Irene

[khhoo]

Love this name but with pronunciation eye-ree-nee

Most ppl will automatically say it eye-reen though, won't they? 😖

I don't think the pronounciation is any harder than working out which of the various Mayas we know are may-ah or my-ah tbh!

Come on Irene ...

The song they played to signal kicking out at nightclubs in my day...

If you write Irene and say it's pronounced Irene- see you're putting yourself in the same category as parents of Anthonys who insist it's pronounced An-th-on-ee.

Irini or Eirini are both "real" names...

It was Come on Eileen, not Irene!

I quite like Irene, and the Irenee pronounciation, but I think people will assume the Ireen pronounciation if they see it written down. That said, surely the people that matter will hear the name first rather than see it written down, and anyone who knows her will soon learn the correct pronounciation.

Go for it.

I like Irene / Irenee but I do think if you want it pronounced the second way then Eirene which looks great IMO would be a safe bet? It’s less familiar looking than Irene so less likely to be mispronounced the same.

www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Irenee

Haha so it was Mrs - its been a long, long couple of decades since I last heard it played to signal kicking out time...

Still think using a name with a known pronunciation and demanding people use a totally unexpected pronunciation is silly. The poor child will spell her life correcting people and spelling her name out.

What's your name?

Irini

Oh that's pretty/ unusual, how do you spell it?

Irene

Eye-reen?

No, Irini, spelt Irene

Oh. Ok.

I know, I know, what was my mother thinking...