[name]Seren[/name] is at the top of my short lost. I love Reni as a nn.
I want to love it - but all I can think of is Sarin gas (pronounced the same)
[name]How[/name] is it pronounced the same?
renrose,
The sounds are similar, near identical, in our dialect, maybe not yours.
sa:rin…
Lol, that doesn’t help at all; write it phonetically 
Spelt as it is, I still can’t imagine it sounding anything like seh-ren O_o. Must be a dialect thing like Scheherazade said.
I really like the name [name]Seren[/name]. It’s pretty.
English has become a real mutt of a language, hasn’t it? 
[name]Seren[/name] is SO simple, but from what I see so far we have at least 5 different pronunciations:
se-ren, from Liverpool
seh-ren, from [name]Wales[/name]
sir-ren, influenced by a Southeast [name]Texas[/name] accent
sair-ren, I’m not sure what influences me to say it that way,
and, possibly, from [name]Canada[/name]
sar-ren, depending upon how one pronounces “sarin”.
Perhaps some Australians, Minnesotans, Dubliners, Bostonians, Londoners, and Californians can chime in?
I think that what this says for you, Biancah, is that there will be a lot of subtle regional differences in how this name is pronounced. If you are sensitive to that, this may not be the name you want. Otherwise, a lot of us have a favorable impression of the name.
I pronounce it seh-ren (I’m from [name]London[/name]). It’s a stunning name, I love it!
Four really as these two are the same.
I think this is really amusing. We can’t even agree on pronunciation guides!
To me,
se-ren implies a rather short, abrupt end to the first syllable. The name comes out rapid fire.
seh-ren implies a softer, ‘sigh’ of the short e sound, a drawl, if you will. The name is softer.
Not sure if that’s what the pps meant, or not.
I wrote a pronunciation guide a while ago for another website:
Sheet for Describing Pronunciation
Ok, since people here often seem to struggle with explaining the pronunciation of a name I decided to make this guidance sheet for the vowels. If everyone refers to it when sounding out a name we’ll know exactly what they mean every time. To use it, simply find the symbol that corresponds with the sound you’re looking for and write it down, separating each syllable with dashes. For example:
A name like [name]Amelia[/name] would be written as: a-mee-lee-a
A name like [name]Benedict[/name] would be written as: ben-eh-dict
A name like [name]Louis[/name] could be written as: loo-iss OR loo-ee
A: ay (capital letter)
A: ah/ar (like ‘car’)
A: a (like ‘cat’)
Au: oww (like ‘ouch’)
Au: aw/or (like ‘maul’)
E: ee (capital letter)
E: eh (like ‘let’)
I: eye (capital letter)
I: ih (like ‘it’)
Ie: ee (capital letter)
O: oh (capital letter)
O: o (like ‘hot’)
Oi: oy (like ‘noise’)
Oo: oo (like ‘boot’)
Ou: uh (like ‘douglas’)
Ou: oww (like ‘ouch’)
Ow: oh (capital letter)
Ow: oww (like ‘ouch’)
U: you (capital letter)
U: uh (like ‘nut’)
U: oo (like ‘boot’)
Y: why (capital letter)
Y: ee (capital letter)
…
Using this guide, [name]Seren[/name] is pronounced ‘seh-rehn’. There’re plenty of sounds I’ve missed off I know but it works for this name.
I know 2 [name]Kari[/name]'s/1 [name]Kerry[/name]/1 [name]Kerri[/name]/1 [name]Keri[/name] and I pn all of them the same. (ker-e)
I’m torn with [name]Seren[/name]. I know a little [name]Seren[/name] and she is adorable. But when I first me her (and not seeing it written) my first thought “Like sarin gas?” I do love the name! I don’t know that I love it enough to get past that thought, though…
It was on my top three. [name]Love[/name] it!
[name]Love[/name] love love [name]Seren[/name]. It has the same feel for me as [name]Maren[/name] which I also think is great. I pronounce it seh-rehn.
I love this name, but I prn it sair-en (sort of like [name]Sarah[/name], but with an “n” on the end). I’ve seen this conversation a lot on NB – only once or twice about [name]Seren[/name] specifically, but about the “er” vs. “air” vs. “ur” prn. For some reason some people (myself included) have a lot of trouble pronouncing the “er” sound in many names. I’m from the [name]East[/name] Coast of the U.S., and I say [name]Kerry[/name] the same way I say [name]Carrie[/name] the exact same way, and while I understand the difference and can say it when I’m slowly emphasizing the syllables, I can’t do it in regular speech. I had a friend in high school named [name]Kerry[/name] who was driven crazy with my “incorrect” pronunciation of her name.
As I said, though, I do absolutely love this name – even the way I say it. 
I totally don’t get how the “er” and “ar” are supposed to be different. [name]Kerry[/name] and [name]Carrie[/name] i say like “air”-ee. I’m from midwest U.S. I say [name]Seren[/name] as Sir-en with the emphasis on en.
I like it! Unusual, uncommon, but I feel like it could age well and be taken seriously.
Thanks for the replies. To me it’s like seven but with an R I guess. I can see how it will be confused across dialects etc but I have that problem with my own name. I am from NZ and moving to Australia where [name]Seren[/name] will be pronounced the way I interpret it. When I was in the US I was referred to as Be-yonka rather than the [name]Bee[/name]-anchor as it is in this part of the world. Much like how [name]Andrea[/name] is pronounced [name]Ann[/name]-dree-a here but often is referred to as On-draya in the states. I am not so bothered by it and I hope my wee one won’t if we call her [name]Seren[/name].
Biahncah–I’m sorry that the discussion became mired in pronunciation, and glad it’s not an issue for you. I think [name]Seren[/name] is an intriguing choice, and I’m sure your little one will wear it well.