Keyaan or zaviyar

[Dissuadepersuade]

Neither name is English! I realise they look like different spellings of kian and xavier but they are not!!
If you had to pick one which one would you?
Pronounce kayaaan with a long Aaah sound or zaviyar produced zah-vi-aar
Both are popular with Muslim families

[Thelongwayround]

I think Zaviyar is beautiful

[Rauha]

Zaviyar, it's so nice.

[StopFeckingFaffing]

I much prefer Zaviyar and assuming you are in the UK you are more likely to get the pronunciation you want than Keyaan

[Luredbyapomegranate]

@StopFeckingFaffing

I much prefer Zaviyar and assuming you are in the UK you are more likely to get the pronunciation you want than Keyaan

Yep

[Ramble0n]

I like them both. Once told the name and how it's pronounced people should be able to pronounce it. I work with many people with non English names and manage to pronounce them properly.

[AuntieStella]

I prefer Keyaan

I like how it sounds (and even though people who have not seen it before might not know how to say it, it's not a difficult one to pick up)

Whereas Zaviyar will (unfairly) be seen as a kre8ive version of Xavier

[determinedtomakethiswork]

The second one sounds as though it's on Gavin and Stacey.

[JasminFloraIrisLilyRose]

Dislike both. Zaviyar sounds like Caviar. Is Zaviyar supposed to be Zufair? I'm from a Muslim background and don't recognise Zaviyar. Just curious about the origin, not suggesting you're making it up.

[Dissuadepersuade]

Nope not zufair. Its become quite popular in Asian communities I know a few born lin thr last couple of years.
The thing j was worried about it is it seeming like a made up version of xavier

[Dissuadepersuade]

@determinedtomakethiswork what does that mean? Genuinely don't know what you mean by that as I've never watched it

[custardbear]

Keeyan just sounds like Ian with a k to me. Zaviyar is much nicer

[daretodenim]

Keyaan will be pronounced as Key 🔑-aan. I'd go for Kayaan. As it's not an English/Latin name anyway, the most phonetic spelling will assist your child!

Zaviyar does seem to rhyme with caviar. It will also be mispronounced as Xavier forever. I like the sound (sounds Persian) but in the UK a you're setting your child up to constantly correct/help people who then will likely connect it with another name, which he can also correct, or just leave as wrong.

[GlassDeli]

I prefer Zaviyar

[KirstenBlest]

@Ramble0n , You might but many won't.

[FlamingBells]

I'm from a Muslim background and I don't recognise the name at all. I think it's too unknown and looks made up, sorry. What do the names mean because that would be my starting point?

[Dissuadepersuade]

Keyaan means king or crown and zaviyar means strong as a lion

[wandawaves]

I know a Xavier spelt Zavia, so yes I would think that Zaviyar is just another 'youneek' spelling.

[JasminFloraIrisLilyRose]

I think that if you are settled and planning to stay in a different culture then taking their language, cultural references and pronunciations into view is important for the child's integration and frankly for an easier life for them. In your heritage community, people will know how to pronounce the name and what it means but many won't outside that community and so, I think it would be best to find a name that while honours your child's cultural and ethnic heritage (if you wish to do so) that is also easily recognisable, spelled and pronounced in British culture. Perhaps an international name like Sara(h) is for a girl.

[Kanaloa]

I think they’ll be mistaken often for Kian/Cian and Xavier, which could cause confusion.

I am aware you’ve explained that they’re not misspellings of those names and are popular in Muslim families but presumably your child will be raised in Britain, so I would consider that those names are very unfamiliar and will be mistaken for the popular names they sound like constantly, which will be annoying. If you’re seeking a Muslim name I would choose one that is distinct in itself, rather than an unusual one that ends up sounding like a misspelling of another name.

[Kanaloa]

@Ramble0n

I like them both. Once told the name and how it's pronounced people should be able to pronounce it. I work with many people with non English names and manage to pronounce them properly.

I guess the problem here is ‘once told.’ The child will be telling everyone they meet or even have to speak to casually forever all their lives.

And the issue isn’t so much ‘ignorant people won’t pronounce foreign names!!’ It’s that these particular names are extremely unusual and both have the downside of sounding/looking exactly like misspellings of common names in this country.

[Dissuadepersuade]

I'm not going to give my child an English name just because I live in England. I'm born and raised here as are both my parents.
Most of the kids here in our area are Hong Kong Chinese or Polish so there's many different beautiful names

[SalviaOfficinalis]

Agree with pp that Kayaan would be a better spelling, otherwise the first bit will be pronounced like “key”.

I like it.

[SoupDragon]

I think Zaviyar looks less like a "unique" spelling of another name so would be less problematic for your child going forward (if they are going to be living in the uk)

[Fivebeanchilli]

Zaviyar.
I know some children called Keyaan through work and, whilst I do know how to pronounce it, there is more of a down-market association with that name. Fwiw, although a couple of them are Turkish, the rest are not Muslim and it seems to be gaining in popularity.
Zaviyar is lovely.

[HumpHumpWhale]

I like both, but I think people will think Zaviyar is a kreativ spelling of Xavier. However, I wouldn't let that stop me.

My son is called Cian and it is so hard to get people to pronounce it properly. It's literally Ian with a hard C in front of it. It's not hard! Keyaan I feel would work better for English people, as they all seem to want to do a long a or soft C with Cian, so you've avoided both those issues with the spelling!