A!! Maybe it's just living in our very non diverse town! Everyone here gets her name wrong so I'm obviously not the only one!!!

OP posts:
DumbledoresApprentice · 25/09/2017 20:16

Ava would not be pronounced Ay-va in most of the languages where Eva is pronounced Ay-va.

OwlKiss · 25/09/2017 20:14

I would pronounce Eva as either Eeva or Ay (rhyme with hay) va.

I would automatically pronounce Ava as Ah va, though I recognise that it can also be Ay va.

But if I just heard "Ay va" I would assume it was spelled Eva at first.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 25/09/2017 20:12

I would pronounce it that way too.

MrsHathaway · 25/09/2017 20:12

It probably would be easier to spell it Ava but maybe it's in honour of a Spanish/Italian/Dutch/German relation so spelling is not negotiable.

Wtfdoicare · 25/09/2017 20:12

My friend is Norwegian, spelled Eva, pronounced more of an Eyva, but not Ayva with a rounded 'A'.

Original poster
anxietycentralallthetime · 25/09/2017 20:10

The mum gets a bit stroppy correcting people too. She never says "it's the German pronounciation" tho, just says "it's Ava with an E" Surely Ava with an E is Eva?!

OP posts:
plantsitter · 25/09/2017 20:08

I knew someone who pronounced it 'Ever'. Maybe Polish, can't remember.

stickygotstuck · 25/09/2017 20:08

I agree, there must be a Spanish / German / Italian / etc connection there.

For our own DC we tried to avoid names that are pronounced differently in both languages. Not always easy or even possible, especially if you want a name you actually like! In the end we compromised to avoid the Ava /Eva situation.

mynameisnotmichaelcaine · 25/09/2017 20:06

I have a nearly 14 year old Ava. Dh wanted to spell it Eva, like Eva Peron. I said no, because I would automatically pronounce that name Eeva. And, at the time, Ava was quite unusual (oh, happy time), so I wanted to make sure people would pronounce it correctly.

MaybeDoctor · 25/09/2017 20:03
Grin
Original poster
anxietycentralallthetime · 25/09/2017 20:03

Oh ok. So it's a perfectly normal pronunciation? You learn something new every day. Don't think they're German or Dutch? But surely if you want it pronounced Ava then it's easier to spell it Ava?

OP posts:
MaybeDoctor · 25/09/2017 20:02

She was a nun?

BroomstickOfLove · 25/09/2017 20:02

If I didn't have any other indication of which pronunciation was being used, I'd go for the Ava pronunciation as the most likely and Eeva as the next most likely.

It's a perfectly normal way of pronouncing the name.

Slightlydizzydaily · 25/09/2017 20:01

Not nun a mum Grin

Slightlydizzydaily · 25/09/2017 20:01

I thought she must be german. This kind of this is difficult if you aren't Emglish. I knew a Spanish nun who thought her dd would be pronounced Eese - a - bell and was horrified to hear her called Isabel. She changed her name

OuchLegoHurts · 25/09/2017 19:59

It's the correct pronunciation, as it's a German/Dutch/Spanish word for Eve!

raisedbyguineapigs · 25/09/2017 19:58

I would automatically pronounce Eva as Ava. It's a perfectly reasonable pronunciation!

IceRebel · 25/09/2017 19:58

I've never heard of Eva being pronounced Ava, Eefa, yes but never Ava. I bet the child will be constantly correcting people, just like her mum seems to be doing every week. Confused

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