Irena

I’ve liked [name]Irena[/name] for a long time, but I took it off my list some time ago because I was afraid it would invite too many pronunciation problems.

Now I’m taking a second look at this name and wondering…

  1. In general wdyto [name]Irena[/name]?
  2. Does [name]Irena[/name] have particular ethnic connotations for you?
  3. [name]How[/name] do you pronounce [name]Irena[/name] (ee-REHN-ə, iy-REEN-ə, not sure, something else), and where are you from?
  1. [name]Irena[/name] is alright, I like it as a fresh alternative to the dated [name]Irene[/name], but I like the French spelling a bit more.
  2. No ethnic connotations for me. It’s just [name]Irene[/name] with an A for me.
  3. I’d say iy-REEN-uh, and I’m from Oregon.
  • [name]Athena[/name]

I love [name]Irene[/name] and [name]Irena[/name] is pretty too.

[name]Irene[/name] makes me think or Greek or Russian, but it doesn’t make me feel like it has to be on that ethnicity.

I say I-ree-nah – I with a long sound – and I’m a Greek living in Arkansas :slight_smile:

Ee ree nuh. Very Russian to me.

All the Irinas I’ve heard of are Russian, spell it “[name]Irina[/name]”, and pronounce it "Eer-een-a.

If you are going for a European connotation, you could also think about [name]Elena[/name], [name]Helena[/name], or [name]Carina[/name].

Alternatively, you could consider [name]Iris[/name] - less confusion about pronunciation.

I say “Iy-ree-na” for [name]Irena[/name] and “eer-een-a” for [name]Irina[/name], but I feel like both of them have a Russian/eastern European vibe. To me, [name]Irene[/name] is less tied to a specific place/are of the world.

  1. I love [name]Irena[/name] – if fact, my very post on Nameberry was about [name]Irena[/name]. Links to threads that might be useful for you:
    Nameberry - Welcome to the Nameberry Forums
    Nameberry - Welcome to the Nameberry Forums

  2. [name]Irena[/name] - very Polish, which is why I love it.

  3. I say it somewhere between eh-[name]REN[/name]-ah and eh-[name]RAY[/name]-ah/eh-REH-na, but I’m from Western PA and the local dialect is a bit wonky from even other nearby places.

I know someone that has [name]Irena[/name] as their last name, it’s pn er-ee-nuh

ee-REHN-ə. I like it. I know too many [name]Irene[/name], so [name]Irena[/name] sounds fresh to me. Ethnic connotation? not so much. [name]Irina[/name] is so russian, but not [name]Irena[/name].

I think it is very pretty!
I’d say iy-ree-nah.
I don’t really connect it with a particular ethnicity.

Thanks for these links! And also thanks to everyone for their input so far…

I love the name too teacherma! In fact, I shared my thoughts on it in your first ever thread. I’m pretty sure my first ever NB thread was also on [name]Irena[/name]!

Gosh you are making me loooove this name again. I prefer it pronounced [name]Irene[/name] w/ an A at the end, but I don’t think that is the correct way to say it. That bothers me. :frowning: