Phoebe

I love Phoebe

@beigeybeige , OP says they're Welsh. Eleni is Welsh word but it means 'this year'.

Like when? Mine is and I have never have to give it to anyone to spell.

If your full name is on your bank account, fairly often.

There are so many other lovely Greek names to choose from but this one looks like Phobia to me if I’m not concentrating and the sound of it is like Feeble. neither would be great associations to give to a baby in my book.

What about Eirini or Eleni?

How many times in your life has someone else had to write down your middle name?

I know a little Phoebe, she’s a big character and owns the name! It’s a lovey name and I think it’s beautiful with Alys. Excellent choice.

It’s probably one of the worst names in existence. Sorry OP.

Phoebe is a Greek titan and one of Saturn’s moons, it’s a lovely historically rich name, with some quirky associations thanks to Friends.

I think it pairs nicely with Alys.

Phoebe Alys is lovely.

Others ..
Alys Phoebe
Fiona Alys

It's nice, just be aware people will mispell it a lot. I know someone who actually named her child Pheobe instead of Phoebe 🤦🏻‍♀️ despite people telling her that's not how you spell it.

I LOVE the name Phoebe!

@Everlore , OP has another thread about the name Alice (that spelling) as a first name.
Page 2 | A Welsh middle name for Alice | Mumsnet

My mother is a Phoebe and I always had trouble spelling it as a child as it has both the ph and the oe to cope with. Combining two unusual spellings by adding Alys is just a bit unfair on a small person. Love the names but sometimes you have to imagine being the person who spends their life spelling them out to people.

I dislike Phoebe. I think it’s because the look and sound of the name contradict each other in my brain.

alys I like. Although Phoebe and alys together take me to Alyssa Milano’s character on charmed.

my favourite welsh name is Seren.

I have a forename which is a fairly commonly used English name with a variant spelling. Yes, it is a little annoying to constantly have to spell it out, but the spelling my parents used is the correct spelling in our culture. I also have a relatively short 'foreign sounding surname' which hardly anybody who reads it seems able to pronounce correctly and which is commonly spelled wrong, despite it not being that complicated. However, I've never thought of changing it to a nice 'normal' English name, as I know so many people sadly felt compelled to do in the past.
I don't think anyone should feel they have to anglicise their names just to fit in. The OP has said that Alys is the Welsh spelling so I don't see why she should feel the need to ignore her Welsh heritage and use the standard English version just to make it easier for people who struggle with spelling anything more exotic than John or Jane!

@Everlore , I said not popular not that I hadn't heard of it. By popular, I mean in the top 100 names. The ONS stats show that. Baby names since 1904: how has yours performed? - Office for National Statistics
Phoebe Waller Bridge, Phoebe Philo and Phoebe Cates were named before Friends was first aired.

I probably don't read the same novels as you.

I think it’s regional as I know quite a few in the south east and it’s been in and around the top 20 (17th most popular name last year) for about 20 years so definitely used a fair bit!

I love it, I regret using the name for my daughter. Not many seem to use it but that is a good thing. Far too many Noah’s and Lilly’s.

I love it! And I love Alice too and think they go nice together. Good luck with it all OP

I like Alice. As someone who always has to spell their name, I would personally avoid a name with an unusual spelling though. Not a fan of Phoebe, but it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks - it’s what you like that matters!

Love Phoebe Alys !

I beg to differ. My great auntie was called Phoebe and it regularly appears in the Victorian novels I read, just because you might not have heard of it before Friends doesn't mean it wasn't popular, in the UK at least where it has been in regular use for a couple of centuries at least, I know Friends was on a while ago but I don't think it's quite that old!

I'd assume Phebe was pronounced Feeb. Never seen that spelling before.

Anyone thinking it sounds feeble obviously doesn't know their Greek mythology! It's a beautiful name and works well with Alys.