I embarrassingly used to pronounce it as "deebian" before being schooled by a graybeard.
Shit, I say it like that! OH GOD, MY WORLD IS IN SHAMBLES. :D
I don't think I've ever said it aloud, but that's how I always read it in my head.
I always assumed it was pronounced "day-bian" until I heard the above story of how the name came to be.
Yes, and this was a terrible idea. Deb and Ian ended up divorcing. Not a good omen for the future. Ian should have picked a better name.
Edit: corrected history of their relationship
While a college student, Murdock founded the Debian project in August 1993, and wrote the Debian Manifesto in January 1994. Murdock conceived Debian as a Linux distribution that embraced open design, contributions, and support from the free software community. He named Debian after his then-girlfriend (later wife) Debra Lynn, and himself.[3] They later married, had three children, and divorced in January 2008.[4]