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[Facts] Devani? (prn. deh-VOHN-ee or daeh-VAHN-nee)
I met a girl from India with the name Devani. I had never heard it before, nor have I heard it since. Her mother called her daeh-VAHN-ee or deh-VOHN-ee. I have no clue how it was spelled. Can anyone help me with this name?Thanks

"Promise me, when you see,
A white rose you'll think of me.
I love you so,
Never let go.
I will be...your ghost of a rose."

-From Blackmore's Night's "Ghost of a Rose"
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I am guessing, but if it is Indian and derived from Sanskrit, it is probably the feminine in some modern Indian language like Marathi of the Sanskrit word deva. The standard Sanskrit feminine is devI (see http://www.behindthename.com/bb/arcview.php?id=214001&board=gen), but -AnI as the feminine ending is quite common in some languages. In that case, the pronunciation would be devAnI, with the dental d (as in English the, with slightly less breath), a long e (as in English cake), a labiodental v (somewhere between English w and v, far less aspirated than v), long open A (as in English car), a dental n (as in English no), and a long I (as in English heat). Most of the modern Indian languages are unstressed.
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To me it looks like DEV-ah-nee, like Stephanie. But I know a woman of Indian descent named Anjali and she pronounces it ahn-JAH-lee, the way you wrote Devani above. To me it always looks like AHN-jah-lee, which I think sounds prettier as well. Don't know if that helps or not...
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