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I've never heard Irene to have three syllables, sorry. I only know it as ie-REEN.

I am in Western Canada and I've only ever heard eye-REEN.

I am in Western Canada and I've only ever heard eye-REEN.

I pronounce it eye-REEN (not a native English speaker though) and the two women named Irene I've met (one Canadian and one British) also pronounced it this way.

Irene has two syllables for me, always has. I'm English-speaking Canadian.

I've only ever come across that pronunciation on Greek Irinis. All the UK Irenes I have known have been EYE reen, including two relatives, one of whom was born around 1900. So if it was used here, it was probably further back than that.
I like it a lot, however it's pronounced.

I'm an American, so I'm firmly in the ie-REEN camp. I like Irene. It is pretty, but sturdy, and feminine without frill.

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I do like the 3-syllable pronunciations of Irene too, but I'd have to go with a spelling variant to make one of them work here.

I only knew of I-reen until I saw a movie with an I-reen-y.

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I don't care for the name at all. I guess I like three syllables slightly more because it reminds me less of a redneck aunt.

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(I'm American if "redneck" didn't tip ya off (= )

This message was edited 7/30/2014, 8:38 AM

Well, My family resides primarily in Italy, so the pronunciation I prefer is ee-ray-neh.

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However, I grew up with an American stepmother and American relatives who say i-reen... and I usually assume that is the pronunciation people want.

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I have heard of i-reen-ee, spelled Irini, and I adore that name. But I would only pronounce it that way if it was actually spelled Irini.

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I don't much care for Irena, but that is personal style. And I pronounce that as ee-ray-nah. The difference between this and Irene is quite subtle.

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Hope that helps.

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*note, no firm preference for Irene since I currently live in the States. But a similar name, Elena... I firmly pronounce elle-eh-nah, and do not like ee-lay-na (which is Elaina to me).*

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I am American, and I pronounce it eye-reen.

My default pronunciation is ie-REEN. I had a coworker in a different office whose name was Irene and in emailing with her I always assumed it was ie-REEN. Once I talked to her on the phone I found out it was ih-RAIN-uh. I had never heard that before so I was surprised. I believe she may have been British (I'm American) but I'm not sure.

My step-grandfather's mother was named Irene, we pronounced it IE-reen with the emphasis on the first syllable. That's the way I've most often heard it in the UK.

My aunt has gone by the German pronunciation of Irene, which is ee-RAIN-e. The last syllable is like the soft i in it.

Well, I'm American, not British or Australian. I have an aunt-by-marriage named Irene and it's pronounced with two syllables. But this you would know, as we're American. I never knew that anyone anywhere pronounced it with three syllables, ashamed as I am to admit my ignorance, but I think this would be true of many Americans. When I was younger, my aunt's name just seemed like a typical "old lady" name to me, but lately the two-syllable version has grown on me. I have to say I think it sounds ridiculous pronounced with three syllables.

The three syllable form is used in Mexico. I had a mom a couple of years ago named Irene, pronounced ee RAY nay. But as a native English speaker from the US, my default is Irene, as in the song Good Night, Irene.

My grandmother is Irene, we say IE-reen, not ie-REEN. :)

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We're in Australia, but she was born and grew up in the UK.

In Dutch, Irene is pronounced ee-RAY-nuh, so yes, we still have three syllables. Though I am more inclined to say ie-REEN when I see the name. I think in English a lot of the time, instead of my native Dutch.

This message was edited 7/30/2014, 2:35 AM