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Rhea, Celina or Maya

51 replies

Newyork88 · 11/02/2021 11:22

Please help us decide! Nepalese, Indian and British, living in the UK.

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IamnotwhouthinkIam · 11/02/2021 11:31

Maya is simple and pretty - it's also well used/popular in many countries, so I think it's ideal for mixed heritage girls (although you may occasionally get May-ah vs My-ah in the UK).

Celina and Rhea are lovely, elegant classical names but much less popular in the UK- so Celina will have spelling issues with the more well known Selena, and some people may not know how to pronounce Rhea (eg. you may get Ray or Raya?)

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SmeleanorSmellstrop · 11/02/2021 11:33

Celina is by far my favorite.

Maya is very pretty but there are so many Maya and Mias about.

Someone asked about Rhea on here and everyone said it reminded them of diarrhea Blush

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ArosAdraDrosDolig · 11/02/2021 11:36

Isn’t a Rhea a bird, like an ostrich?

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Newyork88 · 11/02/2021 11:42

The Rhea being linked to Diarrhoea has totally put me off! I’m open to other spelling suggestions like
Maya, Maia (name will be pronounced like Mya)
Rhea, Riya
Celina, Selena, Selina

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HideTanner · 11/02/2021 11:42

Celina not a name I've ever really thought about but suddenly I'm struck by how elegant it is.

So that's the one that gets my vote Smile

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LizzieAnt · 11/02/2021 11:44

Yes, Rhea immediately made me think of the bird too. Maya and Celina are lovely, though there may be a bit of pronunciation/spelling confusion with both.

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IamnotwhouthinkIam · 11/02/2021 11:45

@ArosAdraDrosDolig

Isn’t a Rhea a bird, like an ostrich?

Yes, but she's also famously a Goddess in Greek Mythology (there's a moon named after her). But I think the bird thing (and the pronunciation issues) are why it's not often used in the UK. Seems a bit better known
as a girls name in the US, where there's a couple of celebs with the name.
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Iwantmychairback · 11/02/2021 11:48

Love Celina.
Rhea is a bird.
Maya too many Mia’s Mya’s around.

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IamnotwhouthinkIam · 11/02/2021 11:53

@Newyork88

The Rhea being linked to Diarrhoea has totally put me off! I’m open to other spelling suggestions like
Maya, Maia (name will be pronounced like Mya)
Rhea, Riya
Celina, Selena, Selina

I don't think changing the spelling of Maya will help much (most will still pronounce it as Mya anyway though if you are concerned).

Riya could be easier (although it bugs me to change spellings of classical names Grin).

Changing the spelling to the more classical Selena will definitely help though - it's the most popular spelling it the UK anyway, closest to the original name (Selene) and will be the one most familiar to kids thanks to celeb Selena Gomez.
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crumptrump · 11/02/2021 11:56

I like Selena best. I do like Maya but I would assume it was pronounced May-a not my-a

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TinyCake · 11/02/2021 11:58

Another vote for Selena

I wouldn't use Maya unless you absolutely love it and nothing else will come close as it's used so much.

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HideTanner · 11/02/2021 12:01

I think the Celina spelling looks more chic than Selena but I agree that Selena will be spelling assumed by most people, because of Ms Gomez.

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Bluesername · 11/02/2021 12:14

Selena is nice. Selina is too similar to semolina.

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amallierory · 11/02/2021 14:39

I would assume Maya was pronounced "may-a". Spell it Mya if you don't want the confusion.

Celina is really pretty. I'd go with this.

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SmeleanorSmellstrop · 11/02/2021 14:50

Celina, Selina, Selena... I don't care which spelling, they're all so beautiful and elegant and classy and underused! Choose one of these three Grin

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35andThriving · 11/02/2021 15:15

Celina is my favourite.

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YouWontBelieveYourEyes · 11/02/2021 16:01

I’m just not keen on Myah and it’s so popular with Mia. It’s overused.

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PattyPan · 11/02/2021 16:02

Hate Rhea, it makes me think of the birds and don’t really like the other spellings either.
Maya is ok but I personally wouldn’t name my child after an ancient civilisation renowned for human sacrifices Wink
Selena or Celina are lovely, I’m less keen on the spelling Selina but it’s still nice.

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InTheKitchenAtParties · 11/02/2021 16:07

Another yes to Celina. Gorgeous, love it 😍

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HeadlessGummyBears · 11/02/2021 16:33

Celina/Selena/Selina sounds lovely. I’ve come across the Selina spelling with a few Bangali/Indian classmates in the past and I thought that it was lovely. I remember one of the girls was in my grade 7 class and her older sisters also had equally lovely names - Jasmine and Shereen.

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Monkeytapper · 11/02/2021 16:34

How about Reeva?

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emmy239 · 11/02/2021 17:41

I do like Rhea, but the only Rhea I've known in real life pronounced it Ray-uh (very pretty). I think Ray-uh is the correct Greek pronunciation. So I don't think spelling it Riya is right.

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Namingtrends · 11/02/2021 19:45

I like the suggestion of Reeva above, and I quite like Celina but wonder if Céline (French) or Cecily wouldn’t achieve the same style and be a “known” name

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Spied · 11/02/2021 19:47

Selena

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chipshopElvis · 11/02/2021 19:54

I love Rhea! Doesn't make me think of birds or poo! It's a beautiful name and I know it from Greek myth.

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