Linnea - lyrical or lots of prn issues?

[name]Hi[/name] Berries.

[name]Just[/name] reading the [name]Baby[/name] Names 2013 predictions blog and came across the name [name]Linnea[/name]. Once I looked up the prn (Li-nay-ah) I found it to be quite lyrical and pretty. However, since I had to look the prn up, would this translate into every day confusion for people who saw the name, and then into a life-long explanation for a little princess called [name]Linnea[/name]? Would a change of spelling help, or is traditional best in this case? WDYT?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I like the name [name]Linnea[/name]. Not enough to use, but I think it’s pretty. There probably will be people unfamiliar with the name and might say “lynn-ee-ah” but I think once corrected they’ll get it.

I like it! love the sound. It’s different, but not so different that it would stump people. :slight_smile:

Beautiful name, I don’t think it would be too hard for people to understand after hearing it.

I know a [name]Linnea[/name] in her 30s & I might not have guessed the proper spelling…Lynnaya might have been how I would butcher it! But I liked it even more once seeing how attractive the proper spelling looks!

I love the name!

I am not a fan. It reminds me of the word [name]Linea[/name] Nigra which is the dark line than can sometimes appear on your belly when you are pregnant.

I like it, I know a little girl in my neighborhood with the name. Always thought it sounded lovely and it is lyrical like you said!

I once interviewed a girl for a yearbook section named [name]Linnea[/name]- and I think it’s beautiful (her brother was [name]Christian[/name], and [name]Christian[/name] and [name]Linnea[/name] make a unusual, pretty sibset). [name]Linn[/name]-ee-uh is going to be how most people will pronounce it, but it shouldn’t be that big of a problem.
But [name]Linnea[/name] is also a flower, so I think it about half the people would pronounce it correctly. I think you should go ahead and use it.

As more people use the name, its pronunciation will be more widely circulated, with fewer people sounding it out.

Lyrical!!!

I’d say [name]Linnea[/name] as ‘linn-ay-a’. I think it’s pretty :slight_smile:

I really like the name [name]Linnea[/name] and don’t think that a sight- reading- pronunciation problem should stop you from using it. IF it did people couldn’t use a large variety of names (most notably those Gaelic in origin). I think [name]Linnea[/name] is very lyrical and beautiful.

However, having watched a fair amount of scifi it reminds me of an SG1 character who was dubbed “[name]Linnea[/name] Destroyer of Worlds”. (Upside the character was super-super smart and very kick-ass -> she was just also a bitter old hag hell bent on destruction for a while). Though I’m not sure that would stop me from using the name either.

its nice and i think people may say linn ee a but if you correct them once, it should be fine

I adore this name because of its pretty, delicate sound and the connection to biology. I also go back and forth on whether or not I would use it, though. It’s not so much the pronunciation as it is the anticipation of it becoming as huge in the U.S. as it has been in [name]Sweden[/name] and Norway. I have to admit being disappointed that it is such a recent favorite on this site, as that will certainly encourage its rise in popularity.

I had the same first reaction as uselesskitty, but I am pregnant right now and have a linea nigra so 6 months ago I probably would not have had the same thoughts on it.

Great name! I went to college with a girl named [name]Linnea[/name], and she pronounced it “[name]Lin[/name]-nay-uh”. She didn’t have pronunciation issues beyond the initial explanation. I wouldn’t change the spelling. I think as the name becomes more popular here, there will be fewer issues.

I know a few Linneas, three swedes and one norwegian, and one of them live here in [name]London[/name], and she has no issues with it. She has had to correct people a few times, but not more than other people with slightly different names.

I think you should use the traditional spelling, especially if you love it! It is very lyrical and pretty, but I wouldn’t get the pronunciation right the first few times. People will learn to say it correctly, but it shouldn’t be too difficult. I’d say go for it!

  • [name]Athena[/name]

My sister’s name is [name]Linnea[/name]- she is still in school and often gets “[name]Lynn[/name]-ay”. I think this is the most common mispronunciation- not “[name]Lynn[/name]-ee-ua”.

But, as soon as people hear the correct pronunciation, they always compliment her name. Almost everyone loves it!

I think it’s really pretty. But then again, some people probably think it rhymes with tinea.