See the results of this poll: Pronunciation of Anya?
Respondents: 41 (This poll is closed)
- AHN-ya : 28 (68%)
- AWN-ya : 11 (27%)
- Other: 2 (5%)
[name]Anya[/name] is ahn-ya (like the first syllable in [name]Ana[/name]). I think it’s a pretty name.
I love the name. pronounced AWN-ya. Makes me think of the character from [name]Buffy[/name] the Vampire Slayer.
I voted AHN-yah. It’s a pretty name, but I personally am more attached to [name]Anna[/name]- names (like [name]Annabel[/name], [name]Anneliese[/name], [name]Annika[/name], and [name]Hannah[/name])–it’s something I can appreciate, but [name]Annie[/name] appeals to me more as a diminutive than [name]Anya[/name] does. Still, I think it’s a refreshing name.
I think AHN…but can someone further explain the two? I’m sitting here repeating AWN and AHN and they sound almost exactly the same.
Maybe it’s an accent thing?
‘Awn’ would rhyme with corn while ‘ahn’ almost rhymes with ‘barn’.
Anyway I voted other as I pronounce [name]Anya[/name] exactly as it looks ‘anne-ya’.
Ahn and Awn sound the same to me, so not sure what you’re getting at…
Like the first syllable of [name]Ah[/name]-Ha 
Not like awning.
I pronounce them both the same… but I draw out the syllable longer in awning,
Yeah I was wondering the same thing!
I pronounce it AHN-ya, like “you gotta bug on ya back”
OMG people pronounce this [name]Ann[/name]-ya? ouch! I would NEVER pronouced this [name]Ann[/name]-ya that’s so ugly and illiterate! It’s a scandinavian name and it’s pronounced Awn-ya. I first heard this name on [name]Deal[/name]/Or No [name]Deal[/name] and Degrassi where they pronounced it correctly. I think its pretty but the [name]Ann[/name]-ya thing ruins it.
It’s my understanding that it can be pronounced [name]Anne[/name]-ya or Awn-ya (like awning). I like it pronounced Awn-ya. It’s more sophisticated.
I voted for AWN-ya, the nrealized that the two descriptions sound pretty much the same to me too. I think [name]Anya[/name] sounds like On-ya, and I really like capturedcastle’s example of “you gotta bug on ya back.” LOL This aside, I really like the name and I like [name]Aine[/name] spelling, too.
I should have put the first poll option as AN-ya… sorry folks.
On-ya makes more sense to me too! [name]Glad[/name] I’m not the only one who says them the same…
On the “[name]Ann[/name]-ya” subject, every time I’ve heard that pronunciation it has been with an English accent (The time that stands out in my head is [name]Nigel[/name] on So You Think You Can Dance when there was a ballroom dancer names [name]Anya[/name]). It’s not as extreme as “[name]Ann[/name]-ya” would be with some American accents if that makes any sense.
This is [name]Anya[/name]: anya pronunciation: How to pronounce anya in Hungarian, Igbo, German, Catalan, Spanish
AWN-ya and AHN-ya are very similar, [name]IMO[/name], but majorly different from [name]ANN[/name]-ya.
I’ve only ever heard it awn-ya. anne-ya sounds so bizarre, imo!!!
Me too, British thing I think! I know a little British [name]Anya[/name] who says her name [name]Ann[/name]-ee-uh. I hear that a lot round this way too.
AHN-yuh.
Maybe this is an accent thing but AWN-yuh sounds like “on ya” as in “on you” to me…
Illiterate? Well there are things I can say in response to that but I think I’ll hold myself back…
As to the origins of [name]Anya[/name], it’s used in more locations than just Scandinavia; Poland, Germany, Serbia, Russian and [name]Ireland[/name] for example. There are also a myriad of spellings including [name]Aine[/name], [name]Anya[/name] and [name]Ania[/name]. Each of these countries comes with its own accent and, therefore, its own way of saying the name. Are you going to call them illiterate too?