How do you pronounce Maeve?

LipstickLibrarian · October 2010

I thought it was like Meh-v, but a new co-worker pronounces it May-v. Which way is typical?

Steph1673 · October 2010

MayV

LadyXaverian · October 2010

Definitely Mayv.

starlight8323 · October 2010

I can't find the most recent post about this subject, but in my Google search I found some others from last year.

There definitely seems to be some confusion.

"How do you pronounce Maeve?" (3/18/2009)

"What is this Maeve name I keep seeing?" (4/9/2009)

"How do you pronounce Maeve?" (12/8/2009)

strangebird · October 2010

Phonetically, it can't be pronounced Mehv.

I pronounce it Mayv.

elisbu · October 2010

It's an irish name , like PP, May-V

elephant307 · October 2010

Love that name. And yes, Mayv.

macchiatto · October 2010

Mayv was my guess, but for those saying it couldn't possibly be pronounced any other way ... from what I've seen, Irish names are not really known for following English phonics rules (case in point: Siobhan!), so I think it's a valid question.

strangebird · October 2010

macchiatto:
Mayv was my guess, but for those saying it couldn't possibly be pronounced any other way ... from what I've seen, Irish names are not really known for following English phonics rules (case in point: Siobhan!), so I think it's a valid question.

The difference in Gaelic/Irish and English phonetics is in the vowels. In English, two vowels combined can make one sound or a single sound--Elliot vs. Lorelei, as an example.

In Gaelic phonetics, the two vowels act on one another and always make a combined sound. Aednit, Seamus, Maeve, Grainne. The different combinations of vowels are what makes the "vowel sounds." So, really, even in Gaelic, Maeve only has one pronunciation. May-V. It's English phonetics that have given it the stunted Mayv and the spelling Maeve (since the original was something like Meadhbh), without the sharp V at the end. Both are correct, since one is used in English speaking countries and the other in its Native Ireland and Scotland.

But it's still phonetically impossible (whether you consider English or Gaelic standards) for it to be pronounced Mehv. I don't know if someone else said that, too, but that's what I meant with my comment.

macchiatto · October 2010

Ah, I see. Interesting! My point was just that for people who aren't really familiar with Irish names, they may notice that some of them are confusing and the pronunciation really could not be guessed by the average American just from looking at them, so I can understand why people would second-guess themselves about the pronunciation.