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Re: 80s/90s names...
This frequently comes up whenever Erin and/or Aaron are discussed, but it can't be that Erin and Aaron sound exactly alike throughout the US among all Americans, because I say them differently, and so did everyone among whom I grew up.
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I say them exactly the same... though here Erin is relegated to females only and Aaron is for males. We consider it the same name with gendered spellings.
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They are definitely not the same name with gendered spellings. This site says that Erin is an Anglicized form of Eireann, which comes from Gaelic Eire, meaning "Ireland." Aaron is from the Hebrew name Aharon, which is most likely from unknown Egyptian origin, but may have a Hebrew origin.I say Erin so the first syllable sounds just like the word "air", and I say Aaron so the vowel in the first syllable is the same as in the word "cat." I don't deny that some Americans pronounce them the same. Some Americans say Ann so that it sounds just like Ian, but that doesn't mean Ann and Ian are the same name with gendered spellings. I'm saying that pronouncing Erin and Aaron the same is not universal among Americans.
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