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Due any day and no name

11 replies

Shestilldoesnthaveaname · 18/01/2023 05:43

Hi, baby is due any day and I'm really undecided on her name. I've loved Anya (but with an ahn not Ann! ) sound for years but have been a bit put off because everyone pronounces it Ann ya and I don't want to give her a burden she has to correct or seem pretentious.

I've thought about Anastasia, Annalise and Ariana as alternatives but they all have the Ann English sound rather than the Russian I prefer so don't really solve my problem.

Does anyone know of a girl's name Anya is nickname for, where the pronunciation is more in keeping with the Russian than the Anglicised version? I know there's Aine but to me that seems a totally different sound and I am not as keen on the spelling.

Please help!

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DurdleSnore · 18/01/2023 07:30

Off the top of my head trying to think of names that would still have the ‘Ah’ sound over here:

Natalia
Tatiana
Ivanna

Tatiana could give the nn Anya maybe?

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CastleTower · 18/01/2023 07:38

Lots of people have names where they have to correct the spelling or pronunciation, especially if there's two or more common ways to say it. I would just call her Anya.

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MrNook · 18/01/2023 07:42

Just go with Anya, once you correct people on how to say it properly they'll (hopefully) start saying it how you want

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Fivebeanchilli · 18/01/2023 07:57

I prefer the Ah pronunciation too.
I think people will get it quite quickly.
After Frozen it's not such an unusual sound (I know than was Anna not Anya but a similar starting sound).

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MessiTheGoat · 18/01/2023 08:13

How about Anoushka? It has the Ann sound at the start admittedly but it's the first name I think of when considering Russian links

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Shestilldoesnthaveaname · 18/01/2023 08:18

Thanks for the suggestions. I do just like the name on its own. I think my biggest difficulty is that we are boringly English so using the non Anglicised sound feels a bit try hard and cultural appropriation. Possibly I am overthinking this haha!

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Twoinapod · 18/01/2023 08:36

It’s one of the names on my list but I’d also say Ahn sound. I don’t think it would be an issue tbh, just introduce her like that, people will catch on quickly. It doesn’t sound try hard. It’s a beautiful name.

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cravingtoblerone · 18/01/2023 08:39

Overthinking this, I reckon. Anya is a lovely name however you pronounce it....

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Emz555 · 18/01/2023 10:48

The Irish version "Aine" would I believe give you the sound /pronunciation you are after?

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Shestilldoesnthaveaname · 18/01/2023 11:01

I think the Irish is more Own-ya, Awn-ya depending on which part of Ireland you are in I believe. Not mad keen on the pronunciation because it feels a little harsh/forced to me.

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VenusClapTrap · 19/01/2023 18:00

I like Anya. But pronouncing it Arnya reminds me of back in the day when Tania was popular and you’d meet women who introduced themselves with “It’s TARnia not Tannia” and they were invariably quite pretentious.

I suppose it depends where you live. Up north you’d probably find it more of an uphill battle to get the long A sound as short As are the accent.

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