Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

What is THE pronunciation of Anaïs?

116 replies

papit · 04/08/2019 09:56

I’ve heard:
Anay
Anayse / Anayze
An-eye-eez
An-ice

Feeling vv confused - pls help!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
notso · 04/08/2019 19:56

I always thought it was pronounced like this but more recently I've heard it pronounced like this.

Sorry not sorry for Gumball reference.

NottonightJosepheen · 04/08/2019 19:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sagradafamiliar · 04/08/2019 19:22

Naïve is a good one to remember the effect the ï has in Anaïs
(I'm French)

NottonightJosepheen · 04/08/2019 19:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 04/08/2019 19:05

I’d say it’s a sort of mixture between the two. I don’t think it’s a particularly natural sound for native English speakers. Partly because we’re a bit ‘lazy’with vowels like the second ‘a’ in Anna.

TatianaLarina · 04/08/2019 18:35

In reality there’s very little between the two because the French a is pronounced differently.

TatianaLarina · 04/08/2019 18:31

An eye ees is the correct way not Anna ees. Think of naïve.

NottonightJosepheen · 04/08/2019 15:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NottonightJosepheen · 04/08/2019 15:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

papit · 04/08/2019 14:52

So is it Anna-ees or Ann-eye-ees ? I love both

OP posts:
Pippilangstrumpfi · 04/08/2019 13:56

Why is there even a question about the pronunciation? It's pronounced as it's written:
An a ïs (Anna ees).

I don't see any other way Confused

TatianaLarina · 04/08/2019 12:18

I understand that people don’t speak French. But we do have familiar English words with a diaeresis.

Naïve. (Also Noël, Brontë, Zoë, Chloë). So you get a rough idea of what the dots do no?

In fact naïve shows you exactly how to pronounce Anaïs.

Colourfulest · 04/08/2019 11:51

I watched that documentary 'Twinsters' about the identical twins separated at birth. One of them was French and named Anaïs. She pronounced it An-eye-ees

simplyhaving · 04/08/2019 11:45

Off topic, I love Paisley and wish I were less Glaswegian so I could use it for future DC!

TanMateix · 04/08/2019 11:45

Anna Is, that is how it sounds.

PixieLumos · 04/08/2019 11:44

An Eye Eeees

Sexnotgender · 04/08/2019 11:43

Definitely An-eye-ees

Not An-ay Confused

BrazenHusky74 · 04/08/2019 11:40

My French SIL has named my DN this. I have listened to what her parents and sibling call her and it's A-niece.
My MIL (DN's GM) has called her A-nay-is, A-knee-us and has finally settled on Ana-ese. DN answers to any of the above.

PinguDance · 04/08/2019 11:39

I honestly think it only sounds good in a French accent - English vowels just can’t quite do it cos we make the ‘eye’ too long

m.youtube.com/watch?v=NeZdE6JCK0Y

m.youtube.com/watch?v=kB_rQvROA6A

eurochick · 04/08/2019 11:32

An-eye-iss

If you chose a foreign name I think you need to pronounce it authentically.

Allli · 04/08/2019 11:27

I wouldn’t give a baby a name that either nobody knew how to write, or nobody knew how to say.
It just leads to the child/adult having to clarify it for the rest of their life or listen to it being mispronounced. But then again I’m quite boring and perhaps that’s old fashioned and the child/adult won’t mind and will just get used to it as they won’t know what it’s like to have a more familiar name that nobody enquires about! Smile

OverpricedFloorCushion · 04/08/2019 11:23

I would say Ana-eese (to rhyme with geese as opposed to cheese).

An-ay is nice as well.

movingontosomethingnew · 04/08/2019 11:22

Ah-niece

I always thought it was Ahnay but depending on where you're from it can be pronounced Ah-niece

EggysMom · 04/08/2019 11:17

My memory is faulty ...

NottonightJosepheen · 04/08/2019 11:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.