Etta or Blythe

@BoomBoomBoomLetMeHearYouSay what did you go for?? I have a Blythe and get so many compliments on the name and LOVE it

I love the name Etta - but! Told this to one of my friends who pointed out that if someone days the name who drops their 't's it sounds rather like the sound on a game show when you get the answer wrong or like a donkey braying.

Ehh aww

And it ruined it for me :(

I much prefer Etta. It's a beautiful name.

I really don’t like Blythe. It’s old fashioned but not old lady chic. It’s more like Susan or Barbara to my mind. Only it’s worse because it’s got a horrible sound to it. Ditto Blanche.

Etta is ok. Prefer Etty.

Love Etta!

There is an actress in Taggart called Blythe Duff. I like Blythe . Etta sounds like a diminutive of Henrietta or Marietta.

for example, when I hear Amelia I hear the medical term and think ‘why would you use that!?’

See also... Candida, Elisa, Melena!

Have to admit my first thought was Blyth Spartans, the football team (strong family association) from the North East Town, swiftly followed by gwyneth paltrows mother.
Etta- etta james amazing singer but think I'd prefer it as a nickname for something

Yes but Trojanwhore we all know MN isn't real life

You can’t control what people think when they hear your child’s name, for example, when I hear Amelia I hear the medical term and think ‘why would you use that!?’ but in no way do I think that’s why the name was used. People may think ‘Blyth is an awful place’ but they won’t think it’s why the name has been chosen. They also won’t dwell on it for long!

I like both but prefer Etta. (Etta James is one of my favourite singers, so perhaps it's that association that is pushing me in that direction.)

"Literally no-one is going to think you named her after a deprived northern town if you called her Blythe"

RTFT

Love Blythe. Agree with a PP that it has the same vibe as Verity. I think those kinds of grown up names for women are due a revival. Eleanor and Frances and Elizabeth and Margaret and Catherine etc.

Etta is a bit girly, and very like lots of name that are popular at the moment that start with E and end in A. And it sounds like it should be short for something like Violetta. Pretty enough and way better than the likes of Evie due to the hard T giving it an edge. I get the terrorist association but it wouldn't be my first thought (and surely terrorists are a worse association than deprived swing seats, which, lets face it, is why so many more of us have now heard of Blyth Valley).

I really like Blythe.
Blythe Danner is an actress I think. Gwenyth Paltrow’s mum?
Course it’s a name.

I have never even heard of the town plus even if I had, Blythe is a name.

I don’t love the name because the sound is a bit clunky but I kind of love how retro and strong it sounds (old lady names that are coming back are often a bit twee I find like Elsie etc, Blythe isn’t twee).

Literally no-one is going to think you named her after a deprived northern town if you called her Blythe 😂😂

I think Blythe is beautiful.

Etta is bit dull, already too popular, and too similar to the Ella/Eva/Ava vibe which is totally ubiquitous now, also I have an irrational dislike of naming children after jazz singers (but that is purely my own preference )

It's pretty clear from the thread that some people will make the connection or think it's an ugly name because of it. As with every baby name, some (rude) people might make comment on it to you or to your DD, or will potentially treat her differently based on it.

People are just pointing out there are pros and cons to both names and highlighting something you evidently hadn't thought of. Some posters would be bothered enough by the responses to want to change their name choice, others wouldn't care. You can insist people won't make the connection as much as you want but it's pretty clear from the responses that it could be an issue that you might want to consider given that Blyth isn't 'obscure' to everyone. If you aren't bothered by that then at least you are now aware of it and can happily use the name Blythe, which you clearly really like, with all of the information. Is that not why you asked for opinions in the first place?

ETA is the Greek Ira, pronounced ETTA. It makes me think of the graffiti in our compound during a posting in Athens

I think the point is, even if you haven't heard of Blyth, many people will have, particularly if they've been paying attention to the news recently regarding the election, are English (or live in an area with a large English population), or live close to the border (Blyth is in Northumberland so is only a couple of hours from Scotland).

It's not just the fact the name Blythe is very close to a place name, but also the fact Blyth is a town well known for high unemployment and hard drug use (particularly heroin) which isn't a great connotation.

Obviously you should choose the name you want (and it sounds like it's going to be Blythe), but you should just prepare yourself for the fact that some people are going to make that connection, both when your DD is little, and when she is older and might want to move around eg for uni. The name Blythe is being heard less and less, so there will almost definitely be some people that think you mean the town as the years go on. If you are happy with that and don't mind correcting people if you need to then go for it. Objectively, I think Blythe is quite a nice sounding name (and as you pointed out, is actually a name).

Ok you may not have heard of it but people are telling you that they have.
I live in SW England and have heard of the place even though I’ve never travelled anywhere north of Birmingham.
We’re giving you opinions that you asked for by posting this thread and just because you haven’t heard of it, it doesn’t mean that everyone’s opinions are incorrect or unfair.

No one has heard of the town Blyth where I live
So you’ve asked everyone in your town whether they’ve heard of a place called Blythe?

Blythe the name meaning happy and carefree and Blyth the place are two different things - not even spelt the same.

Just as Paris the city and Paris the Ancient Greek name have different etymologies.