Pronounciation of Thea?

General Name Discussion
1

Well first I’d like to clarify that I’m not expecting, just collecting.

Quite a while ago I found the name [name]Thea[/name]. Without ever having heard of it before, it intrigued me. I pronounced it as THEE-ah in my head, and the more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with it.
Problem is I just met a [name]Thea[/name] and hers is pronounced as [name]Taya[/name], which has me very conflicted now!

[name]How[/name] would you pronounce [name]Thea[/name]? If I were to use it for a future daughter, do you think it would cause confusion and be mispronounced often?

2

I’d pronounce it as it looks, Thee-uh. I know a [name]Thea[/name] and she says it like that.

3

I’ve heard it as Thee-ah, [name]Tay[/name]-ah and [name]Thay[/name]-ah… I say it more like [name]Thay[/name]-ah, but I think Thee-ah is more natural.

4

I’ve always thought it was thee-ah too

5

It’s a Greek name. I say it Thee-uh but the proper Greek pronunciation is [name]Thay[/name]-uh.

I think most people will say Thee-uh so if that’s what you love, I wouldn’t worry about it :slight_smile:

6

The one [name]Thea[/name] I know pronounces it as [name]Tay[/name]-uh.

7

I’ve always thought it was Thee-uh (the one I’ve met says it like that). I love the name!

8

i thought it was thee uh

9

I have known:

An [name]Althea[/name], grown woman, the end of her name was Thee-uh.
[name]Thea[/name], a little girl, [name]Thay[/name]-uh.

I have not known, but known of:
Germans with the name, where it would be [name]Tay[/name]-uh.

In English, we have Th saying T in two other common names:
[name]Theresa[/name]

and

[name]Thomas[/name]

So it is not unheard of, it’s just that pretty much every other time there is a TH, it says the usual th sound, including for some people with [name]Thea[/name].

Same thing with the vowel…it’s not hard to think of things like [name]Bea[/name] where it says [name]Bee[/name] in English but Italian and Spanish is [name]Bay[/name]-a.

Anyway, Thee-a is fine, they are all valid.

If I saw [name]Thea[/name] and were told to guess, I would guess Thee-a.

10

I’ve always had the problem of not knowing whether or not I should be pronouncing it thee-ah, thay-ah or [name]Tay[/name]-ah. I used to automatically say it as [name]Tay[/name]-ah, but over time it has become thee-ah to me. I think that’s how most people would guess because of the spelling.

11

I have always said Thee-ah. (like [name]Dorothea[/name]) The one [name]Thea[/name] I know pronounces it this way. I

12

[name]Thea[/name] = thee-ah.

13

Thee-ah, just like most pp’s. Great name, I once saw someone considering sisters [name]Thea[/name] and [name]Juno[/name], which I thought was an amazing combo.

14

I say ‘THEE-uh’. It’s popular in the UK, and almost every little girl I know pronounces it that way. I’ve heard it said [name]TAY[/name]-uh a few times, but not very often.

15

I say Thee-ah usually, but I knew a little girl of Greek heritage and she was [name]Thay[/name]-ah. Pretty either way, in my opinion!

16

I know a [name]Thea[/name], who says it THEE-uh. It’s short for [name]Theodora[/name], so that seems logical. Théa, Téa or [name]Taya[/name] will get you to [name]TAY[/name]-uh.

17

I pronounce it Thee-ah

18

I would say… THEE-ah

19

I have always pronounced it Thee-uh, I’m from the Southern US. I didn’t even know there is another way of pronouncing it. I don’t think it would be a problem unless the culture you live in pronounces it the opposite way than you prefer.

20

I pronounce it Thee-uh. I like the name. I think if you wanted to go with a full name, [name]Theodora[/name] is pretty too with [name]Thea[/name] as the shortened nn!