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[Opinions] How would you pronounce Mariana?
I have a dear friend named Mary Ann and would like to honor her. However I have 2 sisters-in-law named Mary along with a niece (though only one who goes by Mary.), so I would prefer to not use Mary Ann or even Marianne. We're thinking of Mariana, however we prefer the Spanish pronunciation (mahr-ree-ah-na, not mare-ee-anna or mare-ee-ahna). I'd like to gauge how likely it is that I'd get that pronunciation - otherwise we might use Marian or Marianne as a middle name.
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Mariana = mah-REE-ah-nah
Marianna = mare-EE-ann-ah
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I would say Mair-ee-ahna
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My instinct is to say Mariana to rhyme with Diana, which is strange, since I say Georgi-AH-na for Georgiana.
It's probably because the Spanish pronunciation - very pretty, go for it! - is unfamiliar to me.
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I tend to say mare-ee-ahna because that's how my best nun-friend (birth name: Mary) pronounces it. I think it would be difficult to get everyone to pronounce is mahr-ee-ahna honestly.
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I think of the Spanish pronunciation first because I am a Spanish teacher but I have many students who are either names Anna (AH-nuh) or it is part of their name: Sushanna, Audreanna etc. and I would say you are going to get about 50/50 on correct pronunciation. I think it is more obvious that it is the Spanish pronunciation with -ana ending instead of the -anna spelling because many people claim that Ana and Anna are different because of the double n. I hope you choose Mariana because I think it would be a fairly unique name.
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At first glance I'd pronounce it mahr-ee-AH-na, the same way you are. I think if it were spelled Marianna I'd pronounce it Mary + Anna.

This message was edited 1/24/2010, 6:28 AM

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I pronounce it ma-ree-ah-na, and I really like it.
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I would say mare-ee-ANNA.
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I would say mahr-ee-ah-na for Mariana just based on how it looks to me.
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I'd use the Spanish pronuncation -- mahr-ee-ah-na.
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Mariana is lovely and I pronounce it the way you do. I think many people would pronounce it that way too. And if not, they can be corrected. My dd, Anna, pronounces her name with the 'ah' sound (her Kindergarten teacher changed the pronunciation of her name from day one and she's been AH-na ever since). It's not that big of a deal and with your spelling, I think your dd would be fine.
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I pronounce it mahr-ree-AH-na
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I pronounce it mahr-ree-ah-na.
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I would pronounce it "MAH-ree-AN-na".
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mahr-ee-AH-na is natural and obvious to me.Love it. mare-ee-AH-na doesn't really bother me. mare-ee-anna is not good.
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My first instinct would be mare-ee-AH-na.
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I'd pronounce it the Spanish way. I love it.
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I'd pronounce Mariana mahr-ee-AH-nah.
I'd pronounce Marian MARE-ee-an.
I'd pronounce Marianne mare-ee-AN.I live in the NW US.
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