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Original poster

Will Ophelia be perceived as pretentious?

67 replies

RTchoke · 04/11/2012 08:48

I love the name Ophelia but am worried that people will think it's pretentious. DDs 1&2 have much more common names, both only 4 letters, but I want to go more unusual for DC3.

I also love Dora (Dorothea) and Juno.

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LastMangoInParis · 04/11/2012 20:25

Ophelia is a beautiful name.
ISWYM you people saying what about mad Hamlet character...
Would be great if people started using the name again so it wasn't just associated with that character, though, as it's a really lovely name.

sonniboo · 04/11/2012 20:18

"And let's face it, your name choice will be considered either pretentious, chavvy or boring"

Agree completely. And I know which would be my choice Smile.

WinkyWinkola · 04/11/2012 17:56

Abbrev Fifi in our house.

lljkk · 04/11/2012 17:46

Neah, not pretentious. Sounds a lot like Olivia which doesn't ring my Poncetastic Alarms either (and I have quite hyper-sensitive ponce sensors).

Herrena · 04/11/2012 17:44

Must proof-read - that last post was rather mind-y Hmm

Herrena · 04/11/2012 17:43

How would it be abbreviated? I can only think of Offie or Feely or Leah. Mind you, I might unusual in that my kids are never called by their full names ever.

I do like Leah mind you.

MolotovBomb · 04/11/2012 17:41

FWIW, I make no apologies for going with the pretentious label. My job makes me pretentious to some! Pretentious isn't bad ;-)

MolotovBomb · 04/11/2012 17:40

It is pretentious (mythological/literary/Pre-Raphaite connections); it is beautiful.

If you like it, go for it but make sure it flows well with your other DCs names.

Tincletoes · 04/11/2012 14:08

I like it

And let's face it, your name choice will be considered either pretentious, chavvy or boring (I can't think of a single name which wouldn't be called one of those things if you started a thread on it) so it's up to you which category you want it to fall in.

WinkyWinkola · 04/11/2012 14:04

I'm clearly pretentious too. Dd is Ophelia. I'm not sure what I was pretending to be or aspiring to be when we hit upon that name.

But it's a very pretty name. Shame not to use it IMO.

AndrewD · 04/11/2012 12:44

I hadn't realised we were so "pretentious" calling our daughter Ophelia. Wink

It's an uncommon name and for the most part people mistake the spelling as "Orphelia". I don't think it attracts any negative attention or mocking.

It certainly isn't in the same category as "Box", "Scooter". Perhaps just make sure the name you choose isn't on a list like this one

www.stupidkidnames.com/all-the-stupid-names/

sonniboo · 04/11/2012 12:27

Love the name Ophelia and know a gorgeous 8 year old one.

In what way are you worried about it being 'pretentious' - pretending to be what?! I don't really get this, sorry. It is a beautiful name and, whatever people's previous associations are, they will soon lose them and associate Ophelia with your lovely daughter!

LemonLovesLilac · 04/11/2012 12:08

I don't think it is pretentious at all its a really beautiful name... I would love Ophelia Juno!

tasfi26 · 04/11/2012 10:47

I LOVE Ophelia...its in my top 3 if we have a girl!!! We want to spell it Ofelia though

Everlong · 04/11/2012 10:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JuliaScurr · 04/11/2012 09:56

agree re teasing, definitely :(

winkle2 · 04/11/2012 09:51

Lovely name! Go for it :)

CheerfulYank · 04/11/2012 09:46

I like Ophelia, but it may sound odd with plainer sisters. Guess it depends how plain they are.

It still strikes me as odd that Octavia is pretentious there...here it's very downmarket, though that is probably because it is mostly used by African Americans, which is horrible and makes me Angry.

Cahoots · 04/11/2012 09:34

It depends on your surname a bit
Ophelia Smitherton-Brown sounds more pretentious than Ophelia Jones
My maiden name is a bit ugly and harsh sounding so all my brothers DD's and I have pretty flowery names to even out the surname.

I actually like Ophelia. I like how it looks and sounds.

QuickLookBusy · 04/11/2012 09:31

Sorry but yes,it sounds pretentious.

Dora is lovely.

DoverBeach · 04/11/2012 09:30

Other lovely Shakespearean names you might like, Juliet, Miranda, Cordelia, Viola, Portia, Olivia, Helena, Beatrice, Imogen, Rosaline.

IsabelleRinging · 04/11/2012 09:29

I know a little girl called Ophelia, I don't like it as it doesn't trip off the tongue easily enough for me, I always have to think about it too much first.

conorsrockers · 04/11/2012 09:25

Nancy Grin.
I also think you'd regret it.
And it does sound a little pretentious.
Unless you put that on her birth certificate and then called her Lily or something Smile

TidyDancer · 04/11/2012 09:24

Ophelia is pretentious unfortunately, which really bothers me because I love the name and would love to use it.

WinkyWinkola · 04/11/2012 09:23

Associations with Juno aren't that great either.

Ophelia is a beautiful name.

You can find negative associations with every name and also reasons to tease over every name.