First, a Survey

This will be a full post later on, but I want to collect some data as I’m working on it: If you saw the name Meara, how would you think it was pronounced?

74 thoughts on “First, a Survey”

  1. Jesabes

    Our next door neighbor’s 3-year-old (good friends with my three-year-old) is named Meara! In her case, it’s pronounced exactly like I thought: Mere-ah, emphasis on first syllable.

    Reply ↓
  2. Johanna

    I grew up with a Meera (Meer-uh), and I’d probably pronounce it the same way.

    Meer – uh (emphasis on Meer)

    Reply ↓
  3. Janel

    I would think it would be mee-ar-uh

    If you break it up by syllabication the me would be left as an open syllable making the “e” long, ar as in car, and I would assume the “a” at the end would be just like other names that end with a.

    Reply ↓
  4. Brigid

    Meer-ah, but with a very faint middle syllable of “ah”.
    MEE(ah)ra, like Mia-ra with the first a being swallowed.

    ‘Cause I’d look at it and go…it’s not Myra, or Mira, or Moira, or Maura, or Mairead.

    Reply ↓
  5. Lauren

    My daughter is named Meara and we pronounce it Meer-a like the Irish last name (which is where we got it).

    Reply ↓
  6. sela

    Meh-ee-ruh, because I would think it was a mispelling of the Hebrew name Meira (I know several people named Mei.ra).
    however, “mee-ruh” is an anglicized pronunciation of the name so I wouldn’t be surprised when corrected.

    Reply ↓
  7. Portia

    I’d say MEER-ah, but I wouldn’t be too confident, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were Mee-ar-a or Mey-ar-a or MAIR-a.

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.