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?

The trouble with this is that pronunciation varies widely according to where you are. A Gaelic-speaker from Stornoway will have vastly different ideas about it to one from Castlebay, for example.

Not nearly so many Scots Gaelic speakers as Irish speakers and not taught in many schools at all - so all the vocative/genitive stuff is fairly lost!

I went to school with several Mhairis - all pronounced VAR ee , some Mairis , all pronounce MAR ee and a few Maries, usually pronounced MAR ee, unless at the end of Ann when it's AnnMareeeeeeeee 😁 or ANNmaree.

My understanding is that Mairi is pronounced Marry and Mhairi is pronounced Varry. They were originally different cases of the same name (ie the person's name would officially be Mairi, but you would say Mhairi when speaking directly to her), but Mhairi is now sometimes used as an independent name even in Scotland - the only one I have personally met is Scottish and definitely pronounces it Varry.

But at what point does common usage of a pronunciation trump its original pronunciation? Like several pps, as a Scottish person I know Scottish Mhairis who pronounce it with an M. At this point, I'd assume it could be pronounced either with a V or an M if I came across it on a class register or whatever.

I'm in Scotland, originally from England, and would pronounce it as 'marry.'

Yeah I think once there’s a critical mass doing the wrong thing it can be hard to insist on the right way.

The Irish name Aoibheann should be pronounced Eve-an but most people say Ay-veen and will swear blind that is correct despite it being absolutely impossible given the spelling. So even though I know it should be Eve-an, if I meet someone with that name I’d usually go for the Ayveen pronunciation first off.

Yes, this is what I'm trying to ascertain. It seems going by this thread there are many Mhairis pronounced with an M, but maybe not the majority, and there will definitely be confusion in England and some confusion/objection in Scotland.

We like the Mhairi spelling (it's such a pretty name to my eyes) but probably not enough to annoy pedantic in-laws so we will probably go for Mairi.

In Scotland if I saw Mhairi I'd go with the pronunciation Va-ree. In my experience most will use that pronunciation. Those who want the M sound are typically spelt Mairi. Marie is a different name.

In England I think anything goes.

But if you have got pedantic in-laws Mairi is safer.

Let’s be honest - anyone with that name has called their child ‘v- hairy’ no English or Scottish language variation of that H! Why not Vari or Vairi if you are desperate for a V? I only know one Mhairi, it’s definitely a vocative case but their parents were calling her. The H drops away when you are talking about them, so it would be Mairi. At no point would Mhairi be Mairi with the H. Even worse is Mhairi as Mhari. I’ve avoid the name for my kids!

I think you have the wrong end of the stick. My OP from 9 months ago said

We like the spelling of Mhairi but the pronunciation of Mairi.

We’re very happy with the name we chose, so thanks all. 🥰

My friend is Scottish and pronounces it Maree…

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