Deirdre

Hold on, the D is treated as broad? But it's got an e following it. It should be slender. Shouldn't the name be pronounced Jeer-druh or Jehr-druh?

Prime meridian YOU do not even KNOW how to pronounce this BEAUTIFUL name, hence THE problem. Anyone who doesn't think Deer dra is the most beautiful, musical and lyrical of names has a REALLY bad aesthetic like most Americans. And the British mutilate this most beautiful Irish name pronounced Deer-dra. IT IS NOT Deirdree, that is the poor British version and it is horrible. Why can't they get anything right with names?
Ugly, plain, unmusical, non- lyrical names: Ashley, Britney, Cody, Taylor, Dylan, Madison, Addison (a disease), Dakota, Rhapsody, (rolls eyes) Destiny, Rose, Lily, Krystal (please, really?), Khloe, Mackenzie, Maggie, Mckaela (WORST) Chloe (ew!) Zoe, YIKES! YUCK! And all the other ridiculous made up names with no beautiful sound like Deer-dra.
Deerdra- it is so musical it sounds like a doe, like a beautiful girl with the most beautiful eyes. I went to school with a girl and she had the most beautiful dark eyes; beautiful and ethereally mysterious like a doe's eyes. And she turned out to be SO beautiful just like the fable but she is happy.

My mother pronounced my name Dear-dray. (Dray, like tray). She spelled it with the mark after the final “e”. I’ve not heard it pronounced this way anywhere else but it is still how I prefer it be said. I see from earlier posts my mother had combined Irish with Afrikaans... and I love that.

I am half Scottish and half Irish. In Scotland (Deirdre is how it is spelt), the name sounds very soft, we pronounce it daredray, which sounds lovely. When I moved to England, they pronounced it Deedree, which I didn't like at all. It was considered old fashioned there, an old ladies name. But it remains popular in Scotland with no old fashioned stigma attached. DAREDRAY. I shortened my name to Dee in England as I hate the pronunciation here.

My name is Deirdre... I've always liked the name because it was very unusual in my neighborhood growing up. I pronounce it DEERDRA, although I've heard many derivatives I don't particularly like. (Dandra, Deerdree, Deedree) My father was born in Limerick and I enjoy having the name of a popular mythological, though tragic, Celtic figure to distinguish my heritage.

Both of my parents are from Dublin. They pronounce my name Derdrah. Here in the U.S. it is usually mutilated beyond recognition but I, and all the other Deirdres I grew up with pronounce it Deerdrah. In any case, if it's not your name and you have grown up hearing others make it impossible to understand, don't comment.

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It's bad enough having to hear it torn to pieces by people I come in contact with, having it mutilated and torn apart on a screen is really annoying!

I have read most of the comments about the pronunciation of my name Deirdre. In my language (Afrikaans) my name is spelt Deirdré and pronounced Dea-dray (almost starting as if you would say Dear without saying the "r"... that's the first part and then second part like saying tray but with a D... And that's the only way I have heard it in all Afrikaans Deirdré's names.

My name is Deirdre and I'm from Ireland - the home of this name. Here it is pronounced DEER-dra. If there is a fada on the first e (Déirdre) it is pronounced DARE-dra. The only time I've heard it pronounced DEER-dree is when referring to your one off Coronation Street and my English next door neighbour so I assume that's some English variant. I have never heard an Irish person pronounce it that way. It is a pretty popular name here and there's a lot of girls my age with that name. In fact I have three friends also called Deirdre. Three of us pronounce it DEER-dra and one DARE-dra. I love my name - much more character and history than the Jordans/Ashleighs/Chloes/Chardonnays of today!

Most folks of Irish descent around here (New England, USA) prounounce it Dare-dra. People usually tell me they love the name - I do if it is pronounced correctly :-). Family in Ireland pronounce it Deerdree, but I prefer Dare-dra. Some people tell me it is French or German! The common nickname for Deirdre is Didi or Deedee, but I left that behind long ago. Enjoy your name however you want to pronounce it!

My father, who was born and raised in Tipperary, pronounces it Deerdree but he is very much in the minority in Ireland. That's actually one of the reasons why I'm not called it (at least, according to my mother)

Deer-dree in my experience is the anglicised pronunciation. It is most definitely not meant to be pronounced Deer-dree and nothing annoys me more. Deer-dra is how I usually hear it pronounced.

I've only heard it pronounced DEER-dree.
For some reason I have always a fondness for this name. I just really really like it.

Well, I've only heard it pronounced 'Deer-dree.' Ah well, they all sound awful.

To start with, the name Deirdre can be pronounced in different ways, it can be DEER-dra or De-a-dra or how ever you pronounce it, it all depends on the person who has the name, and also Deirdre means "sorrowful" not anything else.

The original pronunciation would be closer to "DER-dra", which I prefer; "DEER-dree", "DEED-ra", and "DEER-dra" throws it away.

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Seeing that on slender vowels ("e" and "i"), the "d" takes on the sound of the English "j" (in Scots Gaelic and in some Irish dialects), it could even be pronouned "JER-jra" or thereabouts.

I've NEVER heard it to be pronounced "DEER-dree" (makes me think of one of a Christmas elf or stereotypical dwarf), always "DER-dre" (which I personally prefer) or "DEER-dre". I also have always thought the name itself to mean "sorrows", or "lady of sorrows." Regardless, it's one of my favorite names, and a beautiful sounding one as well (as long as it isn't "DEER-dree").

Pronounced DE-a-Dra.

It's pronounced "DEER-dra" and is a word for "woman" or "sorrow", from Irish mythology.