Help protect children from gaming harms.

Take our survey

Please or to access all these features

Baby names

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

Ariel?

63 replies

mrsdrablowsbittersister · 12/05/2023 20:56

Too little mermaid? It's a family name

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Ariela · 13/05/2023 15:03

Ariela on the other hand is very pretty and not associated with Ariel washing powder as it's pronounced Ari-ela.
But then I would say that, wouldn't I?!

LadyJ2023 · 13/05/2023 14:26

Immediately think washing powder and little mermaid lol

Tygertiger · 13/05/2023 14:09

CurlewKate · 13/05/2023 13:56

@Tygertiger Ariel is referred to as "he" throughout the play....

Well. There are only two occasions in the entire play when pronouns are used for Ariel, and you’re right, they’re both “he”. However, there’s evidence to say male pronouns were applied to sexless beings/objects at the time, and certainly in Restoration times the character was almost always played by women. I think it’s generally accepted by most scholars that Ariel is essentially genderless, but it’s an interesting debate.

ZelleZelle · 13/05/2023 14:06

It also makes me think of Ariel Sharon...

CurlewKate · 13/05/2023 13:56

@Tygertiger Ariel is referred to as "he" throughout the play....

PumpkinsAndCoconuts · 13/05/2023 10:12

Boy or girl?

I adore Ariel for a boy.

I prefer Arielle for a girl

MerryChristmasToYou · 13/05/2023 10:08

TV aerial, washing powder, Disney princess, male Shakespearean character,
Several pronunciations - AIR-yul, Ari-EL, etc

Too complicated

ThomasinaLivesHere · 13/05/2023 09:48

I think the little mermaid connection is positive but for me I don’t like the connection to the washing up powder.

AngryBirdsNoMore · 12/05/2023 23:23

I love Ariel (Arry-el) for a boy. But we rejected it because it would always be said Airy-el like the Little Mermaid.

UsingChangeofName · 12/05/2023 23:22

MerryChristmasToYou · 12/05/2023 21:27

I know a few people called Daz

Grin
nousername2 · 12/05/2023 23:03

I love it

TeamSleep · 12/05/2023 23:02

My little girl would be over the moon to have the same name as the little mermaid! It’s also the main character in Footloose isn’t it. I think it’s really pretty.

Chasingadvice · 12/05/2023 22:59

thesilver · 12/05/2023 21:57

No! It makes me think of Ariel Castro. Before that I would have said it was a nice name.

Totally agree

MidnightMeltdown · 12/05/2023 22:42

I don't think that the yanks would be able to say Arri-Elle 😂

GoodVibesHere · 12/05/2023 22:42

I would assume you're a Disney princesses fan. It would be my first thought. There are much nicer names.

moggerhanger · 12/05/2023 22:42

For a girl.or boy? I know a couple of Ariels, both male.

MyFaceIsAnAONB · 12/05/2023 22:42

Not really related I suppose but I know siblings Ariel(la) and Sebastian 😂 and Fred and Barney (flintstones) 😁

I do like the name Ariella. I couldn’t do Ariel personally.

MidnightMeltdown · 12/05/2023 22:40

MidnightMeltdown · 12/05/2023 22:30

Ariel as in TV Ariel is the American pronunciation. In Europe it should normally be Arri-Elle (the way that Sebastian the French crab pronounces it in the little Mermaid! 😂)

It's like the way that the Americans have changed the name Brittany into Brit-ney. They have a way of making pretty French names sound hideous.

It's because Americans tend to pronounce 'A' as an 'Eh' sound which has turned it into tv Ariel

Tygertiger · 12/05/2023 22:38

CurlewKate · 12/05/2023 22:28

"Ariel in The Tempest is traditionally played by a male actor,"

That's because Ariel in The Tempest is a male character.....

Being pedantic, Ariel is a sprite, not a human. I don’t think they’re particularly gendered.

MidnightMeltdown · 12/05/2023 22:30

Ariel as in TV Ariel is the American pronunciation. In Europe it should normally be Arri-Elle (the way that Sebastian the French crab pronounces it in the little Mermaid! 😂)

It's like the way that the Americans have changed the name Brittany into Brit-ney. They have a way of making pretty French names sound hideous.

CurlewKate · 12/05/2023 22:28

"Ariel in The Tempest is traditionally played by a male actor,"

That's because Ariel in The Tempest is a male character.....

booboo82 · 12/05/2023 22:20

No just no

JamSandle · 12/05/2023 22:13

I love it. Very Shakespearian too.

yellowmeerkat · 12/05/2023 22:09

@Rainydaysgetmedown are you saying the male pronunciation of Ariel is the same as the pronunciation of the girls name ‘Arielle’? This is something I hadn’t realised

ThreeLocusts · 12/05/2023 21:59

I knew a little girl called Ariel who my daughter was friends with in nursery. She was from Israel but I never asked what if anything the name means in Hebrew. Absolutely lovely, generous, loyal kid with amazing black curls.

I never once associated 'Ariel' with 'Arielle', the emphasis is different. But isn't Ariel the name of the spirit helping Prospero in the tempest - so a male name for Shakespeare?

Anyway - I'd consider it but maybe wait until you've met your child? It feels ike a name you have to be able to wear.

Swipe left for the next trending thread