Soraya

[jinglymum]

Thoughts? Baby girl due end of month and we haven't decided any names yet.

[chocolatecoffinplease]

Love it. Love it. Prefer the alternative spellings though, as don't like the 'sore' start. Suraya...

Cross cultural, not popular and quite beautiful. All good in my book. Congrats.

[BBQJuly]

Sore ear.

Sorry!

[Catsmamma]

i love it, very pretty, warm and generous sounding name.

[BillyBollyBandy]

I always think of that poor woman who was forced to divorce the shah

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.bakhtiarifamily.com/photos/soraya/SorayaAndShah2.jpg&imgrefurl=www.bakhtiarifamily.com/soraya.php&h=262&w=350&sz=23&tbnid=uVjKBfJzglwCcM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&zoom=1&docid=RmaXCIfM1yKAgM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5oWlT52CD5O38gPL8eHQBA&ved=0CHIQ9QEwAQ&dur=1428" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">but I'm odd

but it is a very pretty name. And tbf I don't think anyone else would think "tragic love story" when you announced thename

[jinglymum]

Thanks, my hub is Iranian so wanting a name sounding good in both language. He pronounces it sur-raya.

Yes very sad story thankfully most people won't think or know of it. :)

[boyfallingoutofthesky]

It is a lovely name if you have the appropriate cultural background, as you do. I know one Soraya and can't say it has ever made me think of sore ears or tragic love stories! I think it may also be a character in the Kite Runner...?

[Gunznroses]

Oooh! Sounds a bit like the Sorcerer or Clairvoyant... sorry, thats just how it sounds....S..O..R..A..Y..A..A..A..A!!!

[Firawla]

i like it. don't know of the shah divorcing story? so i don't think most people would know or think of that

[MessyTerrier]

It has tragic connotations for me because of "The Stoning of Soraya M.". However, it is a truly beautiful name.

[Badgerina]

Soriasis - sorry.

[MarieFromStMoritz]

I have always loved this name. It reminds me of class and wealth and good quality things. I have no idea why.

[SodoffBaldrick]

It doesn't have 'sore' at the start; it has 'sor'. Fair enough if you prefer the other spelling, but there's no 'sore' there.

Lovely name. :)

[NapaCab]

Yes, a really lovely name and it works pretty well in English so no issues for pronunciation or bad connotations. As far as I know, it is the Persian variation of Sarah? Not sure if that's true but a good name anyway, especially if you have Iranian/ Persian connections through your husband.

[chocolatecoffinplease]

sodoff Eh? You've confused me.

The sound at the start can be Sor - or if you use the Suraya version, then Sur. No?

I don't hear psoriasis, sore eye/eye or anything else, unlike others on this thread. But dh vetoed because he did. So maybe the slight change in pronunciation of the different versions might help?

[cairnterrier]

The only Soraya I've come across was in 'The Parrot Tico Tango' and I never knew how to pronounce it until now - thank you!

I think that it's a lovely name OP but when I've been reading it to DS, I have been pronouncing it Sore-aya as I didn't know better. Would it bother you having to possibly explain the pronunciation over and over again?

[Cashncarry]

There are some extremely ignorant people on this thread - sore ear/eye, sorcerer, "Soriasis" (not even correct spelling FFS)...

OP - it's a lovely name and quite easy to use/spell in an English context unless you come across idiots who need to pull their head out of their arse and join the multicultural society we live in

[fluffygal]

I went to school with a girl called soruaya (think that's how she spelt it, definitely had a u in it but pronounced how you are saying soraya). Lovely name, never heard her teased for it, and fits well in keeping with his culture.

[simperingsally]

i went to school with a Soraya too. its a lovely name.
i also knew a Suraya.
pronounced nearly the same.

[jinglymum]

I just had a quick google I think Suraya is the Arabic spelling of the name.

I should have said in my first post our son is called Benjamin, which is a known name in Iran but spelt Benyamin, but we didn't want him to have a life of having to respell his name.

I'm not too fussed how people pronounce it, sur or sor.

Was is contender for you dd chocolatecoffinplease?

Thanks everyone.

[MrsPlanB]

Lovely name.

[applepieinthesky]

Very pretty name and works well in both countries. I also prefer the Suraya spelling.

[BBQJuly]

YABU Cashncarry. Most people here on the baby names threads will give direct and honest opinions, and say if a word reminds them of anything, whether they like it etc.

What's the point in just saying all names are lovely with no possible problems? This applies to all names regardless of where they are from.

On recent threads we've become aware that to many people Rudy sounds like "rude" and Tabitha will remind a lot of people of a cat. It's worth mentioning this to OPs considering these names so they can decide whether it puts them off the name or not.

It's very patronising to imply that we should treat names from other countries in any other way that we assess all names on these threads. So maybe those who think "multicultural" should equal fluffy special treatment should pull their head out of their arse

[winkle2]

Lovely name!

[Frontpaw]

Payam, Sussan, Jasmin, Darya? There are some beautiful Persian names. I haven't heard of Soraya.

[Frontpaw]

We went for an 'international' name that would work in most of the world. It also happened to be a family name anyway!

I am assuming the baby will have a Persian surname? I wouldn't go toooo 'exotic' or the child will be asked 'how do you spell that?' Or 'do you speak English?' (My personal favourite - to a family member who has been born, bred, educated to university degree and teach English - sheesh!).