Comments (Pronunciation Only)

To my fellow Darias, I think the name sounds the best with a slavic pronunciation. Dar (-da like in "dad" and a strong, rolled "r") being the "dominant" part, followed by a short and quick -ja (said like "ya"). Some English speakers say it sounds like "diarrhea" but it's a stretch. Daria has 2 syllables, the other word has 4. The name also has nice meanings like "sea" or "queen". Plus in Polish "dar" means "a gift" and "ja" (sounds the same as "ia") means "I".
I regrettably changed this beautiful name as a teenager, because in English, the beauty from its meaning the sea is not apparent and it is also NOT pronounced the way English speakers intuit it. The pronunciation uses sounds/sound pairings completely unfamiliar to the English language, so it is difficult to convey as well as to say.Some notes on the actual pronunciation
1) There is no long "e" sound in the middle, like in Maria. At all. It's more like Dar-Ya. That's it. Just two syllables, as in Darla.
2) The first A in "Dar" is a short vowel, NOT a long vowel (so, not like Darla :)). It is not like the "a" in "Bar," but like the "a" in "Dad" or "Map"! There's a very aaaaaaahhhh sound (like yelling aah, but more like the melodic, sensuous sigh of relief when stretching!)
3) The "R" sound in Farsi/Persian is slightly rolled, but more importantly, in the back of the throat. When English speakers try to pronounce my name correctly with the correct A it sounds more like "Dehr-ia." Dehr like the first part of "Merry."
2) The "Ya" is staccato.You can listen to singer Googoosh say it in the old song, "Dokhtare Darya," meaning "Girl of the Sea," ie. Mermaid. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qei4yUxjvtAThat said, having grown up being called Daria like on the MTV show by the name, I do now have a soft spot for the English pronunciation as well! I think it sounds bold, earnest and daring. I've had friends that prefer to call me by my Persian name, not the name I have now, due to its originality!
The set Italian pronunciation is "DAHR-Yah"-- incorrectly. While yes, I understand that to a large collection of ears it may sound as so... But I assure you that there is no slurring of "Ria" (REE-Ah) to "Ryah." Dah-REE-AhThe "A" in "Da" is spoken as "Father." Roll your "R." Next, stress your "I" to "EE." And as previously stated, "A" is as in "Father."
It is pronounced in Romanian the same as it is in Italian and Polish. [noted -ed]

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