Girls Name - Ane

[Gatomalo]

Hi, we are expecting DC2. We are still not sure if it is a girl or a boy but we have been discussing some girls names.

I am basque (north Spain) and I have always like the name Ane, which is quite popular over there. Is the basque version of Anna.

We pronounce the last E, so it would be something like An-neh if that makes sense? Does the name sound weird to you? Will you pronounce it as Anne (Ann)?

Just wondering what people think as I have a difficult basque name myself and I don’t really want to give the poor kid a complicated name... but DH who is English thinks it would be nice to give the baby a basque name.

I just can’t decide if brave it and give her the name Ane or go with Anna and make her life easier!

Thanks

I guessed Anne or Ann--eh from the thread title. I think it's lovely to honour your Basque heritage, and it's not like it's a complicated name, people will learn it.

MN is notorious for not liking names from other cultures - just look at any threads on Irish names. Ane has nothing on those for pronunciation difficulties for English speakers. I think it's a lovely name.

Lovely name but confusing for brits. Are there other basque names you are considering?

Thanks for all the replies. I haven’t really considered other basque names although I like Nerea too but though that would be more complicated than Ane?!

Another option we discussed is spelling the name Anne, as in the Basque Country the name can be Ane or Anne (same pronunciations) and then we use An-neh almost like a nickname but then at least she can say her name is Anne (Ann) for mode official things? But I don’t know if that is a bit confusing?

I think most people would say Ah-ne as it's like the beginning of Anaïs or Anastasia or Aneliese.

It’s a lovely name. Admittedly I would think ayn to rhyme with pain. And she would probably get called Anne a lot on first glance, and Anna even when they know how they should pronounce it.

@fatbummedcat out of curiosity how is Arie pronounced? Is it the same as Ari? Or more like Aria?

I think calling her Anne and then pronouncing it the way you suggested in the OP is a great idea. If my son was a girl he would have been Mabel but I would have called him Mabli (I’m welsh and it’s the welsh version) as a sort of ‘nickname’ Think it gives you the best of both worlds and gives her options too.

Gatomalo I think people are over thinking what others may think.

Ane is a perfectly normal name to give if you are Basque and you'd only need to pronounce it once (or twice for those not quick enough to grasp it) and job done.

We know an Ane (we are in England) and she has had no issue with her name and as her family are Spanish people just automatically know that it would have a different than assumed pronunciation and once they know it they know it.

Please go for the name you love and don't worry about it. My DD has a name that has many pronunciations - think Mia (me-ya, My-a, Maya etc) and she just corrects them until it's cemented. It's not an issue.

• she's not named Mia.

Ps it also has an acute accent over the e so it's obvious that it's pronounced differently from Anne or Ayn.

If you are staying in the uk you would be setting up the child for a lifetime of misery. It just sounds like 'anus' or 'anal'. And it won't matter how many times you tell them how to say it properly. .they won't.
What about Ann/Anna , etc?

I would pronounce it like the first syllable of "anal"

My sister has a child Anne, she doesn't quite like her name so she goes by her middle name Calle.

Anal from a school bully won't be easily forgotten I fear..

Âne = French for a donkey. That's what it makes me think of.

I'd see that and pronounce it Ain. If in Uk I'd worry about teasing as a teen too.

Ps it also has an acute accent over the e so it's obvious that it's pronounced differently from Anne or Ayn.

That will not be reproduced in most contexts in the UK.

Anna is beautiful, I would pronounce Ane with pain.

Out of interest, does your first child have a Basque name?

Why about Ana? So close to the basque pronunciation and spelling

I thinks it's lovely. I don't think I would spell it Anne as people will think she is just trying to be different with pronunciation.

*think

Thanks everyone, the ayn/annus... pronunciation has put me off from the name a little bit. We will need to think about it a bit more.

I do like Anna/Ana a lot too so I wouldn’t mind going for that and it will be easy to pronounce everywhere.

Our dd1 is called Nora which works fine in both languages.

Does the e have an accent? I think that would affect where people pronounce it as Ayn or annay.

Proudly use Anna with Ane as a nickname?

Ann/Annie/Ania/Hannah/Anne...any of those would work in a Brit context. You could always give her a more Basque middle name.....

Just hope she never goes to France as âne is French for donkey.