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I've heard Ethne pronounced eth-NAY, and that is how I would have pronounced this. I think of the The Four Feathers character...

In the South of Ireland (where my mother is from, County Cork) it's pronounced "ET-nuh," with a "t" sound, not a "d." That might help with the heavy, male "Ed" association. I always liked that pronunciation best, "ET-nuh." Other parts of Ireland (and possibly Scotland) pronounce it differently, "EN-yuh" or "ETH-nuh." I singer Enya has a modern spelling of the same name.

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I agree that, visually, Eithne is very fetching / alluring. I love it.

This message was edited 12/26/2012, 2:38 PM

Mostly it is said Eth-na. I dislike it - my ex-boss had a ghastly mother called Eithne and it has soured me against the name. I like the meaning though. I think it is pretty dated in Ireland.

I like it though I've only ever heard it pronounced EN-ya, which I much prefer to ED-na