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Baby names

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

Original poster

Thea

32 replies

rek21 · 01/05/2009 18:29

After much debate dh and I have agreed on Thea Rebekah for dd2, who is due to arrive any minute (dd1 is Eve Oriel for comparison purposes). However, since we have started telling people about this a few things are starting to niggle;

  1. people ask what it is short for. It is dorothea, but we have no intention of using the whole name although we like the meaning (gift of god).
  2. people pronounce it th-ay-a when we intend th-ee-a
  3. some people have said 'oh that's different' as though we'd chosen fifi trixibelle or something.

So, should I stick to my guns or will I, and possibly she, be driven insane by endlessly repeating, 'actually, it's th-ee-a'.

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zenoushka · 28/07/2010 17:17

Thea is really pretty.

QuantaCosta · 24/07/2010 13:09

I love it. My friend's 5 year old is called this and she has no problems with people pronouncing it! Surely it's just a female version of Theo?

GirlWithTheMouseyHair · 24/07/2010 12:52

gorgeous name

thea1234567890 · 24/07/2010 07:25

my name is thea as in tayuh. and i get called so many names including theeuh, thayuh, tia.. you name it. so no matter what you name her she will still get drivin insane. although its not that bad because her friends will also tell the teacher or whomever what her name is and so that helps a little.

friendly · 02/05/2009 19:02

I think it is a beautiful name and was a serious contender for ds1 had he been a girl. Dh liked it too but because we lived in London at the time thought that she might be called Fee-a at school! He can always think up a way to make a nice name sound awful. i agree with the others who say don't tell anyone till she's born. People can be so rude. Definitely stick to your guns and if people mispronounce her name, educate them.

Grey24 · 02/05/2009 18:27

Glad you're going for Thea - lovely name, one of the top of my own list. Perfectly fine as name in itself, does not have to be short for anything.
Am reassured myself from this thread that not too many people are going to say 'thay-a' (unless they have a really posh accent, maybe) - I would certainly intend it to be thee-a.

purepurple · 02/05/2009 13:30

one of my favourite names
love it

wotulookinat · 02/05/2009 13:20

Thea is one of my middle names. I pronounce it thee-a too.

Lizzylou · 02/05/2009 13:07

OOh, Thea was DS2's "name", lovely lovely and very pretty, without being twee.
it just didn't suit him

lockets · 02/05/2009 12:50

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Original poster
rek21 · 02/05/2009 11:35

Right, that's decided it then, thanks a lot everyone. I have to say I didn't think it was a particularly controversial choice, so was surprised myself when eyebrows were raised. I don't know any other Theas (except for someone I haven't seen since uni who gave me the idea in the first place), but then we don't know any other Eves (or Evies) and I know that in some parts of the world you can't bung a brick without bashing an Evie (not that I'm advocating throwing stones at children of course).

JulesJules and Samjamsmum you are dead right, never tell people in advance, they feel they can come right out with the first thing that comes into their heads. Why is that? Its the same as the way that people feel that when you are pregnant they can say, 'blimey, you're huge' or 'was it planned?' Sorry, that's a rant for another thread...

ShowofHands, I'm in East Anglia too, but round here its Phoebe or nothing...Not even any cows where I live for inspiration...

OP posts:
ShowOfHandsNoLongerKissesKunes · 02/05/2009 10:47

I'm in Norfolk lockets. I go to 2 toddler groups, Theas at both of them, a woman in the hospital when I had dd called her dd Thea and a lady in our village has a Thea.

Also hear it occasionally at the park. There are a lot of Florences/Florries here too. But it's Norfolk, nobody ever leaves our little circle of villages and we genuinely believe there are only 10 names to choose from. Cows, however, hundreds of names for cows.

JulesJules · 02/05/2009 10:31

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jennifersofia · 01/05/2009 23:36

Love it.

FfreckleFface · 01/05/2009 23:21

It's beautiful, defintely stick to your guns.

It was one of my faves when we were picking a name for little Ff. I thought that she could pick between Thea and Dora for a nickname, and, also, Middlemarch is one of my most loved books.

lockets · 01/05/2009 23:16

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lockets · 01/05/2009 23:15

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SamJamsmum · 01/05/2009 21:59

Thea is lovely and it's obvious how it should be pronounced. Stick to your guns but I would perhaps stop telling people in advance. People are less likely to be rude when a real gorgeous baby is in front of them.

namechangecosfeelingsad · 01/05/2009 21:55

Lovely.

hester · 01/05/2009 21:53

Stick to your guns - Thea is a beautiful name.

cheekster · 01/05/2009 21:49

I love the name Thea, couldnt use it with our surname though - Smith!

Too many th's!

amidaiwish · 01/05/2009 21:47

love it. i know a couple of Theas, don't know anyone who has a pronounciation problem.

i wanted it for DD2 but dh didn't. also as they have an unusual surname i thought it was only fair to go for very "normal" (boring) first names...

jellybeans · 01/05/2009 21:42

It's a gorgeous name, you can't go wrong.

randomname · 01/05/2009 19:08

Love it, its not that unusual now and i'm suprised people have questioned it, Stick with it (my dd was so nearly thea!)

bluebump · 01/05/2009 19:02

rek21