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[Opinions] Kiera or Brenna?
Which name do you like best? And which spelling of Kiera is your favorite? I am pronouncing it Keer-uh.Kiera
Keira
Keara
Ciara (authentic Irish spelling)
Kyra
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I much prefer Kiera to Brenna. I think Brenna sounds odd to be honest and just a bit too short and sharp. Keira is my fave version of the name.
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Kiera is my fave spelling of that one. I like Brenna over Kiera actually.
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I like Brenna more. Keira strikes me as flighty and insubstantial.
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Well, I like Kiera, but if you're pronouncing it that way... I guess I like Brenna. I usually pronounce Kiera as "kee-YAWR-a" and I prefer the speling "Ciara". The main character in the novel I am writing is named "Ciara". :)
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I like Keira spelled Keira. Why?Ciara ppl in the US will say as see-air-ah like Sierra(even though it's really my fave spelling it's been ruined)-Kyra isn't very pretty looking and also may be prn as KIE-rahKeara is OK, I just like Keira's look moreKiera looks more like it's said KIE-rah compared to Keira
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I like Keira spelled Keira. Why?Ciara ppl in the US will say as see-air-ah or kee-are-ah (even though it's really my fave)- same issues with the prn of KearaKyra isn't very pretty looking and also may be prn as KIE-rahKiera looks more like KIE-rah compared to Keira which looks like KEER-ah
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Brenna =]I love Brenna!my favorite spelling is Kiera or Kira
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Brenna (only because what has been done to Ciara makes me want to cry)Ciara
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nt
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Brenna always makes me think of the surname Brennan with the "n" dropped off of it. So it doesn't strike me as very feminine or attractive.I much prefer "KEER-uh." Forgive me while I go into my namenerd-y snit about spellings. My prefered spelling is Ciara, it's the most authentic, as you point out. But I understand that it is not very user-friendly outside of Ireland. So the Anglicized spelling of Kiera is fine to me. I rather like it.But there I draw the line. The Keira spelling bugs me. In Irish the letters "ci-" are pronounced "kee-." Thus, Ciara is really "KEE-uh-ruh," but when spoken at a normal rate is gets smooshed into two syllables and you are left with "KEER-uh." So why do I get bugged out at the Keira spelling? Aren't they the same thing? No. If I were to pronounce Keira in Irish it would sound more like "KEH-ee-ruh" or "keh-EE-ruh" or "KEHR-uh." Keara would sound like, "KEH-ahr-uh" or "keh-AHR-uh" or "KEHR-uh." I know this sounds like nit-picking, but I spent too many years getting my degree in linguistics and studying transliteration to let this pass on my watch. There is a Russian name of Kira ("KEER-uh") that I like as well. [It has the same pronunciation as Ciara / Kiera, but a different origin.] The masculine form is Kiril ("keer-EEL") which is the Russian form of Cyril. Kyra is lovely, but I would pronounce it as "KIE-ruh," using it as the feminine form of Cyrus. Thanks for getting this far and letting me rant.

This message was edited 1/4/2011, 12:56 PM

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Wait. You have a degree in linguistics? Be still my heart! I've considered going back to school to study the same just because I love words, languages, names and surnames. No practical reason at all. ;-)

This message was edited 1/3/2011, 8:22 PM

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Well, they call it a degree in linguistics. I really have a degree in Russian language, but I had to take a lot of linguistics classes along the way. And it was from "the __________ School of Languages and Linguistics." So I think that counts. You should, you should! I signed up for adult education classes in Italian at my local community college. It was a blast, except I sounded very Russian when I spoke Italian. (lol) Go for it.Or if you don't have classes locally, there's a great set of lectures by Prof. Seth Lerer called "The History of the English Language." You can get it on amazon on CD or DVD. I love to listen to it while driving long distance. It's all about English from Anglo-Saxon times up to the present, but there's a beginning few lectures on pure linguistics that you might like. Etymological catnip.
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I'll just ditto you whole post on pronounciating Kiera, which is why I prefer Kira. All the other variations I pronounce like you described and not like KEER-uh.
And if you're annoyed, try to imagine how my poor Slavic phonetic-language brain is feeling when English speakers spell names in 20 different ways and still claim that the pronunciation is the same.
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Definitely Keira. I would say Kyra- KY-ruh.I prefer Keira to Brenna.
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