Raiden

The given pronunciation for this name is incorrect. It is pronounced as "RIE-DEN". "RIE" should rhyme with the word "tie". Please fix this, thank you!

I grew up with a boy whose last name is RAIDEN and his family pronounced it as RAY-den. The way you pronounce it depends on your native language and no one is more right than anyone else. Anyway, the kid and his family were nice so I like the name and always thought it would make a nice first name for a boy.

This name was introduced into the American first name stock by the character in the video game Mortal Kombat in 1992. While it is quite true that the name is pronounced closer to "RY-DEN" or "RAH-EE-DEN" in Japanese, the pronunciation "Ray-den" was used in the video game and in the 1995 film that was created from it. (In the film the character's name was spelled Rayden.)

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I don't know why the pronunciation of the name was changed in the English language version. It could have been just a mistake, or it could have been a deliberate attempt to make it easier for Americans to pronounce. But it does seem to have established "RAY-den" as the normal pronunciation of this name in English.

The Japanese pronunciation is rah-ee-den, but the ra-ee flows so it sounds more like RIE-den. Try and flick the 'r' so it sounds more like an 'l'.

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The RAY-den pronunciation is probably an Aidan/Cadan/Hayden/Brayden/Zayden thing.
Which I'm not against, by the way, but I don't like it when two names clash, like the name(s) Ciara.

I know someone called Raiden, and it is just pronounced RAY-den, as if it is part of the Aidan, Brayden, Hayden etc group.

To reiterate: this name does NOT rhyme with Aidan, Jaden, Braden, Hayden, Kaden, etc. It is pronounced RY-den, though technically, a Japanese person would stress both syllables equally. Because so many English speakers are liable to mispronounce this name, perhaps you should spell it "Ryden" if it is your child's.

Raiden does not sound like "raiding". It is pronounced RIE-den (the first syllable rhymes with "eye").

Actually, I've just read that in Japanese, emphasis is usually placed equally on each syllable. So the pronunciation is RIE-DEN, with equal stress.