We will be pronouncing it AWN-ik-ah. I believe that is the dominant pronunciation in this area (a lot of Scandinavian heritage), but there are also people here who pronounce the name [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ika. Would you agree that it is more likely to be pronounced the way we want with only 1 n? What about the possibility that the [name_f]Anika[/name_f] spelling will be pronounced a-NEE-ka (accent on the middle syllable)? What’s our best bet?
I know an [name_f]Annika[/name_f] and an [name_f]Aneka[/name_f] and both pronounce it the way you want. However, I would be more inclined to say [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ih-kuh for [name_f]Annika[/name_f] or [name_f]Anika[/name_f] simply because the AW sound isn’t as intuitive to me (I’m American with a midwestern accent). I had many classes with [name_f]Aneka[/name_f] and I believe only one substitute teacher ever said her name correctly on the first try. Most people went with [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ih-kuh or uh-NEE-kuh but she didn’t mind and it was an easy correction. I do prefer the [name_f]Annika[/name_f] spelling because I think it’s less likely to be said uh-NEE-kuh.
I agree with @sparkleninja18. I’ve heard [name_f]Annika[/name_f] equally as AWN-ih-kuh and [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ih-kuh with the latter as probably my “default”. [name_f]Anika[/name_f], though, I always think uh-NEE-kuh before I can catch myself. [name_f]Annika[/name_f] is my preference.
[name_f]Annika[/name_f] is my preferred spelling. I pronounce it [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-e-kuh, but I know it’s much more common to pronounce it AWN-e-kuh.
I know two [name_f]Annika[/name_f]'s and one [name_f]Anika[/name_f]. Both [name_f]Annika[/name_f]'s are American, but the one who pronounces it AWN-ik-ah has Swedish heritage and the other [name_f]Annika[/name_f] (who pronounces it [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ik-uh) does not. The [name_f]Anika[/name_f] I know is South African and pronounces it AWN-ee-kah.
I prefer [name_f]Anika[/name_f]. I pronounce [name_f]Annika[/name_f] and [name_f]Anika[/name_f] different, however. [name_f]Annika[/name_f] to me is [name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ih-kah and [name_f]Anika[/name_f] is AW-nih-kah. For the pronunciation you’re looking for, i think [name_f]Anika[/name_f] is the way to go.
I have never heard [name_f]Annika[/name_f] pronounced with an ‘awn’ sound, but that might be down to location. I would pronounce it ‘[name_f]ANN[/name_f]-ick-a’ as that seems more natural to me, and that is how the only [name_f]Annika[/name_f] I’ve ever met pronounced it.
I would be inclined to pronounce [name_f]Anika[/name_f] as ‘[name_m]AH[/name_m] -nicka’.
Thank you to all of you for writing with your thoughts on this. It has been very helpful to me!!!