Active discussions

Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Baby names

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

Original poster

Pronunciation issues baby girl names

55 replies

Pinkheather · 11/04/2021 20:34

Originally we really like Fiadh (fee-a) for our baby girl but realised it could sound like fear in certain accents so decided against it. Now we really like Maya (may-a) but worried about people pronouncing it My-a. Wish we could find a name that doesn’t come with pronunciation issues but these are the only two names I’ve loved. What do you think?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
DennisTMenace · 12/04/2021 16:11

Anyone i have met with that name spelling are My-ah, but not May-ah. How about Mair?

Pemba · 12/04/2021 16:43

I think My-a is actually the correct pronunciation, May-a seems to be quite recent, maybe from people getting it mixed up with the name May, which is so popular as a middle name. You could call her May?

MadeOfStarStuff · 12/04/2021 19:35

I would pronounce it My ah, that’s how all the ones I know pronounce it

Because it’s quite popular I think people are more likely to know people who pronounce it both ways, which actually make it harder to remember how to pronounce each one.

wanderlove · 12/04/2021 19:58

I have a Maya pronounced May-uh. I love it still. We've not met another in school or clubs and she is 8. No probs with pronunciation ...She just says she's Maya and it has stuck

TheMotherlode · 12/04/2021 20:07

We have a Maya (pronounced My-A), it never even occurred to me beforehand that people would pronounce it May-A but I find that a lot of people do, even when I’ve corrected them. I do feel a bit annoyed that she’ll have to spend the rest of her life correcting people.

Strangely, I find it’s only white people who automatically say May-A, non-white people tend to go for My-A. Not sure why that is.

wombatspoopcubes · 12/04/2021 20:13

Nina?

Stevearnottsbeard · 12/04/2021 20:17

To me, maya is may-a
Mya is my-a
Mia is me-a
It's a nice name but really don't like all the confusing pronunciations and spelling issues

polkadotjersey · 12/04/2021 20:26

We have a Maya and pronounce it My-a. It never occurred to us that people would say May-a as we figured most people would know the name through Maya Angelou.

indecisivewoman81 · 12/04/2021 20:51

Couldn't you will it Myah?

indecisivewoman81 · 12/04/2021 20:52

Sorry i miss read your post.

I think maybe spell it Mayah for the pronunciation you want

Girlname · 12/04/2021 20:56

@TheMotherlode @polkadotjersey would you say you've found the majority of people pronounce it 'my-a' or 'may-a'?

TheMotherlode · 12/04/2021 22:05

@Girlname IME more people say May-A than say My-A

TheMotherlode · 12/04/2021 22:06

But I definitely think the proper pronunciation is My-A. May-A seems to be a new thing that people have made up.

Roo3125 · 12/04/2021 22:07

What about spelling it Maia? As a teacher I would instinctively pronounce Maya as My-a (but have had one girl pronounced Mia with that spelling). Maia would instinctively be May-a :)

gracefull · 12/04/2021 22:15

My name is Maya and pronounced My-ah. That is the correct pronunciation; it is a Sanskrit name meaning illusion and explains why people of colour often know how to pronounce it more instinctively @TheMotherlode. I would say about 60% of people I meet pronounce correctly but it has got better has I have aged; it was considered an unusual name when I was a child.

Roodicus21 · 12/04/2021 22:31

I love Fiadh but I see what you mean. We wanted to call dc Fionn or Finn but where we lived in the East London/ Essex accent our friends pronounced it sound like they were saying 'thin' so we discounted it!

Tillygetsit · 12/04/2021 22:46

I know a very cute Maya pronounced May-a. She's a pooch.

CakesOfVersailles · 12/04/2021 22:55

You are more likely to get May-ah if you use the spelling Maia.

I know do know a Maya pronounced the way you want, she would be about 20.

CirqueDeMorgue · 12/04/2021 23:05

May-a sounds like mayor...

Palavah · 13/04/2021 18:44

@Roo3125

What about spelling it Maia? As a teacher I would instinctively pronounce Maya as My-a (but have had one girl pronounced Mia with that spelling). Maia would instinctively be May-a :)
I'd expect to pronounce Maia as My-ah. Like Gaia
TheThingsWeAdmitOnMN · 13/04/2021 19:06

It's one of those names that makes my heart sink because I know the chances of saying it differently than the person prefers is high, no matter which option I go for!

The Irish/welsh names I can only manage if I've already been told how to say them. But they possibly still don't sound exactly right as I have a reasonably strong NZ accent.

Imagine if, where you live, most people say it differently to your preference, how will you feel? Chilled about it or wound up?

AlwaysLatte · 13/04/2021 19:25

I thought it was Maya too!

AlwaysLatte · 13/04/2021 19:25

May-a

AlwaysLatte · 13/04/2021 19:28

Fiadh is lovely but I wouldn't have had a clue how to say it if you hadn't put that in the post. Also when I just typed it the autocorrect put Fiasco 3 times first!!

Roo3125 · 13/04/2021 20:13

@Palavah I'm Scottish, so could just be my accent and way of reading things 😂