I’ve done a few of these before, but it always intrigues me to learn all the different ways people pronounce names! This isn’t about finding the ‘right’ pronunciation, but embracing that there are different ones
(plus, I’m just nosy and like to know!)
So, these are some names that I’ve heard pronounced in different ways, or know to have different pronunciations and I’d like to know how you would instinctively pronounce them - or which pronunciation you favour!
The names (no pressure to do them all, obviously):
Inez/Ines - both in-EZZ
Aisha/Ayesha - EYE-sha, eye-ESH-a (but honestly the difference is very subtle when said aloud)
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f] - AY-la or EYE-la, I’m honestly not sure
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] - nay-OH-me, first syllable hardly there, so a bit like ‘NYOH-me’
[name_f]Viola[/name_f] - VI-uh-luh, middle syllable hardly there
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f] - CHEH-rith, like cherish
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] - a-LEE-shuh
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya - first and last AHH-lee-yuh or AHH-lie-uh, middle one is more like ah-LEE-uh
[name_f]Talia[/name_f] - TAH-lee-uh
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f] - mar-SELL-uh
[name_f]Liv[/name_f] - like live as in, I live in a house
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] - roh-SHEEN
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] - oh-RAY-lee-uh
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] - EE-vuh
[name_u]Esme[/name_u] - EZZ-me but have known an EZZ-may as well
[name_f]Renee[/name_f] - ruh-NAY
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f] - nuh-DEEN
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] - NAH-dee-uh
Inez/Ines = “EE-nezz” in [name_f]English[/name_f], “EE-ness” in Spanish, very slight variation.
[name_f]Aisha[/name_f] = “eye-EE-sha”
[name_f]Ayesha[/name_f] = Makes me want to say “Ah-yeh-sha” but that doesn’t sound right
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] = “Nay-oh-mee” but sometimes also “Nye-oh-mee” Which I like better
[name_f]Viola[/name_f] = Like [name_f]Viola[/name_f] [name_u]Davis[/name_u], “Vye-OH-la”… However I love the “Vee-OH-la” pronunciation too!
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f] = Like the beginning of [name_f]Cherry[/name_f] but with “TH” at the end “Chair-ith”
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] = “Ah-LEE-see-ah”
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya = All the same; “Ah-LEE-ah”
[name_f]Talia[/name_f] = “TAH-lee-ah” but [name_f]Thalia[/name_f] would have a softer beginning for me, “Tah-LEE-ah”. Perhaps due to the Mexican Singer
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f] = “Mar-sell-ah”
[name_f]Liv[/name_f] = Like “live”
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] = I believe this is pronounced “Ro-sheen” but not 100%
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] = Tricky one, “Ow-RELL-ee-ah” but honestly it varies
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] = I love the “Eh-vah” way best
[name_u]Esme[/name_u] = “Es-may” but also love when people use “Es-mee”
[name_f]Renee[/name_f] = “Wren-ay”
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f] = “Nay-deen”
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] = “NAH-dee-ah”
Inez/Ines - ih-NEZZ
Aisha/Ayesha - AY-shuh (ay like in day)
Ayla - AY-luh (ay like in day)
Naomi - nye-OH-mee
Viola - vee-OH-luh
Cherith - CHAIR-ith (like charity or cherish)
Alicia - uh-LEE-shuh, but I prefer uh-LEE-see-uh
Aaliyah/Aleah - uh-LEE-uh
Aliya - AW-lee-uh
Talia - TAW-lee-uh
Marcella - mar-SELL-uh
Liv - LIHV
Roisin - roh-SHEEN
Aurelia - ah-REH-lee-uh (the first syllable almost aw)
Eva - EE-vuh, but I have heard it pronounced like Ava or like eh-vuh
Esme - EZZ-may
Renee - reh-NAY
Nadine - naw-DEEN
Nadia - NAW-dee-uh
[name_f]Inez[/name_f] / [name_f]Ines[/name_f]: ee-NEHZ or ee-NEHZs (with a little s sound at the end)
[name_f]Aisha[/name_f] / [name_f]Ayesha[/name_f]: eye-EE-sha (sometimes EYE-ee-sha, pronounced more like 2.5 syllables)
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f]: AY-la
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f]: nay-OH-mee
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]: vye-OL-la (but I prefer VYE-oh-la, almost 2.5 syllables)
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f]: CHAIR-ith or SHARE-ith
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f]: uh-LEESH-uh
[name_f]Aaliyah[/name_f] / [name_f]Aleah[/name_f] / [name_f]Aliya[/name_f]: uh-LEE-ya
[name_f]Talia[/name_f]: TALL-ee-uh
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f]: mahr-SELL-uh
[name_f]Liv[/name_f]: like the word “live”
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f]: row-SHEEN
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]: aw-RAY-lee-uh
[name_f]Eva[/name_f]: EE-va (although weirdly, I’ve only met ones who say it like Ava)
[name_u]Esme[/name_u]: EZ-may
[name_f]Renee[/name_f]: ren-AY
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f]: nay-DEEN
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f]: NAH-dee-uh
Inez/Ines - ee-NEZZ
Aisha/Ayesha - eye-(Y)EE-sha
Ayla - AY-luh (AY as in ‘day’) (not pronounced like Isla)
Naomi - nay-OH-mee or sometimes nye-OH-mee
Viola - vye-OH-la
Cherith - CHAIR-ith
Alicia - uh-LEESH-uh
Aaliyah/Aliya - uh-LEE-uh
Aleah - uh-LEE-uh or sometimes uh-LAY-uh
Talia - tuh-LEE-uh or TAH-lee-uh (I’m very inconsistent with this one)
Marcella - mar-CHELL-uh
Liv - LIV (like ‘lid’ with a v)
Roisin - first instinct “wah-ZHAHN” or “wah-ZAHN” but I know that’s wrong
Aurelia - au-RAY-lee-uh (au as in ‘coat’)
Eva - EE-vuh
Esme - EZ-may
Renee - reuh-NAY (reuh like ‘rook’ without k)
Nadine - na-DEEN (na like ‘gnaw’)
Nadia - NA-dee-uh (na like ‘gnaw’)
[name_f]Inez[/name_f] - EE-nezz like from the taylor swift song
Aisha/Ayesha - eye-EE-sha for both
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f] - sometimes EYE-luh which i prefer, sometimes AY-la
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] - again, sometimes nay-OH-me, sometimes NYOH-me
[name_f]Viola[/name_f] - vee-OH-luh like the instrument
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f] - CHEH-rith
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] - sometimes ah-LEE-see-ah, sometimes ah-LEE-shuh
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya - all ah-LEE-ah
[name_f]Talia[/name_f] - TAH-lee-ah
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f] - mar-SELL-ah
[name_f]Liv[/name_f] - LIHV as in living
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] - never read this name but it seems to be read as row-SHEEN
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] - oh-ROO-lee-ah
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] - EE-va
[name_u]Esme[/name_u] - EZZ-may
[name_f]Renee[/name_f] - ruh-NAY
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f] - NAH-deen
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] - NAH-dee-uh
Ines/Inez - ee-nez or ee-nes (sometimes I say eye-nez in my head, because that’s how they pronounce it in hairspray)
Aisha/Ayesha - eye-EE-shuh
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f] - aye-luh
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] - nay-OH-me (sometimes ‘nye’)
[name_f]Viola[/name_f] - vye-OH-luh or VYE-uh-luh (short second syllable)
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f] - cheh-rith (like cherish with a soft th)
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] - uh-LEE-shuh (but sometimes I read it as uh-lee-see-uh, like Silverstone)
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya - uh-LEE-yuh (Aliya might get allie-uh in my head )
[name_f]Talia[/name_f] - TAH-lee-uh (tahl rhymes with doll - this rhymes with [name_f]Dahlia[/name_f] in my accent)
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f] - mar-SELL-uh (the Marcellas I’ve known said their name like this, so it’s my default! but I know it’s often said with a ‘chell’ sound)
[name_f]Liv[/name_f] - lihv (rhymes with give)
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] - ro-sheen
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] - aw-REHL-ee-uh (or ‘ray’)
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] - eh-vuh or ee-vuh or ay-vuh (depending on what it is short for! if it’s a standalone, I usually default to eh-vuh)
[name_u]Esme[/name_u] - ez-may
[name_f]Renee[/name_f] - ruh-nay
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f] - nay-deen
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] - NAH-dee-uh (like the word nod)
Inez/Ines - ee-nez, slight stress on the first syllable
Aisha/Ayesha - eye-EE-shuh
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f] - EYE-luh, but wouldn’t be surprised to meet an AY-luh
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f] - nay-OH-mee, but wouldn’t be surprised to meet a ny-OH-mee
[name_f]Viola[/name_f] - vee-OH-luh, but wouldn’t be surprised to meet a vye-OH-luh
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f] - like cherish but with a -th
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f] - uh-LEESH-uh but I know several uh-LEE-see-uh
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya - uh-LEE-uh
[name_f]Talia[/name_f] - TAL-yuh, but wouldn’t be surprised to meet a TALL-yuh
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f] - mar-SELL-uh
[name_f]Liv[/name_f] - just [name_f]Liv[/name_f]. Lol
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f] - ro-SHEEN
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] - kind of like or-AYL-yuh
[name_f]Eva[/name_f] - EE-vuh, but I do know an AY-vuh
[name_u]Esme[/name_u] - EZ-may
[name_f]Renee[/name_f] - ruh-NAY
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f] - nay-DEEN
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f] - NAH-dee-yuh
prepare yourself for this to be so so wrong i’m not good at explaining pronunciations so i did a vocaroo, hope that’s okay! Vocaroo | Online voice recorder
How I’d pronounce them in English…
ih-NEZ / ee-NES EYE-sha / a-EE-sha / a-YESH-a
AY-la / EYE-la
nay-O-mee (but nye-o-mee sounds super similar the way I say it, so would depend on the day)
vye-OH-la (but I also love vee-O-la)
CHER-ith a-LEE-see-uh / a-LEE-sha / a-LIS-see-a
[name_f]Aaliya[/name_f]: a-LYE-a ; [name_f]Aleah[/name_f]: a-LEE-a ; [name_f]Aliya[/name_f] could be either
TAH-lee-a
muh-SEL-la
LIFF (as in lift)
ro-SHEEN
uh-REE-lee-a
EE-va
EZ-may
re-NAY
na-DEEN
NAHD-ya
Inez/Ines: eye-nez
Aisha/Ayesha: eye-ee-sha Ayla : ay-luh (though the only one I know pronounces it eye-la) Naomi : nay-oh-mee though nye-oh-mee wouldnt be weird either. Viola : vye-oh-luh Cherith : like cherish with a ‘th’ Alicia : uh-lee-shuh
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya : uh-lee-yuh Talia : I go between tal ( like in tally) yuh or tall (like in all) yuh Marcella : mar-sell-uh Liv : l-ih-v Roisin : roe-sheen Aurelia : uh-rell-ee-uh Eva : ee-vuh Esme : ez-may Renee : ruh-nay Nadine : nay-deen Nadia : nah-dee-uh
Inez/Ines: in-EZ
Aisha/Ayesha: EYE-sha/eye-EE-sha
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f]: EYE-la
[name_f]Naomi[/name_f]: nay-OH-mi
[name_f]Viola[/name_f]: vye-OH-la
[name_f]Cherith[/name_f]: CHAIR-ith
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f]: ah-LEE-see-uh
Aaliyah/Aleah/Aliya: uh-LEE-uh
[name_f]Talia[/name_f]: TALL [like the word] -ee-uh
[name_f]Marcella[/name_f]: mar-SELL-uh
[name_f]Liv[/name_f]: live, same as the word
[name_f]Roisin[/name_f]: ROY-zin (I know this is wrong, but I’ve never heard it before )
[name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]: or-ELL-ee-uh
[name_f]Eva[/name_f]: EE-vuh
[name_u]Esme[/name_u]: EZ-may
[name_f]Renee[/name_f]: ren-AY
[name_f]Nadine[/name_f]: I flip back and forth between nay-DEEN and nah-DEEN
[name_f]Nadia[/name_f]: NAH-dee-uh
