I get it; you want it to rhyme with Botswana and not Banana. It sounds unnecessarily pretentious to me, like the Annie pronunciation cited above.

You can do whatever you want, but that doesn't make it practical.

I know someone named Anne who pronounces her name Annie (apparently it's a German thing?). It's impractical IMHO to do this if you live in the US surrounded by Americans.

You might get people calling her Anne-uh. It's not the end of the world. You call her "Awn-uh" and then the people who know you will call her that. If you have jerks who persist in calling her "Anne-uh" after hearing you pronounce her name the other way, talk to them about it.

For what it's worth, I would actually default to "Awn-uh" myself, as everyone named Anna in my family is Swedish and therefore pronounces it that way. I would switch to the "Anne-uh" pronunciation only if I heard other people using it.

We did this. Our daughter's name is spelled "Anna" but pronounced the Spanish way "Ana" (we wanted a nod to her Guatemalan heritage). Yep, we need to correct teachers, even beyond the first week of school. But people pick it up pretty quickly, and at 6 she doesn't seem to mind much when it's said wrong. It's really not that big of a deal. Her friends pick it up quickly. If you like the two n's but the "one n pronounciation" then go with it. I've only ever seen an h inserted once and that was with a Scandinavian background.

I spend time in both Latin America (where Anna is usually spelled Ana and pronounced like you are speaking Spanish) and the US. If you are trying to imply that the name should be pronounced the Spanish way, I guess spelling it like Ana will probably have a greater chance of getting that point across to people who speak Spanish. But really the pronounciation depends on what language you speak- not the spelling.

OP I think what you propose is fine. Yes she will have to clarify pronunciation sometimes. Obviously many people think that's the end of the world. I am in that position with my name, and I think it's nbd. Having said that, I think Ana would be clearer. If you like it better the other way, I think it's fine. GL!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why wouldn't OP spell it Ana if that's what she wants? You can't have an "exotic" pronunciation with a plain-Jane spelling. Heck, go for Ahh'na.

On-nah is not an "exotic" pronunciation of Anna. It's an alternate pronunciation that actually exists. OP didn't make it up.

It's an alternate pronunciation not commonly used in the US.

Anonymous wrote:They are different names. Ana is pronounced Ah-na and Anna is pronounced An ah.

Please spell it the way you want it pronounced.

Agree

Anonymous wrote:Why wouldn't OP spell it Ana if that's what she wants? You can't have an "exotic" pronunciation with a plain-Jane spelling. Heck, go for Ahh'na.

On-nah is not an "exotic" pronunciation of Anna. It's an alternate pronunciation that actually exists. OP didn't make it up.

No, you cannot spell a name one way but pronounce it another. What is the point. Why even give her a name. Just use a symbol, like Prince, and then no one will know what to call her, since they won't anyways if you spell it incorrectly.

Why wouldn't OP spell it Ana if that's what she wants? You can't have an "exotic" pronunciation with a plain-Jane spelling. Heck, go for Ahh'na.

Anonymous wrote:Oh my god, people.

Anna is pronounced Anne-uh. The A is like in Apple.

Ana is pronounced On-uh. The A is like say "ahhhh."

Except for when it's pronounced On-uh.

Oh my god, people.

Anna is pronounced Anne-uh. The A is like in Apple.

Ana is pronounced On-uh. The A is like say "ahhhh."

They are different names. Ana is pronounced Ah-na and Anna is pronounced An ah.

Please spell it the way you want it pronounced.

I need help too. I pronounce them in the exact same way.