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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Rebecca or Naomi?

32 replies

roastpots · 09/03/2015 22:58

Trying to name DD2- due in 3 weeks. Thought we had decided on Naomi but were struggling to come up with a middle name that worked. We were trying out Naomi Rebecca last night and then DH said that he thought he might actually prefer Rebecca as a first name! I really like Naomi but I'm worried that I will get annoyed with people pronouncing it different ways. Do you prefer Naomi or Rebecca and do you have any suggestions for middle names that go with either?

DD1 is Alice. I love it (but don't love how popular it is).

Other names we have toyed with include: Imogen, Audrey, Rose, Harriet,
Cara, Hannah, Zoe.

Thank you!

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Stinkersmum · 24/03/2015 11:27

Rebecca Rose is a nice name... My BFF is called Rebecca so I can't help but like the name. I call her Bex most of the time.

Ooooooooh · 24/03/2015 10:20

Dislike Rebecca sorry, sounds clumsy and hard to me

Alice is stunning and goes nicely with Martha, Audrey, Rose, violet, Flora, Hannah, Beatrice, ester, Nancy

Clara (stunning) sits better then Cara with Alice

Alternatives to Naomi (nice name but doesn't sit well with Alice) - Hermione

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 23/03/2015 20:35

Naomi is lovely. I don't like your Na-uh-me pronunciation at all though, sorry.

Sunnymeg · 23/03/2015 20:19

If DS had been a girl he would have been Naomi Susannah.

rockyryder · 16/03/2015 20:18

Naomi here too!

Falconwolf101 · 16/03/2015 20:03

My favourite out of all of them is Rose, although out of your main 2 I would choose Rebecca, although definitely as a nickname like Becky. I once knew a Rebecca from college who liked to be called 'Beeky'. It sounds crazy, but it was actually really iconic and sounded lovely.

jaykay34 · 16/03/2015 11:26

I've got a Naomi. It has loads of shortened variations "Nay", "Nomes", "Omi", "Nomi", "Nims" "Nam" etc.

People also pronounce it "Nay-omi", "Nigh-omi", "Knee-omi" and "Nay-urrr-me".

Many people can't spell it either.

None of these things bother me and they don't bother her too. I love it and so does she - it's not massively popular so she's only ever the only Naomi, but it's not unheard of.

I also think it's timeless, it suits all ages and doesn't date.

Griffineater · 11/03/2015 13:56

I love Rebecca! I think I might be the only one but I also like Becky. Very sweet nickname.

Kampeki · 11/03/2015 08:53

I would say nay-oh-me though - never even heard it pronounced Nay-uh-me! Confused

Kampeki · 11/03/2015 08:51

A Rebecca need not become "Becky" - I know quite a few who use "Rebecca" or just "becca". I think it's a lovely name.

Naomi is not bad, and Rose is very pretty, but I like Rebecca best out of the three.

roastpots · 10/03/2015 19:27

Thanks for all you replies. I say Nay-uh-me which is my favourite pronunciation but lots of people say Nay-oh-me which is ok. But Ny-oh-me really sounds wrong to me!

Based on your replies I think I've got the short list of Rebecca, Naomi and Rose. Need to do some more thinking about middle names....

Josephine is a family name do that would be an option for MN.

Becky is what puts me off Rebecca. But I like Becca so perhaps we could gently steer in that direction....!

OP posts:
Smugnogplease · 10/03/2015 13:49

I'm Rebekah, pref nn becca to Becky but answer to either. I like this spelling much more.

LancashireTea · 10/03/2015 10:30

I love Rebecca. It's my sister's name and she's been a Becky, Boo (My nn for her since she was tiny), Becca and is now using Rebecca. It is classic and pretty.
Plus, Alice and Rebecca are protagonists of very famous novels! I like the literary link.

MsWazowski · 10/03/2015 10:07

DD2 is a Rebecca, I really don't like Becky, neither does she and she won't answer to it Grin

She is known as Rebecca, Becca, Bec or Becks, depending on who it is and the mood. Although it is quite popular, there aren't that many of her age about (she's 16) and I imagine there would be a few less now.

I love it, but then I did choose it.

SunnySomer · 10/03/2015 10:00

Really love Naomi (did voluntary work under a pseudonym for several years and that was my name!), plus it was our girl name for DS. I wouldn't worry about pronunciation - my real name has a totally invariable pronunciation (one syllable, simple simple name) and STILL there are people who manage to create a variation on it.

Fuckup · 10/03/2015 09:56

yy naomi rose is lovely!

escondida · 10/03/2015 09:54

I prefer Rebecca & it goes better with Alice.
The traditionalness of both might not really be you, though.

pippop1 · 10/03/2015 09:52

or Kayla?

oneboy3girls · 10/03/2015 09:48

Have you considered Natalie?

SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 10/03/2015 09:18

Naomi - very nice, well known enough to be pronounced correctly but uncommon enough to not be one of 10 in a class.

Rebecca - classic name. Always lovely, always usable.

Imogen - no, sorry. Strangely (hugely) popular at the moment but, to me, is a really ugly harsh sounding word. Really can't understand the fuss about it!

Audrey - OK but still a little "old lady" ish (which you might like!). Don't love it or hate it.

Rose - nice enough. Personally, I probably wouldn't use it as a first name though.

Harriet - not very keen. Don't hate it & can't put my finger on anything wrong with it though. Maybe sounds a little bit frilly or fussy?

Cara - nice name. Only down side I can think of is having to say "Cara with a C" for ever more. I know two Cara's - one is Cara & one is Kara. Both spellings are equally popular.

Hannah - can't comment. My opinion of the name has been totally ruined by a specific Hannah I knew at school. It may be a lovely name really!

Zoe - lovely name. Same as Naomi - popular enough for people to be able to spell & pronounce it but rare enough to not have lots of others in the class.

RL20 · 10/03/2015 09:03

I know what you mean about the pronunciation of Naomi. Some people have a tendency to pronounce it 'Ny-omi' even though there is no 'Y' in it!

However, I'm called Rose so I have to say it's a nice name and I always get older people comment on how much they like it, as most people just use it as a middle name now. Just be prepared for people to always ask 'oh, what is it short for?' Or 'so is she a Rosemary, Rosie, or just Rose?' I've always had that but people are always pleasantly surprised when I say 'Just Rose' Grin
There's still not many 'Rose's' around and I'm only 22 Smile Good luck with choosing a name

Koalafications · 10/03/2015 07:57

Don't like Rebecca or Naomi.

The other names on your list are much, much better. Imogen, Audrey, Rose, Harriet, Cara, Hannah, Zoe all lovely names.

SonnyJimBob · 10/03/2015 07:55

I think Naomi is a beautiful name.

BikeRunSki · 10/03/2015 07:54

I have never heard anyone say Naomi any other way than Nay-oh-me.

BikeRunSki · 10/03/2015 07:53

Naomi by a long shot.