Mireya v. Mireille

anna7602 · November 2011

The pronunciation is approximately the same, but one is in Spanish and the other is the traditional French spelling. I'm worried the double L will trip up English-speakers (it's supposed to sound like Meer-aye), but there's something about the Spanish version that makes me think of the unnecessary y-trend I so hate.

Thoughts on one v. the other? Do you equally hate or like both?

shouldbworkin · November 2011

I like Mireille better, but I agree it will be mispronounced as Miri-elle (which I also happen to like).

bread&jam · November 2011

I speak Spanish and would pronounce the name Mireya mee-RAY-yah. So if you are correct about the French pronunciation then these two names are pronounced differently. I prefer the Spanish pronunciation because that is what I'm more familiar with, but I like the way the French version looks. Either way, I think you're going to have to tell people how to say it and spell it.

MarxieVonTrapp · November 2011

I like the name if you're in a Spanish-speaking country or a French-speaking one. I think the child will struggle with pronounciation and spelling for her entire life.

Mata Hari · November 2011

I remember in my HS French class, the girl from the videos was Mirielle. We didn't struggle with the LL, it was the R. The professor got so frustrated with us, she pretended to faint. It's a beautiful name. Just be prepared to have it butchered.

melody921 · November 2011

I prefer Mireille (Mireya makes me think Mirena). But how about Marielle instead? Fewer chances for people to mess it up.

Moneypenny424 · November 2011

bread&jam:
I speak Spanish and would pronounce the name Mireya mee-RAY-yah. So if you are correct about the French pronunciation then these two names are pronounced differently. I prefer the Spanish pronunciation because that is what I'm more familiar with, but I like the way the French version looks. Either way, I think you're going to have to tell people how to say it and spell it.

This. I can see they have a similar base, but are not really pronounced similarly.

I agree with PP that Mireya reminds me of Mirena, so I prefer Mirielle.

anna7602 · November 2011

bread&jam:
I speak Spanish and would pronounce the name Mireya mee-RAY-yah. So if you are correct about the French pronunciation then these two names are pronounced differently.

I know, that's why I said "approximately" the same. I've actually seen it spelled the French way in Spanish-speaking countries and people end up pronouncing the e on the end (which is obviously silent in French), more like an "eh" than an "ah."

Either way, I know the name will have some issues in English, but at this point in my life, I'm not actually sure where future child # 2 will end up living most of his/her days.

CarolynDouglas2012 · November 2011

I love the sound of the name. I do think that people will constanty mispronounce Mireille (Mer-elle is more than likely what they will say at first glance). I did pronounce Mireya the correct way when I first read it. Very pretty.

Dominique1219 · November 2011

Mireille is beautiful! Not a fan of Mireya, because it also reminds me of Mirena, and I agree with you about the "y" in Mireya being reminiscent of the unnecessary "y" trend, which I hate as well. I think I'm becoming discriminatory to any name with a "y" in it.

sunnyfalls · November 2011

I like the French Mireille better. I always thought it was a pretty name, although many won't be able to pronounce it without lots of prompting. Either way, you'll have to correct pronunciation.

ObLaDi · November 2011

I think Mireille is beautiful!

kenldav · November 2011

I have a close friend named Mireille <---spelled this way. Although it does get mispronounced a lot, I think it's a beautiful name.

emikat · November 2011

I like Mireille better. Mireya reminds me of Mirena, the IUD.

brookelynpaisley · November 2011

I have a friend (she's Caucasion, her husband is Mexican) with a daughter named Mireya (Mee--ray-uh). I like that pronunciation. They went with that spelling over Mirella because she didn't want people to mispronounce the double L. I like the spelling and it doesn't ever strike me as a superfluous 'y.' I honestly wouldn't have known that Mireille is pronounced the same way.

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