Johanna
So I've been thinking about this name a bit recently, as it is appealing to me a lot as of late. I'd love opinions on it though, whether you like it or not. My biggest question is how do you personally pronounce it? Do you say Jo-anna, Yo-anna, Yo-hannah or Jo-hannah? Also, what are some combos you like with this name? Thanks in advance.
Sarah -
Wife to DH Paul (Since July 4th 2009)
Mama to:
Jasper Emmanuel (Since August 6th 2010)
Jethro Zion (Since August 13th 2014)
Sarah -
Wife to DH Paul (Since July 4th 2009)
Mama to:
Jasper Emmanuel (Since August 6th 2010)
Jethro Zion (Since August 13th 2014)
Replies
Johanna is nice; As an American English-speaker, I'm never sure how it's meant to be pronounced. I would not intuit Jo-anna from this spelling; that's Joanna for me and I happen to love that form best. With your spelling, here in America, I'd intuit that the parents meant for the "h" to be pronounced. Is the first "a" meant to rhyme with "fan" or "fawn"? I recognize Johanna as a foreign name (yo-HAH-nah)("fawn"), but most non-namenerd English-speakers are familiar with Hannah rhyming with "fan" here, so that would be my first guess. I would not expect most English-speakers to pronounce "J" as "yo". So, here, I would guess jo-han-nah first ("fan"), jo-hah-nah ("fawn") second, the latter sounding better to me.
No idea what's more likely to be said in Australia.
No idea what's more likely to be said in Australia.
This message was edited 11/11/2015, 11:49 AM
I like it, though I prefer Joanna. I pronounce Johanna as "yo-AH-na."
My instinct is to pronounce Johanna as I would Joanna: joh-AN-uh. I prefer the look of Johanna to Joanna, though people would probably pronounce it joh-HAN-uh, or think she's Jo Hannah, or something. The German / Scandinavian pronunciation yoh-HAHN-ah is lovely, but not intuitive for me as an English speaker.
I didn't use to like it. I thought it was boring, since it's very popular here. It's grown on me though since I have an amazing co-worker named Johanna. So now I like it, quite a lot actually. I pronounce it jo-hanna.
I think it's really sweet and pretty, but has backbone. I'd pronounce it Jo-hanna initially. Both Johannas I know say it that way, but one has always had trouble with people thinking it's pronounced Yo-HAH-na.
Jo-Anna. And sorry but I find it super boring.
This is my middle name. When I was younger, I thought that Johanna is the most boring name ever (Johanna is super common name here in Finland). Now I've started to like it, mainly because Johanna has a history in my family (it's also my mother's and her mother's middle name).
I pronounce Johanna in a Finnish/Scandinavian way, that is YOH-hahn-nah. The English pronunciations sound too much like "Joe-Hannah" or "Yo, Hannah!".
Here are some combos with Johanna from my archives:
Johanna Francisca Beata
Johanna Fredrika
Johanna Josefina
Johanna Karolina
Johanna Lovisa Mariana
Johanna Maria
Agata Johanna
Alma Johanna
Anna Johanna
Carita Johanna
Elina Johanna
Elsa Johanna
Gertrud Johanna
Hilma Ellen Johanna
Iris Johanna
Madeleine Maria Johanna
Maria Johanna
Naema Johanna Charlotta
Rosanne Johanna
Sofia Johanna Leona
I pronounce Johanna in a Finnish/Scandinavian way, that is YOH-hahn-nah. The English pronunciations sound too much like "Joe-Hannah" or "Yo, Hannah!".
Here are some combos with Johanna from my archives:
Johanna Francisca Beata
Johanna Fredrika
Johanna Josefina
Johanna Karolina
Johanna Lovisa Mariana
Johanna Maria
Agata Johanna
Alma Johanna
Anna Johanna
Carita Johanna
Elina Johanna
Elsa Johanna
Gertrud Johanna
Hilma Ellen Johanna
Iris Johanna
Madeleine Maria Johanna
Maria Johanna
Naema Johanna Charlotta
Rosanne Johanna
Sofia Johanna Leona
I adore Johanna, neither my partner or I are the least bit German so I think it'd be a bit odd to use, but it's gorgeous and I love seeing it on other peoples kids.
I say yo-HAHN-ah
I say yo-HAHN-ah
I like Joanna a lot. Where I live, Johanna is very grandmotherly at best; at worst, bottom of socioeconomic barrel. And it's closest to Yo-hunna.
I like Joanna pretty well. Johanna is nms but not bad, pretty, but a little stern and stilted-seeming to me. I would naturally say jo-HAHN-na, but I'd ask before attempting it if I could.
Joanna is okay, nothing special. Johanna on the other hand, I don't like. It's not big here in Australia at all and I just don't like the extra sound in it, it's too forced. Sorry.
I instinctively say yo-HAHN-uh because that's the way I first heard it. In English, I don't like it quite as much because I'm not wild about Hannah. Overall, I think I prefer Joanna.
Combos:
Johanna Caroline
Johanna Charlotte
Johanna Christine
Johanna Chloe
Johanna Claire
Johanna Frances
Johanna Katherine
Johanna Laurel
Johanna Louisa / Louise
Johanna Lucy
Johanna Marielle
Johanna Marigold
Johanna Meredith
Johanna Pauline
Johanna Penelope
Johanna Rosalie
Johanna Rosemary
Johanna Sophia
Johanna Veronica
Johanna Willow
Johanna Winter
Johanna Zoe
Combos:
Johanna Caroline
Johanna Charlotte
Johanna Christine
Johanna Chloe
Johanna Claire
Johanna Frances
Johanna Katherine
Johanna Laurel
Johanna Louisa / Louise
Johanna Lucy
Johanna Marielle
Johanna Marigold
Johanna Meredith
Johanna Pauline
Johanna Penelope
Johanna Rosalie
Johanna Rosemary
Johanna Sophia
Johanna Veronica
Johanna Willow
Johanna Winter
Johanna Zoe
I'd probably ask first, since I pronounce...
Joanna as jo-ANN-ah.
Johan as YO-hahn.
Hanna as HAHN-nah.
My best guess for Johanna would be jo-HAHN-nah.
It's alright. I don't have a strong opinion about it either way.
I'd pair it with a two or three syllable middle name that doesn't end in 'a'.
Joanna as jo-ANN-ah.
Johan as YO-hahn.
Hanna as HAHN-nah.
My best guess for Johanna would be jo-HAHN-nah.
It's alright. I don't have a strong opinion about it either way.
I'd pair it with a two or three syllable middle name that doesn't end in 'a'.
This message was edited 11/10/2015, 6:04 PM