See the results of this poll: How do you pronounce Leif?
Respondents: 34 (This poll is closed)
- "LAY-F": 13 (38%)
- "LEE-F": 21 (62%)
[name]Leif[/name] is an Old Norse name that means “descendent or heir”. It is pronounced as “LAYF”. This name is ok but for alot of people growing up in the 70’s it will be forever associated with teen idol [name]Leif[/name] [name]Garrett[/name]. It sounds tired and outdated to me. Sorry but that’s my honest opinion.
[name]Don[/name]'t apologize, I appreciate honesty! I am not familiar with [name]Leif[/name] [name]Garrett[/name], so I have no associations with the name (which is why I started the thread 
)
I had a cousin named [name]Leif[/name] (pronounced “leef”). Sadly, he had a lot of health issues and passed away shortly after turning 20.
The name will forever remind me of him! And, honestly, I have never heard it pronounced any other way than “leef”. (Not that I have known any other [name]Leif[/name]'s).
I knew a kid in high school named [name]Leif[/name] (pr. [name]Lee[/name]-f) He was one of those ultra-cool kids, the kinda kid who wasn’t ever part of a crowd but everyone wanted to be in his! And it didn’t hurt that he was drop dead gorgeous…so I’ve always had good associations with the name [name]Leif[/name]
I had a coworker born and raised in Norway, came here when he was 20, and has been here 20 years. And it was pronounced like Life. He said he always hates how “we” mispronounce his name, either Leef or Layf. Like in history class, with [name]Leif[/name] Ericcson (spelling?). He said it is pronounced this way in all Scandinavian countries. [name]Just[/name] a thought!
Oh, another way to think of it… Einstein is pronounced with the “i”, and a silent “e”. In Europe, “ei” usually has the “e” silent, and “ie” has a silent “i”. Same goes for [name]Leif[/name]!
[name]Love[/name] the name though!
LAYF is technically the correct pronunciation, but I always would think to pronounce it LEEF. The biggest association I have with it is [name]Leif[/name] Eriksson (spelling?). I don’t really care for the name, personally, but it’s not awful.
I [name]LOVE[/name] it. I say [name]LAY[/name]-F. It was the name of my most beloved car that I would drive forever if I could. Seriously, I called that car my boyfriend.
I’m going to back up the poster who said it’s pronounced “Life”, because I speak [name]German[/name] and that’s how we would say it (In [name]German[/name], ei = long i and ie = long e). I’m not of Scandinavian descent and I learned [name]German[/name] in [name]North[/name] [name]America[/name].
As someone who can read English and [name]German[/name] I’d instinctively flip to [name]German[/name] coming across a name or word like that. Based on the pronunciation I would hesitate to use the name over here, however I don’t think it’s “too Scandinavian”… if you know how you want it pronounced and are prepared to teach people, they’ll catch on.
I pronounce it layf. I think of [name]Leif[/name] [name]Garrett[/name] and [name]Leif[/name] [name]Ericson[/name]. I think it’s a cool name, but I know there would be lots of pronunciation questions.
[name]Hi[/name]! [name]Leif[/name] would actually be prnd. something like Leyf in Scandinavia, and to me is a middle aged man. Sorry, I just don’t care at all for this name, it is all the wrong generation to me. Sorry!
LIFE or LEEF would be my first instinct. It really depends on what language you are speaking. In English LEEF makes the most sense, [name]German[/name] would be LIFE and perhaps in other languages LAYF is correct.