Why call her "Eva" but pronounce it differently?

[anxietycentralallthetime]

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!

BTW, the Spanish pronunciation is not really "Ay-va" as the English would say it. The first syllable is more like halfway between "ay-va" and "ev-a" (as in "ever"). Kind of like "eh-va". Anyone saying ay-va in Spanish would be really overdoing it. I'd say it's actually a little closer to "ever" than "ayva", but still in between like I said.

OP I'm with you - I would always pronounce "Eva" as "EE-vuh" and "Ava" as "AY-vuh". The only spelling of this name with an E that would make me pronounce it as an A would be if the E had an accent mark ("Éva").

I've got a Ava
I also know a Eva
I'm .

Was at school with an Eva pronounced Ava 30 years ago. She was German. It's a totally normal German name.

i've worked with Evas pronounced Eeva, Ava, and Ev-ah.

Because it's a perfectly valid pronounciation of that name? As I'm sure most, if not all, of the replies have already stated.

Spanish SIL and it's spelled Eva but pronounced eh (as in hay or sleigh) va

In German it’s also not Ay but Eh -fa. The E in Eva is pronounced like a long E as soon n EGG.

I'm a bit surprised that people are so bewildered by names being pronounced differently in different countries tbh. It's not like it's a new thing.

I would automatically say Eva with the Ava sound. I don't like the look of Ava (literally it looks odd to me, sorry poster who I'm sure has a lovely daughter).

My first guess to pronounce it would be Ayva too. It's like Ida, I know three and all are ee-da, rather than I-da. It is the German/scandi version, but I find that is rather more common in London as it is not a common name for English origin people.

Ava is how most non English speaking countries pronounce Eva, as far as I am aware.

I think Ava Gardner (whose name was not actually Ava or indeed Eva) put the Ava spelling on the map originally and Reese Witherspoon using it in the early 00's kick started the popularity.

I with you op! Totally thrown by this 😂👍

Redpram, my mind is blown

Eva Braun
Eva Peron

Starts to look funny after you've read it to many times.

Too many times
Too.

I have the opposite problem at times - we have an Ava but family in mainland Europe where they can't get their head around it!! every time we go though passport control they say 'Avv-a?' - she hates it!

I remember traveling in Europe with a friend called Andrea. In Europe everyone called her On-drey-ah rather than the British An-dri-ah. I must say it did sound nicer. My daughters nickname is Eva pronounced Ever but that's only because she couldn't say her name properly as a toddler.

In non English languages Ava is pronounced phonetically as Ah-va. Like Avocado or Avatar.

Lol! My name is Eva I was named after my grandmother and my mom says my name is pronounced Eh-vah like her mothers (Who was Puerto rican) But when I'm in trouble my mom would call me Ava! And my older brothers would like "Its Eva!" In Puerto rico and other spanish speaking countries say it Eh-vah. In America where I was born people usually say Ava or Ee-va and I use to correct them but after a while it gets old. Its also cool if you about it.

I once had an argument in a playground with a woman who informed me I was pronouncing my DD name wrong. If you choose the name then you choose the pronounciation.
Having said that the poor kid has never been able to find any of those personalised mugs, pencils, door plates etc. with her name spelt correctly

My automatic reaction would have been ay-va. Then eeva as second place. Though as others have said, I'd probably do a cross between ay-va and eh-va actually.

I would pronounce Eva as it is written: Eh--va

Just like Erin or Ella.

Ava is a perfectly normal pronunciation of Eva - in fact it sounds more normal to me than pronouncing it with the ‘e’ sound! Eva Longoria and Eva Mendes are both pronounced ‘Ava’. As with any name, yes you’ll probably have to correct people few times but once you’re known by the correct pronunciation of your name, people will know it. It’s not difficult!

Why are you obsessing about this, OP? Letting it annoy you ‘for months’, and still ‘shockrd’ snd protestimg ‘but surely...’ when numerous posters have assured you it isn’t unusual?

Names that enter our culture may or may not become anglicised in pronunciation and spelling.