I love the name [name_f]Irina[/name_f]! To me it has a great mix of strength and femininity. But I worry about its usability re:pronunciation (US midwest). Is it just going to turn out that I named my kid “arena”?
[name_f][/name_f]Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts on the name, pronunciation and otherwise:)
I like [name_f]Irina[/name_f]! [name_f]Bright[/name_f] and interesting with a hint of magic and strength:slight_smile:
[name_f][/name_f]I do think the pronunciation might cause some stumbling? I’ve heard it said as EE-ree-na, ih-REE-na, and EYE-ree-na 
[name_f][/name_f] I like them all!
I agree with @Greyblue[name_f][/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- I’ve heard different pronunciations. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you have a nickname in mind? [name_m]Ira[/name_m][name_f][/name_f], [name_f]Rina[/name_f][name_f][/name_f], and [name_f]Rini[/name_f][name_f][/name_f] come to mind which might make living in the midwest easier for people to pronounce?
I love [name_f]Irina[/name_f]! [name_f]Rini[/name_f] is an adorable nickname.
I think [name_f]Irina[/name_f] is beautiful such a lovely name that feels elegant, strong with a pretty pan European flair along with a lovely meaning. Such a bright unexpected name. [name_f]Love[/name_f] [name_f]Rini[/name_f] as a nickname very fun!
[name_f][/name_f]Regarding pronunciation completely agree with points raised by @Greyblue[name_f][/name_f] she’s an all round winner.
I prefer the ih-REE-na pronunciation, but would be fine correcting the other pronunciations greyblue mentioned [name_f][/name_f]- i guess I’m just worried about the ih vs. a sound in the first syllable [name_f][/name_f]- that people won’t be able to hear/won’t care about the difference in vowel sounds
[name_f]Irina[/name_f][name_f][/name_f] is gorgeous! She’s got so much strength in her sound & I love her elegant vibe 
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I’ve only ever heard her pronounced eye-REE-nuh, so that would be my instinct (I’m in the Southeast US, but I grew up in the Northeast)
I love [name_f]Irina[/name_f] (ok, and most of the [name_f]Irene[/name_f] family). [name_f][/name_f] I never really thought of its similarities to “arena”, but I can see it now… I always thought it might be hard to live with, so I always thought I’d use it as a middle [name_f][/name_f]— years ago [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] [name_f]Irina[/name_f] was on my list! [name_f][/name_f]— but I would be tickled to meet one here. [name_f][/name_f] A friend of a friend is an [name_f]Irina[/name_f], so I love when my friend talks about her [name_f][/name_f]- they’re not in the US though.
[name_f]Irina[/name_f] is beautiful! It’s so graceful and a name that could suit any age of woman beautifully.
[name_f][/name_f]I’m from the US [name_m]South[/name_m], but speak some Spanish and Italian, and my instinct is ee-REE-nah. The first ee sound distances it from arena to me, but i’m not sure I’d make the comparison typically anyway!
It’s beautiful, chic and underused. It would be a marvellous choice with your childrens’ names. It’s melodic and a very quick three syllables, so it still feels short which you previously mentioned looking for.
[name_f][/name_f]I’m based in Austalia so I don’t know about pronunciation in the US, but I thought [name_f]Ivanka[/name_f] would be a good reference point for how people may pronounce [name_f]Irina[/name_f] given the similarities (three syllables, first syllable pronounced ‘ee’, and same rhythm). I imagine people would already have a good understanding or take minimal correction, but you would know best.
[name_f][/name_f]I generally feel pronunciation concerns tend to happen less often than we expect. Since most challenges occur with first meetings or incidental meetings, and the people in our regular social circles quickly learn the correct pronunciation. That said, we all have different levels of tolerance for different issues.