I'm also Pavel, and it just seems to be one of those names that native English speakers have trouble with. Protip: it seems to help if you stick an accent on "

I'm also Pavel, and it just seems to be one of those names that native English speakers have trouble with. Protip: it seems to help if you stick an accent on "a": "Pável". In US, people have usually seen enough Spanish to interpret this more or less correctly, and of course it also doubles as a stress marker. That said, personally, I often don't bother and also go with the default [ˈpei.vɪl] just because it's easier to go with the flow.