Leaf is not as bad as Peaches or Pebbles. Not nearly!
It's about as bad as
Flower.
I pronounce
Liv like the second syllable in
Olivia, and I like it.
I have to try hard to say
Liv as "leaf" so for that reason I don't feel like I like it, but it's fine.
That pronunciation of
Joaquin, btw, is how I learned to say
San Joaquin Valley when I grew up in California. It's pretty normal there, I think, at least among people whose first language is English.
- mirfak