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Baby names

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Original poster

Names you aren't sure how to pronounce

387 replies

whatausername · 10/04/2020 20:22

Since we're all inside for the foreseeable future...

What are some names you're not quite sure how to pronounce? We'll see if we can help each other. But do take answers with a pinch of salt given the wide variety of accents we all have!

For me: Hebe (hee-bee?) and João leave me feeling uncertain.

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LizzieAnt · 14/04/2020 21:19

I'm also thinking that if it's Enya in Donegal, and if that is the older version, then the 'y' sound may not have been pronounced in the other Gaeltacht areas, as it's more a Donegal thing. En-eh maybe?? I'm really not sure. Eth-na is the way I've always heard it, but I'm not from the Gaeltacht.

Heygirlheyboy · 14/04/2020 21:13

She is very far from my image of an Eithne Grin

LizzieAnt · 14/04/2020 21:10

Well, I think Eithne is pronounced Enya in the Donegal Gaeltacht where she's from. I don't know how she spells it in a private capacity, maybe Eithne with family etc, and then Enya professionally? I'm guessing wildly though, I really don't knowGrin

Heygirlheyboy · 14/04/2020 20:26

That's interesting, never made the Eithne/Enya connection. I wonder did/does she actually go by Enya at all?

LizzieAnt · 14/04/2020 19:38

Eithne can be pronounced as Eth-neh or as Enya. I think that the Enya version is the older pronunciation but I'm open to correction. The singer's name is actually Eithne, pronounced Enya afaik, and she's a native speaker from Donegal. I guess using the Enya spelling was easier careerwise? I've never met an Eth-nee, but then I'm not in Scotland.

missmouse101 · 14/04/2020 19:11

Eithne and Aithne are pronounced Ethna, but I have known two who go by Ethnee (Scotland.) Enya is an abbreviation. Lovely name!

Thighdentitycrisis · 14/04/2020 17:54

I knew a Yoachim pronounced Yo-a-him (with a heavy h), different spelling but nothing like Wakeem

Heygirlheyboy · 14/04/2020 17:40

Yes it does, you're right.

Eithne is Eth-na.

HarrietM87 · 14/04/2020 17:33

@Heygirlheyboy @fourpeasinapod it’s an accent thing, not a pronunciation thing, if that makes sense.

MikeUniformMike · 14/04/2020 17:29

I was told that Eithne was Enya

MikeUniformMike · 14/04/2020 17:23

@missmouse101, I don't think that there are any welsh names ending in an -un sound. There isn't a letter combination for it on an unstressed syllable.

PeskyRooks · 14/04/2020 17:20

Help me with Eithne?
In my head it's Eth-Nee but that's probably wrong!

LizzieAnt · 14/04/2020 17:19

Saoirse Ronan's pronunciation of Saoirse, though, varies a lot. I've seen her give an interview saying that Sur-sha (like inertia) is how some people pronounce it in the States and UK, but she used a different pronunciation of the name herself (it was more like the usual pronunciation). It's all a bit confusing.

fourpeasinapod · 14/04/2020 17:15

@Heygirlheyboy yeah that’s the way I always thought it was pronounced

Heygirlheyboy · 14/04/2020 17:03

Oh I agree! But I have her heard some Irish parents of Saoirses using the same pronunciation so again maybe regional? In Munster where I am I'd say Seer-shuh

HarrietM87 · 14/04/2020 16:44

@Heygirlheyboy it’s really unhelpful that Saoirse Ronan said that because it’s basically wrong! It kind of makes sense in her particular accent but it’s definitely Seer-shuh (seer like beer) for most English speakers.

florascotia2 · 14/04/2020 14:58

back to previous page:

Laphroig - a whisky and a place name, not a person's name - is approx "La-froyg" with the stress on the second syllable. That's stretched out a bit; almost - but not quite - "froy-ig". The first syllable 'La' - is a sort of mixture of 'Luh' and 'Lah'.

You can hear it here, along with lots of other Scotch whisky names:

fourpeasinapod · 14/04/2020 14:40

Sorry, that was spell check. “Sor-sha”

fourpeasinapod · 14/04/2020 14:38

One of my work colleagues was called Saoirse and the first day I met her I absolutely had no idea how to pronounce it and I called her ‘sor-aha’ Confused

Heygirlheyboy · 14/04/2020 14:20

And Saoirse Ronan pronounces it towas rhyme with inertia! Grin

LizzieAnt · 14/04/2020 13:50

Yes, that's more or less the correct pronunciation of Saoirse, although not a strong 'ah' sound in the second syllable. More like Seer-shuh, or Seer-sheh, really. The emphasis is on the SEER part of the name anyway.

fourpeasinapod · 14/04/2020 13:30

As far as I was aware a person called Saoirse had their names pronounced as ‘seer-shah

Gwenhwyfar · 14/04/2020 13:28

"In Powys, where I live, it's always pronounced Osh-un, not Osh-an. Regional variation I expect."

The Osh-un sound does not make sense in any Welsh speaking accent. It's just an Anglicisation. Ask Welsh speakers in Powys how to pronounce it properly.

missmouse101 · 14/04/2020 11:13

In Powys, where I live, it's always pronounced Osh-un, not Osh-an. Regional variation I expect.

MikeUniformMike · 14/04/2020 09:31

OSH-an, an rhymes with can. Spelt Osian. Closely related to the name Oisin.

Stress is on the first syllable unlike Suzanne. cf Daniel and Danielle.

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