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Baby names

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

Original poster

Rebecca

80 replies

17caterpillars1mouse · 12/02/2021 21:21

I know it uses to be very popular but it's barely uses now (200ish last year) yet it doesn't feel dated to me. I love the full name so much, less keen on Becky / Becca though don't hate them.

What are your thoughts?

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RuthW · 14/02/2021 10:01

It's ok. My friend had always been known as Reb.

PlainJane1000 · 14/02/2021 05:48

@ethelredonagoodday another Rebekah here who gets called Rachel! I always wondered if I just looked like a Rachel, but clearly it's a thing!! I get called Rebekah, I have never been called Becky, sometimes I get Bec or Bex. I travel a lot and I love that wherever I go people recognise the name, it is very internationally understood, its known but no longer common. I would definitely consider it for a child now, I don't think it's a name that dates.

CoffeeAndCaramel · 14/02/2021 04:10

Really awful and dated. Sorry but I can't stand it 😬

fairydustandpixies · 14/02/2021 03:35

My 18yr old niece is a Rebecca and it's never been shortened by our family.

BigusBumus · 14/02/2021 03:27

I once met a Dutch or Danish Rebekah who was called Rebbie. (Don't know how it was spelt actually as met her on holiday as a teenager in Greece). Always remembered it though as I thought it was way cooler than our English Becky.

user686233 · 14/02/2021 02:47

It just screams 80's/90's to me. I know a million Beck's/Becky's/Bex/Becca/Rebecca's my age so it also sounds super plain to me. I don't think it's quite ready for a come back.

pinkyboots1 · 14/02/2021 02:33

My Daughter is a Rebecca but much prefers Becky, Boo or Becky-Leigh... to the point were she's considering changing it by deed.

Milkshake7489 · 14/02/2021 02:03

I love it! It feels classic and timeless to me.

I also like Becca and Becky, but there is no rule saying you have to shorten her name (her friends might, obviously, but her friends could give her any nickname under the sun... I went to school with a Dizzy- real name Sarah 🤷‍♀️).

IdblowJonSnow · 14/02/2021 01:57

I really like the name Rebecca. To me it's a strong and classic name and fairly timeless.

Butcanyoujusttellme · 14/02/2021 01:50

Is Becky (with the good hair) not just a younger Karen?

I think rebekah is the nicest version but I don’t really like the nn
It’s well known though so they’ll never have trouble with it and it probably won’t be overly common in their year group still

Ellada19 · 14/02/2021 01:44

I like it.
If your family likes nicknames they can call her Reba instead of Becky.

ScottishLassie91 · 14/02/2021 00:39

I love it! It was one of our picks if we were having a girl. I just said if anyone called her by that nickname, I wouldn't answer lol

Lalliella · 14/02/2021 00:10

Very pretty. Not so keen on Becky though. Has a friend at uni who shortened it to Reb which really suited her.

Topseyt · 13/02/2021 14:21

@HideTanner

Although don't go for it if you feel any shortenings would grate. Nothing more embarrassing than a parent trying to control what their kids' pals refer to them as.

'I'm afraid Alex cannot come out and play as no one by the name of Alex lives here. We do have an Alexander though?'

That is exactly the sort of thing my parents used to do to my sister. My Dad was particularly bad for it and would correct her friends publicly or over the phone if they called and asked for her using a shortened version of her name. It didn't work and was cringeworthy. She is in her fifties now and still likes to go by the shortened version.

All that behaviour taught me was to choose names for which we liked the long version and the usual shortenings when naming our own babies.

In our house though, only my parents were allowed to use short versions of their names! We have pointed out that double standard to them many times over the years. It is met with a slightly embarrassed silence.

I like all the regular shortenings of Rebecca.

HideTanner · 13/02/2021 13:18

Although don't go for it if you feel any shortenings would grate. Nothing more embarrassing than a parent trying to control what their kids' pals refer to them as.

'I'm afraid Alex cannot come out and play as no one by the name of Alex lives here. We do have an Alexander though?'

HideTanner · 13/02/2021 13:13

It's fine. Although every third girl between the years of 1970 - 2000 seems to have been called Rebecca, so I find it a bit boring.

Beyondfedupnow · 13/02/2021 12:56

@ethelredonagoodday I also have been called Rachel, main offender was a very elderly neighbour of my parents, I stopped correcting after a couple of yearsGrin

ethelredonagoodday · 13/02/2021 10:29

It's my name. I get all the abbreviations. Bec, Bex, Becca, Becky. Doesn't bother me.

I also get called Rachel all the time too. That does get on my nerves. WTAF.

Dotinthecity · 13/02/2021 10:23

I think Rebecca is okay but the abbreviated forms, particularly Becky, are just a bit over used and rather tacky. It’s probably because there were so many of them when I was younger. There were so many Traceys & Sharons in the 60s and 70s and then Becky took over. It’s impossible to stop a name being shortened as school friends will do it even if your family don’t. There are much nicer names about but if you like it, use it.

supadupapupascupa · 13/02/2021 10:08

What is wrong with Becky? I've never ever heard a negative about it until today on here?

Lemonsyellow · 13/02/2021 09:54

I like it. It’s a universal name, so there are lots of foreign variants which you might want to look at for short forms.. You can shorten to Reba.

danascully96 · 13/02/2021 09:39

Darkly romantic. Befitting enough for a book and a movie title, so there’s undeniably an intriguing beauty to the name Rebecca. It’s powerful! I also like the nn Becca, but def not Becky (“Becky with the good hair”).

CrackersDontMatter · 13/02/2021 01:06

I have a Rebecca. She's early teens now. There's a nice balance because it's not dated really but at the same time, she's never had another in her class either. We call her Becsy.

partyatthepalace · 13/02/2021 01:02

Really like it.

But... can’t stand Bex, really dislike Becky, and Becca isn’t all that great. For this reason I wouldn’t risk it, but some Rebeccas are called by their full names.. tis a gamble

Smallonesaremorejuicy · 13/02/2021 01:02

Funnily I was thinking today how nice it would be to hear of a newborn Rebecca, no abbreviations .