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Original poster

Dorothy / Ruth?

57 replies

tummytickler · 06/03/2011 08:12

Just mulling these names over really.
What do you think?
We were going to call ds Dorothy, but he was a ds so we thought it would not suit him! We haven't put it our list this time, but now I am thinking about it again.
Also thinking about Ruth. Not sure if I like it enough to use it as a first name, but there is something very appealing about it.
I have 33 weeks to make up my mind so not urgent!

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Pachelbel · 04/04/2011 01:22

My middle name is Dorothy, and I must say that I'm pleased I rarely have to use it.
Any time I do, for example when filling in forms with my full name, I always get a snigger or comments about whether I own any red shoes!

Funnily enough, my first name was very almost Ruth but my parents had a change of heart last minute, and I'm kind of glad they did.
It's not a bad name, it's just so many people in various areas of the country pronounce 'th' sounds as 'f' sounds.
I for one would hate to be associated with part of the structure of a building....

If they's been cruel enough to call me Ruth Dorothy, I dont think I ever would have forgiven them...

ValiumSoltera · 01/04/2011 21:42

I love Ruth, snot dull at all. tis beautiful and unusual.

womma · 01/04/2011 20:08

Ruth is a dull name

Dorothy is great though

elliott · 01/04/2011 18:34

Northernrose, how bizarre, I am a Ruth and my dear late mother was Dorothy! I bet you are in you midforties too ! I have to say, much as I loved my mum i am not keen on the name for a child of today- I love my name though and slightly mortified by some of the negative reactions to it! I have to concur about its challenging pronunciation though - I've never yet been to a european country that could manage it!!

Ruthie32 · 01/04/2011 18:26

Haha! hacking up a furball??? Hmm

I like being a Ruth and like being called Ruthie too. I hate Ru but only one person has ever tried calling my that and I sometimes get called Ruthless but that doesn't bother me
Not great if your surname starts with Sh as my maiden name does though

UndiscoveredApprentice · 01/04/2011 18:21

Ruth is lovely.

Being silly, I instantly imagined being a friend of Dorothy!

pinksunset · 01/04/2011 17:42

I am a mid thirties Dorothy, named after a family member and never met another my age ever. Hated it as a child but really don't mind it at all now. Nn Dottie as a child and tend to be Dot these days, never introduce myself as that but seems to get shortened to that regardless. Nice to see it is making a come back, maybe I will meet one one day who isn't old enough to be my Granny!

exoticfruits · 31/03/2011 22:31

Ruth

ValiumSoltera · 31/03/2011 22:18

I prefer Ruth

IWouldNotCouldNotWithAGoat · 31/03/2011 22:06

Ruth sounds like the noise a cat makes when it's hacking up a furball.

CharlieBoo · 31/03/2011 12:33

Love Dorothy...the nn's are so cute!

My dd is Daisy but we call her Dotty a lot of the time...I don't really know why..just started as Dotty Daisy and now just Dotty..(she is a bit of a loon though).

LiquoriceLila · 31/03/2011 12:29

Sorry but both names are awful

BrigitBigKnickers · 31/03/2011 08:10

Both my Granny and Dhs nanna were Dorothy so I always imagine an old lady when I hear this name. My Granny hated her name so much she was known by a NN similar to her surname.

Ruth is lovely though.

Bubbaluv · 31/03/2011 07:40

Strewth Ruth. Sorry - gives me Home and Away flashbacks and otherwise sounds like a maiden aunt in a brown cardigan.
Dorothy, it better but a bit dated.
What about Penelope?

hester · 31/03/2011 07:33

I like Ruth.

freyamalaya · 31/03/2011 07:31

Sorry don't like either but Ruth is slightly better than Dorothy which is just awful.

ragged · 31/03/2011 07:26

I prefer Ruth, but I do know a very nice elderly "Dot".
Any child can make the name their own.

IWouldNotCouldNotWithAGoat · 31/03/2011 05:35

Ruth is slightly less horrible than Dorothy. A baby called Dorothy? Really?

blueberrymoon · 29/03/2011 23:24

Love Dorothy - my Nan's name and she was the best!! :)
Never been keen on Ruth at all, sorry!

Greenwing · 29/03/2011 23:17

Ruth is lovely and will suit her at any age IMO.

Dorothy's meaning is lovely but it sounds rather old ladyish despite the Wizard of Oz. I suppose the 'friends of Dorothy' gay thing may cause a snigger or two from some.

growing3rdbump · 29/03/2011 20:29

I like Ruth best of the two.

emsyj · 29/03/2011 20:28

DD is a Ruth. We wanted something unusual but well-known IYKWIM. It is very unpopular at the moment, but think it may be due a revival.

Himalaya · 29/03/2011 20:23

Love them both. They are both quite soft names so I think they need to go with a 'hard' surname - something with C or K, T in it.

Rhubarbgarden · 29/03/2011 20:17

Love both, and they would be on my shortlist but for the foreign in-laws having pronunciation issues with 'th'. Gutted.

pilates · 29/03/2011 16:33

Not keen on either

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