Mhairi

[Mamma3456]

I know that Mhairi is supposed to be pronounced Var-ree. But does anyone in Scotland pronounce it as Mah-ree?

DH and I are debating which to use. We like the spelling of Mhairi but the pronunciation of Mairi. DH is Scottish and knows a Mhairi who is known as Mah-ree, though he suspects it's because she couldn't be bothered to correct everyone, so I was wondering how common this pronunciation is used?

I do think it might annoy some of DH's Scottish relatives though who are a bit pedantic but don't speak Gaelic.

On a related note, is Mhairi Black known as Var-ree? I was just wondering if there is some well known precedence?

I think Mhairi Black is “Maree”.

I went to school with a Mhairi who was “Varee”, which I much prefer and what I would automatically pronounce it as.

(I’m Scottish and grew up in NE Scotland)

I live in a Garlic speaking area, and the normal pronunciation would be Ma-ree, because Va-ree would be the vocative.
So you would say "Have you seen Ma-ree?", but "Hello, Va-ree".

Gaelic, not garlic!

I know a Mhairi too that is also pronounced varee. She's married to one of DH's pals.

It's one of those names where you must get so fed up of having to correct people!

I’m in Scotland, and I know a few Mhairis, all pronounced Var-ee. I thought it was always pronounced with an V sound, but as others have said Mhairi Black the ex-MP pronounces it Mar-ee. She’s the only one I know of.

Do you live in Scotland OP? I think if you live in England you’ll get it pronounced with an M. The MP is the only person I have heard of with the name and she uses the M pronunciation, plus the way it’s written, most in England will assume it’s an M at the start.

All the Mhairis I know pronounce it Var-ee. Mhairi Black is a tool, so pay no heed to what she does.

I know a Mhairi who's a Va-ree and a Mhairi who's a Ma-ree.

I'd just go with Mairi though, if Ma-ree is the pronunciation you favour.

Definitely not a common name in England and woud get a lot of mispronuniciation and spelling. I would have attepted it as Muh'Hairy!

What HarpieDuJour · Today 13:12 said
normal pronunciation would be Ma-ree, because Va-ree would be the vocative. So you would say "Have you seen Ma-ree?", but "Hello, Va-ree".
It's more MA-ree than Ma-REE.

Ive only ever heard it as var ree

Maybe change the spalling

Don't know any Mhairi, but do know a Mari in England who pronounces it MAH-ri

Mairi is the gaelic version of Mary. In Gaelic the mh sound is pronounced like a v, also the spelling and pronunciation of words can change depending on the grammatical case, Gaelic grammar is not like English dog, for example in English we say Mary's dog, but gaelic would be more like the dog of Mary. So while now they are seen as separate names actually Mhairi is the vocative case of Mairi

I went to school in Scotland with a girl who was Mhairi and pronounced it Maree. The teachers all pronounced it the 'proper' way which annoyed her.
I also have a friend called Vhairi.
Had you thought about Mairi? Although in England she'd maybe get called Mary not Marry!

Love a great autocorrect 🤣

As already mentioned ,the correct pronunciation is Ma-ree . There is a misconception that the correct pronunciation is Va-ree…. Va -ree should only be used when speaking to Mhairi ….eg How are you today Va-ree.

My NE Scotland MIL says Varee

I know a Mhairi who lives in Scotland and pronounces it Mhairi - I knew another one whose parents were Scottish but didn't live in Scotland and they pronounced it Var-eee.

I know a Mhairi, living in England. It's Vah-ree but she's given up correcting people so most of the time gets called Mah-ree

I've known both. If I were you, I'd spell it Mairi.

Yes, but the actual name is the vocative form, which is always what strikes me as deeply odd (as an Irish speaker) . The Irish version of the name is Máire (MOY-ruh), and if you were addressing Máire in Irish, you would say 'a Mháire' (A VOY-ruh). It fascinates me why it's the vocative form that has become formalised in Gaelic. Same with Hamish. In Irish, the name is Séamas and you would address him as 'a Shéamais' (pronounced, roughly, Hamish).

And I wouldn’t even be saying Varee it would be more like Vau (think Vaughan) ree for my dialect in the vocative.

But it is like Hamish I guess which is A Sheamus in the vocative here but became Scottishised into Hamish.

So you would say "Have you seen Ma-ree?", but "Hello, Va-ree".

So for those who pronounce Mhairi as Va-ree, do you only use it when addressing them?

It seems from here like both pronunciations are used in Scotland. I guess I'm trying to assess how annoying it would be for others to insist the name is Ma-ree. 😅 Yes we're in England though not wedded to staying here, and I do get that it will probably be mispronounced. We also have another child with a Gaelic name that we always have to spell and model the pronunciation but I don't mind it and I hope they won't mind either. They have a more conventional middle name if they prefer to use that.

My friend, Mhairi, is always Var-ie, and that is in England.

Knew one in Scotland pronounced with an M. Never seemed to be an issue. Lovely name but one I chose not to use in England myself as really don't like the name with a long a, which is the usual pronunciation even in the very north of England.