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Original poster

Esther spelling

40 replies

sleepykittycats · 01/04/2025 13:49

I love the name Esther but hate the spelling, seems stupid to have a th in there that isn’t pronounced! Esta looks nicer and makes more sense, but would this be annoying for her? Would people assume it’s Esther?

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Smallmercies · 02/04/2025 13:45

Ohisitjustme · 02/04/2025 12:53

I would pronounce it EsTHer with the TH sound.
How would you pronounce Ethel (just out of interest) ? ETHel or Etel?

In relation to spelling names the way they're pronounced in your accent - would you spell Matthew "Mafyoo" if you use F instead of TH? Or Henry "Enry" if you drop the H? Or "Larar" for Lara with that extra R? Or Keith "Keet" or even "Keeh" if you're from Dublin?

The way names/words in general are spelled doesn't always represent the pronunciation in every dialect but the standardization remains to allow us all to know what word is what.

This all sounds very snarky, I mean it more to be a philosophical pondering on spelling vs pronunciation

Yore jus been cilli m8 😄.

PiastriThePastry · 02/04/2025 12:58

Esta is terrible, Esther is lovely although I’ve read it so many times now it doesn’t look like a word anymore!)
Just in case you want any other suggestions that are sort of similar (imo);
Etta
Aster
Hester
Astrid
Estelle
Aspen

SiobhanSharpe · 02/04/2025 12:55

Esta is Not Nice at all. Trying to be youneeq seldom works.

Ohisitjustme · 02/04/2025 12:53

I would pronounce it EsTHer with the TH sound.
How would you pronounce Ethel (just out of interest) ? ETHel or Etel?

In relation to spelling names the way they're pronounced in your accent - would you spell Matthew "Mafyoo" if you use F instead of TH? Or Henry "Enry" if you drop the H? Or "Larar" for Lara with that extra R? Or Keith "Keet" or even "Keeh" if you're from Dublin?

The way names/words in general are spelled doesn't always represent the pronunciation in every dialect but the standardization remains to allow us all to know what word is what.

This all sounds very snarky, I mean it more to be a philosophical pondering on spelling vs pronunciation

CarterBeatsTheDevil · 02/04/2025 12:50

Smallmercies · 01/04/2025 13:53

What about Hester?

Love Hester!

Dragonsandcats · 02/04/2025 12:49

Why not just stick with Esther, it’s a nice name. Esta really doesn’t look nicer.

onestepfurtheragain · 02/04/2025 12:46

This thread is giving Michael McIntyre sketch vibes. Just spell it Esther or choose a different name. She’ll be in for a lifetime of spelling it out…

d

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GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 02/04/2025 12:28

EducatingArti · 01/04/2025 13:56

In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group (−OH) of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (as defined by Wikipedia).
I remember making them in A level chemistry.
The do often smell nice though!

What about Polly as a fist name and Ester as a middle one? 😉

A dd had a friend called Polly Esther Cotton!

sashh · 02/04/2025 08:57

Oops typo, of course I mean Esther.

Dilbertian · 02/04/2025 05:58

Esther is correct. It reflects accurately the origin of the name.

Just as some English letters can have different sounds (eg C = S or K) so can some Hebrew letters. Biblical names are often spelled with th because in ancient times ת (tav) could have the sound T or soft TH. Modern Hebrew has lost the TH sound entirely. Names like Matthew, Nathan, Bathsheba have retained that TH sound in modern English pronunciation, though not in other languages. Esther, for some reason, has lost the TH sound in English. It is not pronounced Es-ther or Est-her, but Ester.

You could call your dd a classic name you like, but use a yooneek spelling, or you could call her a different name you like and use a classic spelling. But this classic spelling is not wrong.

sashh · 02/04/2025 05:06

Ester is the name of a Persian queen who saves the Jewish population of Persia.

ESTA, as already said is a visa.

Which would you prefer to share your name with OP?

I also have a normal name with an abnormal spelling, well I did until I did a deed poll.

user1492757084 · 02/04/2025 03:22

Esther or Ester are acceptable.
Other similar names are ..
Aster
Estelle

mathanxiety · 02/04/2025 01:47

Anoisagusaris · 01/04/2025 16:33

In my accent Esta is nothing like Esther.

Same.

AmusedLemur · 02/04/2025 00:38

If you really don’t want the TH, I’d go with Ester rather than Esta.

However I would personally go with the proper spelling

Goody2ShoesAndTheFilthyBeast · 01/04/2025 16:56

Please don't.

Smallmercies · 01/04/2025 16:54

TakeMeDancing · 01/04/2025 14:06

He is risen.

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He is risen indeed, Allelujah! 😊

BoleynMemories13 · 01/04/2025 16:49

Esther is a lovely, traditional name. Esta cheapens it and just makes it look like you can't spell, I'm afraid.

aldisud · 01/04/2025 16:44

But it IS said Est Her, no?? But quickly.

Moreteaandchocolate · 01/04/2025 16:42

I love Esther and I’d use the normal spelling

Elunajeya · 01/04/2025 16:42

It’s not pronounced Est-aaaa though, it’s Est-errr

Simrin · 01/04/2025 16:40

You could call her Hester, which is a variant of Esther. I mean, I know it's really just moving the H around, but at least it looks more phonetic, which I guess is what you're going for?

VeryQuaintIrene · 01/04/2025 16:38

Ishtar would be brilliant - powerful and violent Mesopotamian goddess of love and war - what's not to love?!

FairlyTired · 01/04/2025 16:36

ICanTellYouMissMe · 01/04/2025 13:50

Esta isn’t a name? Ester at a push I guess.

Esta is a name. It's not very common but a quick Google showed there are at least 4000 in the US alone. I know one in the uk in her mid 30s.

unlikelywitch · 01/04/2025 16:36

Esther is awful. Esta is worse, and they only sound similar in certain accents.

Anoisagusaris · 01/04/2025 16:33

In my accent Esta is nothing like Esther.