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Original poster

How would you pronounce this name?

40 replies

Peachtastic · 02/07/2024 23:32

Coleen/ Colleen

I've heard it a couple of different ways, I wondered if it may be regional differences.

For context, I'm in Scotland

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ILoveToCleanSaidNooneEver · 03/07/2024 00:40

@CurlsnSunshinetime4tea that doesn't work though because Colin Farrell is pronounced the way I'm thinking @Putting pronounces Colin. I get what you mean by Colin Powell, but unless I'd heard his name I'd have pronounced it Col-lin. I don't think I've ever seen the double L in Colin before either.

urbanbuddha · 03/07/2024 00:42

Coleen - a half-beat to the first syllable

Celia24 · 03/07/2024 00:50

Also in Scotland

CAW-LEEN

SleepPrettyDarling · 03/07/2024 00:50

Both syllables of equal emphasis (ie not KuhLEEEN)

caringcarer · 03/07/2024 00:52

Putting · 02/07/2024 23:48

Coll-EEN

This. One of my school friends was called Colleen and that's how she pronounced it.

Putting · 03/07/2024 07:02

ILoveToCleanSaidNooneEver · 03/07/2024 00:40

@CurlsnSunshinetime4tea that doesn't work though because Colin Farrell is pronounced the way I'm thinking @Putting pronounces Colin. I get what you mean by Colin Powell, but unless I'd heard his name I'd have pronounced it Col-lin. I don't think I've ever seen the double L in Colin before either.

That is what I meant - I’ve never seen Collin, it’s always been Colin, pronounced Coll-in

Clawedino · 03/07/2024 07:06

I'm not a fan of the name but I've never heard anyone say it's similar to Colon before. Bit of a stretch😆 neither sounds nor looks like that word..

romdowa · 03/07/2024 07:15

Coll een , it's the English version of an Irish word cailín which means girl.

FayCarew · 03/07/2024 08:05

Col-een. Col rhyming with doll.

CelesteCunningham · 03/07/2024 10:07

Coll-een, first syllable as per Colin Farrell.

As someone else said, it's an anglicisation of the Irish word for girl so I don't love it.

jay55 · 03/07/2024 10:24

LadyMinerva · 02/07/2024 23:35

In Australia it is pronounced Kol-een.

I can't not hear it as Alf barking it on Home and away in my head, despite being English and knowing a couple of Colleen's.

moonshinepoursthroughmywindow · 03/07/2024 10:49

Colin and Collin are two different pronunciations ie Colin Powel

Colin is always pronounced with a short O in the UK, and AFAIK Colin Powell is the only person who has ever pronounced it with a long O, and he didn't even originally pronounce it that way, but went along with the way the media pronounced it.

Whizzgosh · 03/07/2024 10:50

Sorry for derailing into a Colin discussion, I just thought that was a name only ever pronounced in one way. How wrong I was!

Hereforthesandwiches · 03/07/2024 11:29

Cailín - 'girl' in Irish.
Pronounced 'cawleen'

TwirlBar · 04/07/2024 01:03

www.teanglann.ie/en/fuaim/Cail%c3%adn

This is the pronunciation in various Irish dialects @Peachtastic.
You can hear the emphasis on the syllables varying a bit with dialect.
As you probably know, Colleen is the anglicised spelling. It means girl as pp mentioned.

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