What do you think of Alethea?

[ScarlettButler]

Like the meaning - truth or truthful one - and sounds good with surname
But is it too obscure?
Also I wd pronounce it Al-e-THEE-a - would most people?

[SecretNutellaFix]

Would pronounce it Al-EE-thea.

Very pretty name.

[gerontius]

Hideous.

Sorry.

[playftseforme]

My friend's little girl has this name. V beautiful. Pronounced Al-EE-thea (like SecretNutellaFix).
Known as Ali

[evamummy]

I think it is gorgeous - feminine and not overused. I'd be happy to pronounce it either way, but Al-EE-thia sounds good.

[tummysgottogo]

Hmmm sounds a bit like Alicia with a lithp

[Grockle]

A-LEE-thea

Fab name.

[MrsSchadenfreude]

A-LEE-thea. Don't like it but that's because I knew one I didn't like! (I would also say, if you don't know how it's pronounced, don't use it!)

[BigBoldAndBeautiful]

Love it! It was my Grandmother's name, so I am completely unbiased

Beautiful unusual name tho'

[controlfreakery]

would definitely think you had a lisp and name was alicia.

[smother]

Alicia with a lisp I'm afraid.

[essenceofSES]

I prefer Althea or Altheya

[icapturethecastle]

there is one on seven days on channel 4 right now! A 14 year old girl. Saw the name pop and thought I have read that tonight somewhere.

[nooka]

My grandmother's best friend was an Alethea and didn't pronounce with a "thee" sound or a "ee" sound. I'm not good at phonetics, but think Al, then the 'e' like egg, soft "th" like thought with the final 'e' like "ay" and an 'a' like the final a of Anna.

Very elegant.

[thumbwheel]

SCarlett - beautiful name and you have the stress on the proper syllable, IMO.
Al-EE-thea makes it sound like Alicia with a lisp, as friends of mine discovered. They originally named their DD Alethea but pronounced it as shown and then changed it to Alicia - confusing, because we had all started to call the DD Thea for short, and it stuck!

[AlpinePony]

OP - I love it and would pronounce it the way you do.

Only problem I'd have is that I'd expect an Alethea to be tall, dark and graceful - I fear I'm going to breed ginger bruisers!

[ScarlettButler]

MrsS I agree about the problems of pronunciation - that's what has put me off slightly - i have an unusual name myself that I always had to explain to people.

I have just emailed a friend of mine who's a classics expert to ask him to adjudicate!

icapturethecastle how did the girl on Seven Days pronounce it

AlpinePony - I too think it's a graceful name - let's hope DD takes after her father's side rather than me

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

I worked with a woman called Alathea, I love love love this name, but it sounds daft with the surname.

[Hedwig3]

I think lisp too, sorry.

[thisisyesterday]

it's lovely.

there is a mumsnetter who has a little girl called Alethea, she gets called Thea for short, which is also lovely!

i would put the stress on the EE

al EE thea

[icapturethecastle]

I think she pronounced it Al-EE-thea. But if you want to pronounce differently I don't think it matters my DD has an unusual name that can be pronounced in different ways - doesn't really bother me when people it get it wrong - I suppose if chose a name like that you have to expect.

[MoppingMummy]

I knew an Alethea who wasn't very nice and so dont like it for that reason!!!

[Takver]

I like the name a lot, though slightly prefer either Althea or Alathea because of the pronounciation issue.

I've generally known Alethea to be pronounced Al-ee-thea, though sounding quite different to Alicia.

I also love Thea as a shortening (and indeed like Theadora and Dorothea too).

[SuePurblybilt]

I like Althea.

[Indith]

I like it :) Dh didn't though :(

Those suggesting Althea instead, it is a different root and different meaning (healer) and not just a variation of spelling.