Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

Ethne pronunciation?

36 replies

CityFox · 12/02/2016 20:19

Is it Eth-nee? I know it's a Gaelic name and so possibly not said the way it looks in English.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
NewYearSameMe · 12/02/2016 20:20

I would say Eth-na, emphasis on the first syllable.

ScarletForYa · 12/02/2016 20:20

Eithne. Et-na.

FunkyPeacock · 12/02/2016 20:22

I have only seen it spelt Ethna - pronounced as it looks, eg Eth-na

It's my DD's middle name

Original poster
CityFox · 12/02/2016 20:26

Oh... I like Eth-nee, thought I'd found 'the' name!

OP posts:
babyblabber · 12/02/2016 20:28

When you say Gaelic do you mean Irish, Scottish, Welsh?!

I'm Irish and here it is spelt Eithne and pronounced eth-na.

lcoc2015 · 12/02/2016 20:30

Also irish and i've only seen it spelt eithne pronounced eth-na

lcoc2015 · 12/02/2016 20:32

But you could pronounce it anyway you liked outside ireland i'd say! Most irish names get changed slightly in pronunciation once they leave the emerald isle due to the weird looking spellings!

Choughed · 12/02/2016 20:34

You can pronounce it any way you like, doesn't make it right. It's Eth-na.

AppleSnapple · 12/02/2016 20:34

Same as baby blather- am Irish, definitely eth-nah. Lovely if a bit old fashioned name but I love it. I guess you could use esme, with the es-mee not es-may pronunciation, that's quite similar to what you like, maybe?

RandomMess · 12/02/2016 20:35

Yep Eth Na - is how dd's friend name is pronounced too

DramaAlpaca · 12/02/2016 20:39

I know two Irish Eithnes, one pronounces it Eth-na, the other is Et-na.

It's quite dated I think, I've never heard of an Eithne under 40.

mrsschu · 12/02/2016 21:05

Agree with the Eth-na pronounciation. The youngest one I know is about 35 so it's more unusual these days.

IoraRua · 12/02/2016 21:06

If you pick an Irish name, pronounce it properly. It's Eithne (eth-nah) here.

DamsonInDistress · 12/02/2016 22:41

My Irish mil is Eithne pronounced Eth-nee.

Original poster
CityFox · 12/02/2016 22:57

Wow, so many different pronunciations!

OP posts:
socktastic · 13/02/2016 08:43

From reading it, I'd pronounce it eth-nay a bit like Esme

Pidapie · 13/02/2016 08:51

eth-ney was my first thought.

bb888 · 13/02/2016 08:54

What about Xanthe or Ianthe for a similar sound?

Jemimapuddleduk · 13/02/2016 08:54

I know one and it's pronounced Eth-nay and I really like it!

Original poster
CityFox · 13/02/2016 08:59

I don't suppose it really matters, so far it can be pronounced:

Eth-na
Eth-neh
Eth-nay
Eth-nee
Et-na
En-ya

OP posts:
seven201 · 13/02/2016 09:05

I teach an Aithne and hers is pronounced Ethnee. Probably not much help!

MazzleDazzle · 13/02/2016 09:12

Eth-nay or Eth-nee depending on your dialect.

BabeBettaKnow · 13/02/2016 09:14

Another Irish MN-er and have only ever seen it as 'Eithne', pronounced Eth-na or Et-na. Its an old lady name.

Original poster
CityFox · 13/02/2016 09:20

I'm guessing the old lady Et-na is akin to the English Edna, old lady and should probably stay that way.

OP posts:
Alisvolatpropiis · 13/02/2016 10:49

Um blabber, Welsh people speak Welsh not Gaelic.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.