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I pronounce most of them with the "air" pronunciation.

This message was edited 8/12/2019, 3:45 PM

Aaron - /ɛər/
Ariana - /ɑ/
Darren - /ɛər/
Mary - /ɛər/
Karen - /ɛər/
Sarah - /ɛər/, Sara has a /a/
Cara/Kara - both /ɛər/ & /ɑ/ - I'd default to the latter.
Tara - both /ɛər/ & /ɑ/
Cary - /ɛər/
Barry - /ɛər/
Carolyn - /ɛər/
Clara - /a/
Gary - /ɛər/

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I think? I was always terrible at IPA.

This message was edited 8/9/2019, 5:26 AM

Aaron - 2
Ariana - 2
Darren - 2
Mary - 3
Karen - 2
Sarah - 2 but Sara would be -1
Cara/Kara - 1
Tara - 1
Cary - 3
Barry - 2
Carolyn - 2
Clara - 1
Gary - 2

1. ar as in car. Called a broad a. IPA symbol /ɑ/.
Ariana

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2. Short A, as in cat. IPA symbol /æ/
Aaron
Darren
Karen
Sarah
Cara
Tara
Barry
Carolyn
Clara
Gary

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3. "air" sound. Like in the word air. /ɛər/
Mary
Cary

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New England, US

All 3 except sometimes 1 for Ariana.

Names:
Aaron
Ariana
Darren
Mary
Karen
Sarah
Cara/Kara
Tara
Cary
Barry
Carolyn
Clara
Gary

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1. Ariana, Clara, *sometimes* Cara or Tara (I know people who pronounce them that way...plus my name is Mara pronounced this way)
2. none
3. Aaron, Darren, Mary, Karen, Saran, Cara/Kara, Tara, Cary, Barry, Carolyn, Gary

(I might mix up 1, 2, and 3 so I'm going to label the names with car, cat, or air)

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Aaron - air
Ariana - car
Darren - air
Mary - air
Karen - air
Sarah - air (but Sara can be air or car)
Cara/Kara - car or air
Tara - car or air
Cary - air
Barry - air
Carolyn - air
Clara - car or air
Gary - air

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In my accent, it's impossible to say the A from "cat" with an "r" after it. I tried to say "cat" with an r instead of a t and I can't do it! It's like... ca-err, ca-urr, or else "ca..." like the way you'd say car in an exaggerated Boston(?) accent

There is no universal correct pronunciation. Depends on where you from on and your preferences.

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I would say

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/ɑ/ as in car:

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Aaron (don't like it pronounced like Erin)
Cara
Kara
Sarah and Clara if outside English-speaking countries
Tara
Ariana

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/æ/ as in cat:

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Carolyn
Mary
Darren
Karen

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/ɛər/ as in air:

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Sarah and Clara (in English)
Cary
Gary
Barry

As a blanket rule, all -ara names (no H) I say like car, and I loath them said with the ‘air’ sound.

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Aaron- 2
Ariana- 2
Darren- 2
Mary- 3
Karen- 2
Sarah- 3
Cara/Kara- 1
Tara- 1
Cary- 3
Barry- 2
Carolyn- 2
Clara- 1
Gary- 2

I would say the third "air" sound.

3. Aaron
1. Ariana
3. Darren
3. Mary
3. Karen
3. Sarah
3. Cara/Kara
1 or 3. Tara
3. Cary
3. Barry
3. Carolyn
3. Clara
3. Gary

This message was edited 8/8/2019, 7:57 AM

Aaron - 3
Ariana - 1
Darren - 3
Mary - 3
Karen - 3
Sarah - 3
Cara/Kara - 3
Tara - 3
Cary - 3
Barry - 3
Carolyn - 3
Clara -3
Gary - 3

This sounds almost like a Mary–marry–merry merger question! I'm from Southeastern Pennsylvania.

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1. Car category (/ɑ/)
Ariana (but would be hesitant to assume that I was pronouncing correctly for a particular person)

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2. Marry category (/æ/)
Karen
Cara/Kara
Tara
Barry
Clara

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3. Mary category (/eɪ/)
Mary
Cary

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Variable Category
Aaron (Marry, or Mary if that's the way they pronounce their name_
Ariana (Car, or any other)
Darren (Marry, or Mary)
Sarah (Mary, or Marry)
Carolyn (Marry, or Mary)
Gary (Marry, or Mary)

Names:
Aaron - 3
Ariana - 1
Darren - 2 or 3
Mary - 3
Karen - 2
Sarah - 3
Cara/Kara - 2 (This is my middle name)
Tara - 2
Cary - 3
Barry - 2 or 3
Carolyn - 2
Clara - 2
Gary - 2

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As mentioned, my middle name is Cara. I've found that my pronunciation (a as in cat) is extremely difficult for people to pronounce. I think the "a as in cat but when there's an r" phoneme itself must be regional. The only people I've known to pronounce it correctly are either from the same NY/NJ area that my family is from, or from Ireland (note: this has not been an exhaustive study :P ). The "air" pronunciation is by far the most common and I've given up on trying to correct people. Actually, I'd be curious to know how the way people pronounce these names corresponds to whether or not they experience the Mary/marry/merry merger.

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ETA: It might be interesting so see how it all varies by place so I'll add that I'm from Florida but more than likely pronounce these more akin to my NY roots

This message was edited 8/8/2019, 3:43 AM

I'm from the south of England, for reference.

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Names:
Aaron - 3
Ariana - 1
Darren - 2
Mary - 3
Karen _ 2
Sarah - 3
Cara/Kara - 1
Tara - 1
Cary - 3
Barry - 2
Carolyn - 2
Clara - 1
Gary - 2

I'd use the second pronunciation ("a" as in "cat") in all of them, save Mary, which I pronounce with "eh" as in "air".

ar is in car:
Ariana
Cara
Tara
Clara (sometimes air)

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air:
Aaron
Darren
Mary
Karen
Sarah
Kara
Cary
Barry
Carolyn
Gary

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It's a struggle to pronounce "ar" with a short a in my (SoCal) accent, just makes me sound like I'm doing a very poor imitation of an Irish person or something.

This message was edited 8/7/2019, 9:14 PM