Siân

My name is Sian and I'm from northern England, now in Canada. My mum also has a Welsh name and chose this one for her first daughter (me!) I can't count the amount of times she argued with Canadians about how to pronounce my name.

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How the boy's name is "Shohn" and my name "Shahn" but people almost never got it lol

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Most people butcher my name and some don't even try. At Starbucks my drink got called out followed by "For...A Special Person?" I also get people asking if my name is Irish all the time. I also had a woman with the same spelling come in and I was so happy until she said in a very Canadian accent that her name was Sharn with a hard R. I know some people add a small r in there but this was a lot lol. I've only met one other woman who had the same spelling and pronunciation and we high fived. Was a good day.

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Love my name even with the teasing. Plan to carry the odd name tradition and have a girl named Saoirse.

My name is Sian -- in my case, pronounced "Shee•in with a natural "y" joining the syllables, like Ian; "Shhh, Ian!" is how I help people know what I mean -- American-Irish by blood, and my understanding is that it meant, "maiden/girl." My grandmother fell in love with the name when she visited Ireland, gathering our heritage information, and this was the consensus and pronunciation in Kerry, where part of my family immigrated from (others from a tiny, Gaelic-speaking, non-Catholic island off the coast). Dialect differences, perhaps?

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My mom was also a fan of Sian Phillips. ;)

We named our daughter Sian (see-ann). She is Chinese Australian. Sian is a Chinese name here with Si with meaning think and An peace/familarity. We like that it is also an Anglo name as she lives in this mainly Anglo country.
It's true the name might be mispronounced but as some mentioned it's a perfect conversation ice breaker.

My name is Sian without a little roof. I am American. I always pronounced it Sean. I hate being called Shawna, hate even more being called sigh-ann. I learned to answer to all of them though. I actually don't get called Shane a lot. My economics professor used to call me Shane which confused me because there actually was a guy named Shane in the class who she called Sian. Lol.

I am a proud Siân complete with circumflex. It is Jane in English but I think it is much prettier as it is. It is pronounced SHARN and means God's Gift.

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It does tend to drive me to distraction when I'm called variants such as Shaun, Si-ann or Cee-ann or 100 other ways people struggle to pronounce it without doing the most straight forward thing and, erm, ask!

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The other thing that does upset me is when I'm labelled as a man. Now that does annoy me, but otherwise I'm a happy bunny as it is now becoming more popular and well known.

Hi, I am a Siân living in Canada too!
My mom is Welsh, and I do officially have the hat above the A, but I haven't always used it. I suppose it has felt pretentious to me at times, but now reading this thread I think that is silly of me to look at it that way and I will write my circumflex with pride! ;)
I was travelling in Europe when I was younger and met a Welsh boy who admonished me for pronouncing my own name wrong - this was actually my first realization that Sean and Siân were pronounced differently. Without a British accent, it felt strange to pronounce Siân the way it "should" be pronounced. I was saying it like Shawn, and saying it like Shahn or Sharn (light on the R) felt like I was "putting on" a British accent. I don't worry about it too much and I don't mind people saying my name wrong or having to explain/correct them. I actually find it a fun talking point/ice breaker :) My name bothered me when I was little because it was so different, but now I love it :)

I personally hate the name Sian. It is my name, and it means princess of light. It is very short and snappy. In Welsh it means Jane, in Wales it is nearly the same, you just spell it with a hat on the a. And I think that's about it. X Sian X.

This name Siân is amazing but the problem is that not a lot of people know how to spell it or say it. I get called Sain or Sean in class, but after a few years of it you get used to it. Most people say if their name is Siân that they can't find their name on key rings. I was so happy when I went to Wales thinking that I would find my name, and I did! So if you can't find your name, you will.

HI all, my name sianne, its spelt different to the welsh way and people really get confused with is and I get called allsorts, it's not recognized anywhere. I sometimes get called si-anne or sean. Its spelt different as my mother didn't like the original way of spelling Sian. When I was younger I really wanted to change my name to a more common name, but now I have learnt to like it.
I agree I have to tell people how to say my name and how it is spelled which I feel rather rude, I was very upset as a child when everyone else had pens or key rings with their name on and I couldn't find anything. But I like the idea that it means princess of the light.

You pronounce it like Sharn but don't over do the r. Also use the circumflex (â) (this isn't compulsory but I'd use it in wales unless you want to be called sighanne) also if you're thinking of naming your child sián they will have to put up with telling everyone the spelling and pronunciation most of their life. Most shops are completely oblivious to the name siân unless you're in Wales so they won't have it on a keyring or anything of the sort unless you get it personally made. On the other hand I find having a name like this is quite unusual and different. it's rather exciting to be called Sian it also means "the princess of light" in welsh -Sian.

I was born in England by English parents but came to the USA when I was 12 my entire life my name has been mis-pronounced for over 50 years. Had I grown up in England I'm sure it would have been different. I hated my name for years because no one has ever said it right. I named my children short simple names because of this so that they would never have their name pronounced incorrectly.

I'm a Siân myself, and I have come to love the name, but do be prepared for it to be continually butchered (at least if you live in the US). Throughout my life I have learned that when the teacher stops and gets a desperate look on their face, just raise your hand.

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My favorite mis-reading is Stan. I get it fairly often here in the states.

As this is my middle name, I could be biased and say that it is a rather nice name. And for that reason, I will. It is a beautiful name, but being CymryCymraeg [A Welsh Welshwoman to you non-Cymros!] I have never had it confused with Sean, Shawn, but I have had it confused with Sion, [with a circumflex, naturally for the elongated vowel], but this is largely due to my illegible handwriting than anything else.

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I feel that my middle name is fairly cool, de to the fact that most of my friends were given the typical 80's fashion names, when my 'rents went traditional instead, so in some respects, it is a unique name. My friend was given the name Sian[with circumflex]-Elin. A beautiful, simple name.

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I also have a Thai friend who spells her name SIAN [no circumflex], but pronounces it CYAN [as in the colour] I feel this is perfectly adequate, but many people forget she's half Thai, and accuse her of saying her name wrong!

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This name is brilliant, and I am a very proud bearer. Thanks Mam and Dad!

This is my middle name and I always hated it, thinking it was plain and boring but I thought it was spelled Sian. When I looked in my baby-book I realised it had a circumflex above the A and suddenly I loved my name! It seems so much more exotic.

This was the name of an old friend of mine, pronounced like SHARN. I think it's a very pretty name, but be warned that your child will spend years at school having her name bungled by teachers- SHAWN/SEAN and SY-AN seem to be favourites.

This is my middle name. I don't use the ^ above the 'a' when I write my name, however. I think it looks a bit over-the-top.

I'm called Sian (with the circumflex above the a), and love the name. I'm also Welsh, and it gives me a real sense of my heritage and identity. I've only ever had one problem with its pronunciation, and that was due to the similarity by Sean and Sian when said with an American accent!

I love my name but unfortunately not very many people can say it properly. And now living in Belguim makes matters worse, I am often called Sean, or Jean, which is French for John. It's an icebreaker though when starting up a conversation with someone new.

Sian happens to be my name. I don't spell it with 'a roof'. I find it's quite often mis-read as Sean, which is rather annoying but I like my name. It's unique, I'm the only Sian in my school of 1500 pupils!