Nina or Iona

[Peridotty]

Currently 37 weeks pregnant! Which one is better? A couple of people have said Iona is a bit of a mouthful or don’t know how to pronounce it. Three people thought it was Loner! I like both but maybe Nina more because it is short and sweet. Husband prefers Iona. Thank you.

Prefer Nina.

Iona is nice but tricky if your surname is any kind of noun.

Definitely prefer Iona

Nina.

Iona.

Hannah, you can't imagine a 30+ Nina seriously? Tell that to Nina Simone, Nina Bawden etc. It's a very grown up name. Lovely.

Iona the island is a lovely place, as a girls' name it is fine, but not sure if it works as well as Nina. Then there is the whole 'I own a' thing.

Love both, Iona pips it.

Love them both but if I had to choose Iona.

I prefer Nina

Which goes better with your surname? Will she have a middle name?

Like both. I know two Ninas, one in her seventies, one in her sixties. Never met an Iona although I've lived in Scotland. I think I prefer Iona but only just.

Iona is far prettier

I like Iona but prefer Ione but it’s a shame the capital I doesn’t naturally have the top and bottom lines (iyswim) because it looks much less like a lower case L

I prefer Iona.

Are you pronouncing Iona as Eye-Ona or Yona?

I really like Yona (which I think is the Welsh way.)

Was coming to ask the same question as Mumoftwoyoungkids.

Iona is pronounced Yonna in Wales, January in Welsh is Mis Ionawr, so Iona is sometimes used for January babies.

Iona as in Eye oh na is nice too, but may need to be avoided depending on surname. You can imagine the comments Iona Hunt would get for example.

I like Nina best

Strongly dislike both. Even if your surname isn't a noun, Iona still sounds like "I own a-". For that reason alone I would go for Nina.

I prefer Iona. Nina is a perfectly fine name but just not to my taste.

Nina

Nina is chic.
Iona is whimsical.
Both are gorgeous and work on adult women.

The welsh name Iona is usually pronounced Yonn-ah. It's a fairly modern (20th century) name given to girls born in January.

The Scottish version of Iona is pronounced like the island; Eye Own A

The scottish version is much prettier.

I went to school with an Iona (with the Scottish pronunciation) - would love to use it but surname won't allow. I also know a Nina in her 40s - can definitely be an adult name!

Prefer Iona of the two.

I prefer Nina by quite a lot. Iona is fine, though.

The scottish version is much prettier.

Personally I like the Welsh version better.

But @MikeUniformMike has the pronunciation pretty close with Yonn-ah.