Donovan

[ivyblossom]

I was looking up the history of the name "Donovan" (because I was considering it for a character name, and I wanted to know when it first came into regular use as a first name), and I found this:

The boy's name Donovan is pronounced DAH-na-vun.

Can an Irish person (or English person?) help me out with this one? Is this an American pronunciation key, or do you really say it that way? I would have thought it was DAWN-a-vun.

Comments

[daegaer.livejournal.com]

I'd say dun-ih-vin (with the "ih" approaching "uh"). I've never heard it as a first name in Ireland, though, only as a surname.

[ivyblossom.livejournal.com]

AHA! That's what I was waiting for! Yeah, I saw there was a surname O'Donovan, so I thought the Irish would be the people to ask. Thanks!