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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?

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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 😂

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