Name Pronunciation

[octobre09.livejournal.com]

I was just curious as to how most of you pronounce the name, Eva. Do you say "Ee-va" or "Ay-va" or "Eh-va"?

I know all are accepted pronunciations and I absolutely love the name but I pronounce it in French, which sounds more like "Eh-va", although "Ay-va" is close enough.  "Ee-va" however I'm not too fond of...We do presently live in an area where English is the main language so I'm curious as to how the majority pronounce it. I don't want to spell it Ava because it wouldn't sound right in French. 

 

And while we're at it, what do you think of the name as a sib-set for Cléa (Clay-ah)?

Comments

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

I would say Ee va, unless otherwise corrected

Is that Clay uh? I think Eva and Clea are kind of cutesy.

[octobre09.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm thinking that's how most people would pronounce it.

It's pronounced "Clay-ah."

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

I would pronounce it Ee-va" and possibly like "Eh-va" but there's not much difference for me in the "Ay-va" and "Eh-va" pronounciation.

[requiem-morrow.livejournal.com]

I had always heard it pn Ee-va until about 10 years ago. I met a Hispanic teen named Eva and it was pn eh-va. I fell in love. It makes perfect sense...all the Evalyns I know are ehva-lyn, not Eeva-lyn (except when its a male name; not sure if thats standard across the world, but its been my experience).

[octobre09.livejournal.com]

And I'd never heard it as "Ee-va" until a few years ago but I did grow up and live in a French environment until recently. "Eh-va" is so much prettier IMO.

[taraemily.livejournal.com]

My friend has a daughter called Eva and she pronounces it 'Ee-va'.

[mommyaubrey.livejournal.com]

i pronounce it ee-va unless told otherwise, pretty easy to change it in my head though :)

[mommyaubrey.livejournal.com]

oh and also i think Eva pronounced eh-va with Clea makes me want to say ay-va clay-ah wayy too matchy and it's hard to say eh-va with it, for me.

[ladyjbug.livejournal.com]

I always think of Wall-E. So. EEE-VA (in a robot voice).

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

I do too now, which is funny because her name is Eve and not Eva.

[doxerssoldout.livejournal.com]

i pronounce it as ay-vuh ("ay" sounding the same as in "play"), which is the pronunciation i prefer.

[ohhvelocitygirl.livejournal.com]

ee-va

[forloveofbaby.livejournal.com]

For me, Eva = ee-va (long e sound), Ava = ay-va (long a sound)

Not a fan of the sibset either... it's too matchy for me.

[duckduckcaboose.livejournal.com]

I pronounce it "ee-va," but I do know a girl whose name is Eva and pronounces it "ay-va."

Eva and Cléa is a little cutesy for me.

[satunian.livejournal.com]

wow, you must have read my mind because I was wondering that too and thinking of posting the same question here!
I've met 3 Evas, each of which pronounced it differently, so to me if I saw that name I would just ask right off the bat "which way do you say it" because it could go any way in my head. If I were to use it as a name myself, I'd either go with the Ee-va (more likely of the two) or eh-va, and would just use Ava for the ay-va pronunciation. If it helps for statistics sake, I live in the eastern united states, currently in the south where I think "ee-vah" would be more likely to be said (this is also where I knew the one who pronounced it that way!) but in NY where I'm from, I heard eh-va and ay-va more

[rosabelle.livejournal.com]

Eva is either "ee-va" or "eh-va" to me. Ava is "ay-va".

[a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com]

I would say Ee-va. I had an aunt with that name. My husband says Eh-va. He's Polish.

I don't think it would be difficult to teach people to pronounce it Eh-va.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

Unless told otherwise, I pronounce it Ee-va.

[vanish.livejournal.com]

"eh"-vah, like Evan without the N.

[retrodancekitty.livejournal.com]

I live in Italy, so I say EH-vah. I really dislike EE-vah (which here would be spelled Iva)

[retrodancekitty.livejournal.com]

and then in Russia they pronounce it YEH-vah, and that I like, although I'd spell it Yeva.

[snoglobel.livejournal.com]

Ee-Va.

I could learn to say Eh-va like I learned that Anna wasn't Ann-na but Ah-na when I met someone from Germany who pronounced it that way, but my intuition would always be Ee-va first.

[mrsduryee.livejournal.com]

I'd say Ee-va until corrected. I wouldn't think twice about your preferred pronunciation after you corrected me.

[arrien.livejournal.com]

Ee-va (live in Nevada, know two Evas who pronounce their name the way I do). Pron. for "Ay-va" is spelled Ava to me; I've never pron. anything "Eh-va".

Not fond of it as a sibset name. Almost too matchy-matchy or something?

[velkoria.livejournal.com]

depends of where I am, I pronounced the name differently... If I am in my home country or a French speaking country I use the Spanish/French pronunciation of Eh-vuh. If I am somewhere like the US I'd probably say 'Ee-vuh' and I'd never use Ay-vuh, unless someone tells me to.

Cléa and Eva tend to be close, but I am guessing you speak French and I've found that in French and Spanish names tend to sound cutesy anyway because most girl names end the same.

[duck-deluxe.livejournal.com]

Eva= ee-va in my head (like Eve with an a ending). Ava= ay-va. I've never heard a pronunciation like Eh-va but I can see it making sense...after you correct people. It seems a little matchy with Clea any way you pronounce it though, I think.

[gipro2003.livejournal.com]

I'm German so I pronounce it Eh-va. I love the name, but I think it is too matchy with Clea

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

Ay-vah, but I'm Dutch. If I met an English-speaking person called Eva, I would assume her name was pronounced Ee-va.

[laminy.livejournal.com]

If I'm talking about Eva Longoria, Ee-va. If I'm talking about Eva Mendes, Ay-va. Other than that, probably Ee-va. I can't tell the difference between Ay-va and Eh-va, so...lol.

With Clea, if you're saying Ee-va, it's not too bad. If you're saying Ay-va, it's too matchy.

[coffeecup37.livejournal.com]

Ee-va.