I grew up with a good friend named [name]Mira[/name] (Mee-ra) and always loved her name. I don’t think anyone thinks to pronounce it My-ra. I love it alone as a name, and also like [name]Mirabel[/name]. I think I prefer the simple version though.
Hm, thanks for all the feedback, guys! I’m glad most people think “mihr-a” like mirror or else “meer-ah”, which are very close. I like both much more than “my-rah,” which to me is faintly “wild west trashy” for some reason? Maybe I have a vague association from a movie? I have heard of one [name]Myra[/name] born lately. [name]Elmira[/name] definitely fits in the [name]Myra[/name]-sounding category for me, plus has a weird fantasty novel/old lady feel to me.
[name]Miranda[/name] is pretty, but I pronounce always thought of it as “mah-[name]RAN[/name]-dah”, not “mihr-[name]RAN[/name]-da” or “mee-ran-da” so the connection seems more in the spelling than sound? Does anyone pronounce it the other ways?
I like [name]Miriam[/name], that fits the feel of [name]Mira[/name] to me the best. Have good friends with a daughter named [name]Miriam[/name], though, so not sure we would use it. (She goes by [name]Mim[/name], which is pretty cute.)
@urshz, Miryana is very pretty. I was going to ask you where it’s from, but did a quick search and it seems to be Slavic. Also seems like Miriana is valid spelling. It also seems like [name]Miri[/name] or [name]Mira[/name] would be an intuitive nn off Miriana. What does everyone else think, would that be a less trendy-sounding option, to have an ‘ana’ ending rather than a -bel?
Out of all the -belle, -bel, bell, -bella endings I really prefer the look of [name]Mirabel[/name], but I do think it may be too trendy, as some have said. Sadly, I do like [name]Isabel[/name], [name]Annabel[/name], etc, so it partially seems nice to have a -bel that’s a more unusual.
Oooh I really love [name]Amira[/name] Also I say it meer-a
I really am not a fan of sticking -belle on the end of things. [name]Mirabelle[/name] has been bugging me with its trendiness and -belle ending for so long.
[name]Mira[/name] is awesome on its own. I’ve always pronounced it meer-ah. You prefer to pronounce it mihr-ah? If that’s the case, [name]Miranda[/name] would fit the bill pretty well.
Other than that, the only name that really is popping in my head is [name]Minerva[/name], but that doesn’t sound to much like [name]Mira[/name], does it?
I would say “mihr-a” or “mee-ra” if it was Spanish. I would not say “my-ra” unless told.
I’ve also been loving it lately, initially as an alternative to [name]Mila[/name], which seems to be quite popular lately. I like [name]Mirabel[/name] nn [name]Mira[/name]–it doesn’t seem frilly to me the way [name]Mirabelle[/name] and [name]Mirabella[/name] do. (altho [name]Mirabelle[/name] looks pretty)
I love [name]Mira[/name] ([name]Meera[/name]). There will be a few people pronouncing it wrong, but not too often. [name]Amira[/name] is lovely, as well. The -belle ending would ruin it for me.
Miriana is much better than [name]Mirabel[/name]/[name]Mirabelle[/name] imho…but I still prefer just [name]Mira[/name].
(Oh, and I rhyme it with mirror, don’t really get the difference between Mih-ra and Meer-a, maybe it is my dialect)
Maybe there is no difference between mih-ra and mee-ra…I’m sitting here trying to figure out if there is! slightly longer eee on mee-ra? But yeah, whatever sounds like mirror is what I’m thinking of.
We have [name]Miriam[/name] on our shortlist with nn [name]Mira[/name] or [name]Miri[/name]. Very classic option…
[name]How[/name] about Namira? It is alternative form of Nameera and means “pure, fresh” especially as in water in Turkish. It also means “leopard-like” in…Arabic, I think
I’m also struggling to find the difference between Mihr-ra and Mee-ra
For pronunciation purposes:
M(rhyming with ear)-uh Vs. M(rhyming with bee)-ruh?
With that basis in mind, I pronounce it like the first choice. I don’t think it comes off as trendy at all, though for what it’s worth [name]Mirabelle[/name] seems a bit more childish than [name]Mirabel[/name] does (which seems more put together and versatile).
The only other name I have heard [name]Mira[/name] be a nn for is [name]Samira[/name]. I don’t personally think [name]Mira[/name] stands alone as it’s own name and prefer [name]Mirabel[/name] to the choices you listed a few posts up.
I adore [name]Mira[/name] on its own too! (with the pronounciation Mee-ruh.) In Australia, [name]Mirabelle[/name] is a huge light bulb manufacturer, so it kind of puts me off of frilly, princess-y [name]Mirabelle[/name].
I love [name]Mira[/name] and [name]Mirabel[/name].
We have a Slavic last name (my husband is half Croatian), and that’s partly why we picked [name]Mira[/name], as it’s a Common Slavic nn. We actually considered [name]Mirjana[/name] (close, obviously to Miriana, but my husband’s sister’s name is [name]Jana[/name] so we liked the “j” spelling) but ultimately decided that [name]Mira[/name] is lovely on its own.
@hypatia, since it’s Slavic, is [name]Mirjana[/name] pronounced like “mir-yah-na”? In which case Miriana seems the same to me, but more intuitive for English speakers. Although you might get “mir-ee-ah-na.” Somehow I don’t like the look of Miryana as much though.
Interesting to hear that it’s very common in Slavic areas. Maybe that’s why it feels faintly exotic to me
@jess0044, I like your way of differentiating pronounciations. Yes, I prefer the Mear-uh with an “ear” sound, rather than mee-ra with the “bee” sound. But the only difference is really how long you hold/emphasize the "ee"sound. I do think the second option might be more common in S. [name]Asian[/name] pronounciation? [name]Meera[/name] is a Sanskrit name.
I do really like [name]Mira[/name] as a nn for [name]Miriam[/name]. That is growing on me. Not sure we can use [name]Miriam[/name], but will file it away.
I’ve never heard of anyone pronouncing [name]Miranda[/name] as “mah-[name]RAN[/name]-dah”. I’ve always pronounced it “mihr-[name]RAN[/name]-da”, I have a friend called [name]Miranda[/name], often [name]Mira[/name] for short, and she pronounces her name as I do.
I don’t like [name]Mirabelle[/name], it’s too twee, and I think of it as a cat name for some reason! I do like [name]Miranda[/name], [name]Amira[/name], Mirana, [name]Miriam[/name], [name]Mirari[/name], [name]Mireille[/name], [name]Mirella[/name] and Miruna.