I don’t know if I was thinking of another Swedish children’s book we had growing up (we had several), or my childhood recollection is incorrect! Perhaps my brother will remember.

My family – and our Swedish relatives – pronounce it AH-ni-ka. For clarification, I say it rhymes with Monica. Growing up, people either thought it rhymed with Anita and pronounced it Ah-NEE-ka, or emphasized the “Ann” (with a hard ‘A’) and pronounced it ANN-i-ka. Although both sound much harsher than AH-ni-ka to me, I certainly understand the other pronunciations. And obviously no single way is the right way! I definitely noticed an increase in the Swedish pronunciation after Annika Sörenstam became known in the US, which caught me off guard at first.

In the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s books, the siblings that lived next door to Pippi Longstocking were Annika and Kristoffer. Coincidentally, my younger brother is named Kristofer. My parents intended the Swedish spelling for each of our names but came up a consonant short both times. When I was younger, I was proud to have an unusual name, but I did wish it was spelled the ‘correct’ Swedish way. But now I actually prefer it to Annika. I like that Anika is less similar to Ann.