I’ve posted about this name twice before, and I just keep going back and forth with it. My husband and I both love it, and we think it’s a great way to honor his late mother ([name]Susan[/name]), as both [name]Sanna[/name] and [name]Susan[/name] are diminutives of [name]Susannah[/name]. But every now and then I just get worried, and I can’t tell how warranted my concerns are. Here’s what’s on my mind:
It’s not on the US SSA’s top 1000 names. I know it’s a Scandinavian name, but why is it SO unpopular in the US? It also doesn’t show up in some of the baby name books I’ve looked at, even though other much stranger names are included. Are we missing something? Is this a situation where we think a name is great and everyone else is just going to shake their head and wonder what the heck is the matter with us?
In Finland, there were a lot of Sannas back in the 70s and 80s. [name]Even[/name] though it might sound fresh to American ears, I worry that I’d be giving my daughter the equivalent of a “[name]Jennifer[/name]” or “[name]Tiffany[/name]” name.
The pronunciation we’d use (Sah-nuh, rhymes with [name]Donna[/name]) isn’t technically right by Scandinavian standards -in [name]Sweden[/name], both syllables are emphasized equally (“SAH-[name]NUH[/name]”), and in Finnish, the name is actually pronounced “Suh-nuh.” So I feel like we’re sort of making the name up if we pronounce it like [name]Donna[/name], even though this seems to be the logical pronunciation in English. (I also worry that people here will pronounce it like “[name]Hannah[/name],” which sounds awful to me.)
Am I insane? Have pregnancy hormones taken over every last bastion of rationality in my brain? Why am I freaking out over this stuff? We both like the name - shouldn’t that be enough? Please help me!
I have a little girl in my pre-school class named [name]Sana[/name], she is Syrian and her mom/ a co-worker pronounces it as “Sin-ah”. However when I started there I was saying it as if it was San-ah. But after hearing it a few times it is now natural to the way they say it. So really once you correct it a couple times people will pronounce it the way you want them too. I think it is a great name!
I have to say my instinct is to say [name]Sanna[/name] to rhyme with [name]Hannah[/name]. Sorry. I do think you will have a lot of “it’s [name]Sanna[/name], rhymes with [name]Donna[/name]” If you love it, and that doesn’t bother you, go for it. It’s a pretty name, but I vastly prefer [name]Susannah[/name].
I naturally pronounce it like [name]Donna[/name], but most people won’t.
I have a name that has never been in the US top 1000- [name]Reine[/name] (French word name for queen). It led to a great deal of pronounciation issues (from Reeney to [name]Ryan[/name]). Also, technically the correct pn is [name]Wren[/name], but my parents have said it [name]Rainey[/name] for my whole life (being a name nerd, this DOES NOT sit well with me, but it’s too much of a pain to correct, and my parents are adverse to the [name]Wren[/name] pn). This bugs me, and I’m pretty sure it would be considered tacky if I went to [name]France[/name] AND it was pronounced wrong (like a girl named [name]Queen[/name] here who pronounced it Key-en).
Having a nearly impossible to pronounce name that isn’t even said right means I’ve only had three people say [name]Rainey[/name] when they see my name for the first time. [name]Ever[/name]. And, people aren’t smart when pronouncing names. Most think it is a kry8tiv way of spelling [name]Renee[/name], and that’s the most frequen pronounciation I get. And I’ve even gotten [name]Reina[/name] and [name]Reena[/name].
I think you should go with [name]Susannah[/name]- a beautiful, classic name- and call her [name]Sanna[/name].
I like the look of the name and I think its nice to honour someone in you family… But I actually prefer SAH-NAH (rhymes with [name]Hannah[/name])… When I see [name]Sanna[/name] (ryhmes with [name]Donna[/name]) I automatically saw/thought SAUNA… as in a hot wooden room… Its not a bad sounding word or anything and it doesnt have negative connections… just rang odd with that pronunciation in my head…
I personally like [name]Susannah[/name] as a name!
I’d say it more or less the way you do and think it’s really pretty. [name]Don[/name]'t sweat it, if it’s what you love. In the greater scheme of using foreign names, this isn’t that big a deal: once people hear it, they’ll comprehend it. It’s pretty, and that counts for a lot too.
I naturally pronounced it like [name]Hannah[/name] on first sight, and I’m afraid most people would think that as well. Plus, unfortunately, it does sound like “sauna” if you say it to rhyme with [name]Donna[/name]. My mother knows a woman in her 40’s named [name]Sanna[/name], but I’m not sure how she pronounces it.
Pronouncing it Sah-nah (which seems inevitable in [name]America[/name]) kind of makes it sound like Sauna. I would name her [name]Susannah[/name] and nicknaming her [name]Sanna[/name].
If I saw the name [name]Sanna[/name], I would assume it rhymed with [name]Hannah[/name]. Having it rhyme with [name]Donna[/name] is actually pretty, but it’s not intuitive to prounounce it that way and it does bring to mind the word “sauna” (as backtomyroots pointed out). Unfortunately, I think the name would result in constant pronunciation and spelling mistakes that would be a pain to live with. I would not use it as her formal name. If you use the formal name [name]Susanna[/name] and have people just call her [name]Sanna[/name] (to rhyme with [name]Donna[/name]) as a nn, it would be a beautiful name that would be easier to live with. Good luck!
Another thought: To honor your late mother-in-law (which I think is incredibly beautiful and important to do!) you could also just use [name]Susan[/name] (as is) for the complete middle name (or first name). I happen to adore the name [name]Susan[/name] (as well as [name]Susanna[/name]/[name]Susannah[/name]). On my husband’s side, I have a niece with the middle name [name]Susan[/name]. That way, you have no compromising on the namesake and can start fresh with finding a first name to go with it.
Like everyone else is saying, I don’t at all agree that the “natural” English pronunciation would be rhyming with [name]Donna[/name]. It would rhyme with [name]Hannah[/name]. And again to echo pp, if you said her name was [name]Sanna[/name] rhyming with [name]Donna[/name], I would hear the name as “sauna.” I would find that bizarre. So if you’re going to use it, I would definitely go with the (s)[name]Hannah[/name] sound.
But I also would prefer using the name [name]Susannah[/name] and calling her [name]Sanna[/name] for short. [name]Even[/name] then, S(us)anna(h) makes the pronunciation rhyme with [name]Hannah[/name]. And I don’t think that sounds awful at all! That’s too bad that you don’t like it pronounced that way. I think it’s a great choice.
Unfortunately, I have to echo most of the others. I can’t imagine seeing ‘[name]Sanna[/name]’ and pronouncing it to rhyme with [name]Donna[/name]. I would pronounce it to rhyme with [name]Hannah[/name].
Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate the feedback and am glad to know that I’m not just being irrationally nit picky. Unfortunately, my husband isn’t a fan of “[name]Susannah[/name],” so that’s not an option at this point. I’m almost convinced that we should just cut our losses and move on to our other option, [name]Mira[/name] [name]Susan[/name], and just leave it at that. Thanks again!