DH and I love the name [name_f]Eva[/name_f], pronounced eh-vuh. we are worried that people will pronounce it ee-va, and we don’t want our daughter to constantly have to correct people. Is there a different spelling we could use, or a longer name that we could use? Thanks!
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I’ve heard it said ee-va and ay-va, but never eh-va so I think you will have to correct people.
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I would say it Eevuh but i guess it depends where you are. [name_u]Ever[/name_u] would give me that pronunciation
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[name_f]Eva[/name_f] with your pronunciation is so pretty, but I’ve only ever heard EE-vuh or AY-vuh so I do think you’d have to clarify pretty frequently. You could try something like [name_f]Evva[/name_f] or [name_f]Evah[/name_f], but I’m not sure how effective those spellings would be, and they’d come with their own confusions. I wonder if EH-vuh might also come more intuitively as a nickname for something like [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] or [name_f]Evelina[/name_f] that’s generally pronounced with a short “e” sound at the beginning? [name_u]Or[/name_u] you might like something like [name_f]Ebba[/name_f], [name_f]Elsa[/name_f], [name_f]Elva[/name_f], or [name_f]Etta[/name_f] as a close alternative with a similar sound!
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I’ve never heard that pronunciation for [name_f]Eva[/name_f] but it would make sense as a nickname for Evelyn/Evelina, there might be more that it would work for but that’s what comes to mind first.
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A former coworker of mine was European and pronounced her name that way - it was spelled [name_f]Ewa[/name_f]. I don’t think in the US most people would get that spelling though. I think you spell it how you like and just teach people how to say the name when you meet them. You could say something to liken it to more familiar names, “Eh like in Evan,” for example.
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i used to know an Eva (who is probably about 18 now) who pronounced her name eh-vuh. i do remember substitute teachers often mispronouncing it as ee-va, and the class always correcting them. but i’m not sure how much of an inconvenience it was for her, or if she cared about correcting people (because at the end of the day, it is just a "oh no, it’s pronounced eh-vuh) and that’s it).
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You know, I’ve never understood why all the Evelyns get called [name_f]Evie[/name_f] (ee-vee). 
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] (eh-va) makes so much more sense!
I think spelling it [name_f]Evva[/name_f] would work well! With [name_f]Emma[/name_f] being so popular, [name_f]Evva[/name_f] should be easy enough for people to recognize and pronounce. [name_f]Beautiful[/name_f] name by the way! 🩷
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I would definitely assume ee-vah, but I have known both an [name_f]Eva[/name_f] and an [name_f]Evie[/name_f] that used the “eh-vah” pronunciation. It’s doable.
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[name_f]Evva[/name_f] makes the most sense to me!!
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I know two girls called [name_f]Eva[/name_f] (eh-vah)! They correct people, but we get the hang of it. I say go for it, if it’s the name you love.
[name_f]Evva[/name_f] or [name_f]Evah[/name_f] might get the pronunciation you want, though I like [name_f]Eva[/name_f] just fine!
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I’ve never come across that pronunciation for [name_f]Eva[/name_f], but [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] and [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] can both be said with the eh-vuh/eh-vah rather than the long ee start sound so it’s not exactly that out there. Maybe one of those shortened to [name_f]Eva[/name_f] would make it easier for people to grasp. Other than that, may just be a case of correcting people, unfortunately.
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In Spanish [name_f]Eva[/name_f] is pronounced eh-vah, and it is a name I would consider. However, I would hesitate before I chose a name that I didn’t like the most common pronunciation of (at least in my American experience). In fact, I work in education and just met an new [name_f]Eva[/name_f] today. In Spanish talking to the child and the mother I pronounced it eh-vah. In [name_f]English[/name_f] later I referred to her as ee-vah to colleagues. For me that was the natural thing to do when they did not indicate a preference.
Another option would be [name_f]Ava[/name_f]. The reality is that eh-vah and [name_f]Ava[/name_f] are pronounced very similarly in [name_f]English[/name_f], at least in my (midwestern US) accent.
Your child may choose to go by ee-vah in the future, so just make sure you don’t dislike that pronunciation so much that that would bother you. Parents give the names, but our children have ownership of them and have the right to do whatever they want with them, and insist that their parents respect it.
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I know they pronounce it this way in Israel. I also knew a Brazilian woman who pronounced her name (eh-vuh). I have the same problem with loving Eden (eh-den). My advice would be if you love it enough and if it won’t drive you crazy correcting people then just go for it.
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If you spell it [name_f]Eva[/name_f] pro. the way you like it, she will have to correct the pronunciation and/or spelling.
If you spell it [name_f]Evva[/name_f], she will also have to clarify pronunciation and spelling. I HAVE heard [name_f]Eva[/name_f] as eh-vuh sp. [name_f]Eva[/name_f] and the Polish version [name_f]Ewa[/name_f] has that pro. also.
It’s a beautiful-sounding name. Many times, an unusual name comes with this tradeoff. You’ll have to decide if you like the name, either spelling, enough for her to make corrections. Both of my kids have obscure names, but I liked the names too much to choose something more common to make spelling/pro. easier. It’s usually just a one-time thing upon meeting (other than phone calls, drive thrus). [name_f]My[/name_f] grown kids have reiterated that they have had to make corrections, but they also love having uncommon names.
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[name_u]Everly[/name_u] could be shortened to the pronunciation you want.
I would 100% pronounce it eve-a as spelled
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