See the results of this poll: how do YOU pronounce "Olivia?"
Respondents: 65 (This poll is closed)
- uh-livia : 42 (65%)
- oh-livia: 23 (35%)
I say my own name UH-livia, and so does almost everyone I know (except since moving to [name_f]Canada[/name_f] I’ve noticed people do make more of an ‘oh’ sound… it’s not very distinguished but it’s definitely more noticeable. In [name_f]England[/name_f] it was more of [name_m]AH[/name_m]-livia to be honest).
I do have a close friend who has called me OH-livia, with particular emphasis, since childhood. It’s sort of become a joke amongst my family because he’s always had such a naturally flamboyant manor, it’s just funny.
uh-liv-ee-uh.
I’m Canadian and I pronounce it as “oh-livia”. Some parents are choosing to spell it as [name_f]Alivia[/name_f] to ensure that people say it with the “uh” sound. Whenever I see an “O”, I pronounce it to correspond with that letter.
This is my oldest name and we call her “oh-livia”.
I voted ‘oh’, but after reading through the comments, I’m now confusing myself. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you mean a short ‘oh’ as in [name_m]Tom[/name_m], or a long ‘oh’ as in go?
Basically, I say it [name_m]OL[/name_m]-ivia. Short oh, never an ‘uh’.
I guess it’s sorta both.
If I’m saying it quickly and not really focusing on enunciating it then it comes out more like uh-liv-ee-uh
If I’m talking about the name and paying attention it’s more like oh-liv-ee-uh
So I wouldn’t say I actively avoid saying the OH, it’s the same way Eh-liz-ah-beth sorta becomes hliz-a-beth when said quickly.
I’m Canadian and I always say Oh-livia. Not OHhhhhhhhh-livia, but a short o : Oh-livia. If you wanted uh-livia, I would use [name_f]Alivia[/name_f].
OH-livia is how I instinctively say it. [name_f]Alivia[/name_f] for me, is AY-livia.
Oh-livia, but the “oh” is pretty short and if I’m speaking quickly, it’s probably not distinguishable from “ah-livia”. When I see [name_f]Alivia[/name_f], I think “aaahh-livia”. It makes me want to stress the “ah”. I’ve never actually met an [name_f]Alivia[/name_f] in real life, though.
I never say OH-livia, but I do say it more with a soft “O” sometimes as opposed to UH-livia. UH seems to be a sound that only Americans seem to have–it always seems to be a lighter “oh” or “ah” in other cultures/languages, and I find it so unappealing. UH, UH, UH, like duh, duh, duh. It seems so unintelligent and lazy, haha. I avoid the sound as often as possible, lol! So I usually end up saying it with a softer, more open (soft) ‘oh’ or ‘ah’ sound.
I pronounce it more like oh-livia, with the fist syllable sounding like the “ol” in “old,” not so much like the “o” in “oats.” And I’m from the southern U.S.
Maybe my ‘uh’ is different then? It’s not like… nasally or harsh, just a really short vowel sound that doesn’t really distinguish between ‘‘oh’’ and ‘‘ah’’; to me it feels softer than both of those - definitely quite lazy though!
[name_f]My[/name_f] ears aren’t hearing much difference TBH.
Soft short ‘o’ noise followed by liv-ee-a. It’s a hard one to explain. For Brits I’d describe it as the ‘o’ in hot but I know that’s a different in most branches of US English. Like the second ‘o’ in Morocco?
UH-livia. But to be honest, I can’t distinguish much difference between OH-livia and UH-livia in my own accent.
I say Oh-livia. I didn’t even know there was another proper way to say it! I’m Canadian, by the way.
I say it more as “[name_m]Ah[/name_m]-liv-ee-uh”
[name_f]Olivia[/name_f], I’m not sure–I think maybe it’s just my area of the US? I hear tons of Americans say it, though. I envision the “ah” sound being much more open and light and airy–like a butterfly habitat (I’m not sure what their called exactly, haha), with that white mesh and all the butterflies fluttering around and the sun shining through. I envision the “uh” sound to be like a cluttered attic with cobwebs and mice everywhere, dark and dank with a sliver of light shining through as dust floats in the air… it also seems to be quite prevalent as a sound among the inner-city kids who have it really hard, especially the ones with black and/or Hispanic-American blood. I don’t know how else to describe it. It just sounds really, really lazy. I also noticed that whenever my best friend and I were messaging online (she lived in [name_u]Paris[/name_u] while I live here), and whenever we talked about names she would write the pronunciation el-ee-ah-nah rather than el-ee-ah-nuh. I think it’s a really slight difference, but once you notice it, it’s really, really grating. It was for me, anyway! With @renrose’s example, the second “O” in [name_u]Morocco[/name_u]–I think that’s an excellent example. That would be an “ah” sound for me. But an “uh” sound… I can’t think of any examples! Eliza pronunciation: How to pronounce Eliza in Basque, English, Romanian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish, Portuguese It’s sort of like the last pronunciation of [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] on the link (the @ashgreen one), but a wee bit more mind-numbing, lol. I don’t know how else to explain it.
I pronounce it Oh-livia.