Pronunciation of "Ava"

[Margaret Note Spelling]

This isn't going to change my decision about anything, but someone brought it up to me and now I'm curious--how would each of us pronounce this name, at first glance? Like "Ahva" or "Aeyva" (as in "cake")? If you have this name yourself, how do you pronounce it? How should I expect the majority of readers to pronounce it, and is it different for different countries?

I'm not particularly concerned either way, it's just that the alternate pronunciation had never actually occurred to me before, and I'm wondering how prevalent it is. Thanks!

 

[Toby Frost]

"Ayva" for me.

 

[HareBrain]

There's a third option of course, with both a's short, like the start of Avalon. If my surname were Banana, that's what I would name my daughter.

 

[Pyan]

‘Ayva’ as in Ava Gardner.

 

[Pyan]

If my surname were Banana, that's what I would name my daughter.

Or “Seat”…

 

[Mouse]

Or “Seat”…

Or "Lanche".

 

[Pyan]

Or even "dakedavra"...

 

[Justin Swanton]

Reminds me of Bill Lear, inventor of the autopilot. He named his daughter Shanda. He really did.

 

[tinkerdan]

Ava

Pronunciation	/ˈeɪvə/ AY-və /ˈɑːvə/ AH-və

and that just confuses me more.

 

[Wayne Mack]

I use both, depending upon the circumstance. Ava Maria vs. Ava Gardner.

 

[OuttaInc]

I use both, depending upon the circumstance. Ava Maria vs. Ava Gardner.

Interesting... I've only ever seen it as Ave Maria.

 

[Swank]

Jesus says that the pronunciation of a name - even spelled the same - may vary between cultures.

So the author gets to pick.

 

[Rufus Coppertop]

Interesting... I've only ever seen it as Ave Maria.

It's definitely 'ave' which means 'hail'.