Noa or Mei?

[winterspirit]

Short, sweet name for a baby girl. Noa or Mei?

Please comment with which one you prefer.

[WishingAbove]

Noa

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Mei.

[Cantseethewoods]

The issue with Mei (assume you chose it for "beautiful" in Chinese, is that it isnt really used in that context in isolation due to have Chinese names are constructed.

As a name, it would be Mei-xxx as in, "beautiful xxx", or, quite commonly, Mei Mei, meaning "little sister" and used as a nickname/ family term of endearment for younger children/siblings.

But assuming you dont hang with many Chinese people, I doubt it will be an issue

[Jooni]

Noa

[SelfObsessionHoney]

Noa. I like how it trips of the tongue.

[ClaudiaWankleman]

@Cantseethewoods It could also be Mei meaning plum though. I know a couple of women with that name and although it might be a bit old fashioned, I really like it

OP, if you're not Chinese, don't choose Mei. Just use May. I would also be wary of choosing Noa too, as it's not just the female version of Noah. It is pretty though.

[grufallosfriend]

Noa is beautiful!

[Sugarpiehoneyeye]

Mei.

[Muumi3]

Noa

[Lemondrop99]

Mei is very pretty, as long as there's an intentional Chinese connection there rather than attempting a creative spelling.

I don't like May or Mai for some reason though (overused I guess), so if not spelled Mei, I'd pick Noa.

[Lindy2]

How is Mei pronounced? I'd say Mee or possibly My but others here have mentioned May. I think a lot of people could mispronounce it so if you don't want to do lots of correcting I'd go for Noa.

[Cantseethewoods]

Re plum, yes. I think it's also a slang for American- the girls in my office make a joke about an American colleague who has that surname (May). That might be Cantonese though. I think the main issue with the name is that it's a bit of a stereotypical Chinese name - like Hans for Germans or Jean-Pierre for Frenchman. Chinese characters in books written by westerners generally have a Mei chucked in there somewhere.

[Sophronia]

Noa

[Decaffstilltastesweird]

Noa is so lovely!

Mei (and May / Mae / Mai) has been ruined for me by all the Lily-May, Ava-May, Evie-Mae names (sorry, there's nothing wrong with them, they just aren't to my taste).

[Floggingmolly]

Is Mei pronounced May? People will be confused as to how to pronounce it, and when they realise it's just plain old May they'll think you tried to jazz it up with a yooniqe spelling.
Unless you have a Chinese connection, don't appropriate their spelling. It rarely travels well.

[PotteringAlong]

Noa

[winterspirit]

It would be pronounced May.

I didn't think I'd have to defend my choice or be accused of cultural appropriation - can't please anyone these days!

I love the name Mei, but I don't like the other spellings and as long as the pronunciation stays the same I don't see the issue. There are plenty of names that used to belong strictly to one culture but are now used all over the world.

I would like to make a point that I live in the UK, so certain correlations you're making don't apply here.

I asked for opinions on which name people preferred - it was NOT an invitation for people to come in and criticise my choices when they don't even know me or my circumstances.

[Floggingmolly]

What I don't get is how you can love a name - but only if it's spelt a certain way, and hate it if an alternative spelling is used
Weigh up how many times you'll call your daughter by her name over the course of her lifetime versus how many times you'll write to her and see how ludicrous that is...

[viques]

Winterspirit , this is MN, everyone and their cat is going to throw in their twopennorth of opinion. You are never going to get a yes /no referendum.

For what it is worth I am no no to both but the cat says yes to Mai and no to Noa. Furthermore the cat says Noa looks as though it is missing a letter or two off the end. The cat, who is hot on spelling says a lot of people will think it is Mia and spell pronounce accordingly.

Sorry.

[winterspirit]

@Floggingmolly, there's a reason different name spellings exist for a reason. Another example is people preferring the spelling of Emilie over Emily, or Emilia over Amelia. Sometimes for simple reasons such as it being a less common spelling.

I don't believe I'm being ludicrous in the slightest.

@viques, I guess I was stupid in assuming people wouldn't be so negative on a forum where I fought fellow mums could discuss baby names without being judged.

I'm going to go back to the outside world where I'm not faced with keyboard warriors who feel the need to bash anyone and everyone for not having the same views as them.

I'm done here.

[viques]

Winter spirit, I don't think people are judging you, they are stating opinions, perhaps more forcefully than you, wanted them to but nevertheless comment is what you asked for.

For what it is worth a lot of people were positive about your names.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

Emilia and Amelia are not variants on the same name, they are different names from different language roots with different meanings which just happen to sound slightly similar.

I'd go with Mei, personally. You're awfully touchy.

[Nonameyet1]

I think you are taking this a bit too personally. When I chose my names for my girls I really enjoyed all comments, it makes us all different. It's a names forum, be open to discussion or opinion.

[Lemondrop99]

Wow....