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DAN-ay? da-NAY-ee? In English, and DA-NA-EH or DAN-EH in Latin, I guess.

I'm under the impression it's DAN-eye.
Maybe DAHN-eye.
Maybe DAHN-ay.
Danaë is basically the same - DAN-a-ee said quickly comes out DAN-eye.

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I'd expect many people to pronounce it to rhyme Renee, though. Like Janae.

This message was edited 5/18/2021, 11:35 AM

I'd say it as Da-nay

Dan ay

I'd pronounce both of them DAH naa ee. But I'd be amazed to meet a living example who used that pronunciation rather than, probably, duhNAY.

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In classical Latin, -ae makes an ie sound; but literate Romans all knew enough Greek so they didn't need to use diacritics.

The Latin pronunciation of Danae / Danaë is DA-NIE, with almost equal emphasis on both syllables. This is the pronunciation used for Perseus' mother in Clash of the Titans (1981), and what you'll likely hear in academia while studying Greek Mythology or ancient western theater.

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The Greek pronunciation (reflected in the dieresis) is DA-NA-EE, which sometimes still becomes DA-NIE depending on the speaker's accent.

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Including the dieresis is usually a good indicator that the name refers to the mythological character. Otherwise, it would likely be interpreted as də-NAY and grouped with other trendy -ae names (Renae, Desirae, etc.). This is actually why I like the modern Greek form Danai: I think it removes confusion regarding the pronunciation (and the Anglophone world tends not to like accent marks in names).

If I saw Danae, I would rhyme it with Renee. But with the umlaut, I would intuitively split the ending syllable.

I've met a few Danae's and they've all pronounced it to rhyme with Renee (dah-NAY) so that would be my first thought, even though I know its supposed to be de-nay-ee. I think most people who aren't name nerds would think the former.

I know a few Danaes. They all pronounce it "duh-NAY". From my understanding Danaë should be something like "da-na-ee" or maybe "dah-NAI" if you smoosh it together

Dah-NA-eh for both, especially Danaё.
Warning: I'm not an anglophone!

Hi !!!

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The pronounciation of Danaë and Danae is immediate to me.

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I didn't study Latin except for few lessons at the middle school (11-12 years old / 13-14 years old).

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However my native language is useful as the name Danae is (rarely) used here as well.

I would only use Danaë and it's pronounced dah-nah-eh. Danai (dah-nah-ee) is the modern form I believe (former ancient Greek, latter modern Greek). I hope I got it right. I didn't look but I know this name because it used to be a favorite.

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I think in English speaking countries it will 100% become dah-NAY. I actually know three people with Danae (dah-NAY) as their middle name. One born in the 70s and two in the 90s. One of the ones born in the 90s was named after the one born in the 70s (aunt).

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It is nice but hardly anyone will appreciate its background, they will just think of it as a trendy form of Dana or Danielle.

My inclination would be to rhyme it with Renee.