Rafaella?

[Helzapoppin]

Hello,

We are in the throes of choosing a name for (as yet unborn, unsexed) bean of a baby number 2.

I was just wondering what people thought of Rafaella? Her middle name would be Hope (after Great Granny and Granny).

I have no reason for choosing the name, but for the fact that I think it sounds elegant and interesting and goes well with DD1's name.

DD1 has two family names (Arabel Marguerite) but I just felt that it is time to inject some new blood into the intergenerational mix of names!

Other options we have discussed are Eleanora, Athene and Constance (I love Constance and it was the name of DH's Sufferagette, camel-trekking Great Grandmother...but DH says it's a plump, dowdy girls' name (?!)

Any thoughts or other ideas?

Thanks :)

Love Rafaella! But of course I would, Rafaella Barker writes great books, and she's the only one I know of.

Indeed she does....and like her, I'm a Norfolk girl.

Just Googled the name though, and it seems a particularly popular name for ladies providing services of a personal nature!!!!

How about Raphaelle? I have taught two little Raphaelles.

Rafaella is nice too, but I too Like R. B's books!

Or you could call her The Beauty.

I could never figure it out, was the heroine's daughter in her books really called this or was it a nickname?

Rafaella is a bit frilly for me. Love Constance/Connie though.

Think The Beauty was a nickname, but what a nice one! Having read about The Beauty in a number of books, it seems to be a point of the story that we never really find out her name. Sorry, Helza, bit of a hijack of your thread! I do see Shopping's point about Rafaella being frilly, but if you paired it with Hope that would change it a bit... depends on the surname too, though you needn't reveal that to us all!!

i really like rafaella its so pretty and not common at all, ive never met any. out of your other suggestions i like eleanora too, agree with your dh a bit about constance it would seem dowdier next to your other dds name i think as hers is also quite pretty/frilly type name?

Love Rafaella and Eleonora but would be very worried that they would both be shortened to the ubiquitous "ELLA".

Love Leonora for a girl or Raphael for a boy.

Love Rafaella - elegant und not overused. I agree about not shortening it to Ella if possible...

My DS2 had a Rafaella in his class at primary school and everyone called her Raffy which I think is really pretty :)

Dislike it sorry - it sounds like the name of a brand of cheap chocolates which are trying to sound posh. Sorry - do ignore me.

I like Hope and Constance though and love Elinor, rather than Eleanora. I like the look of Athene but not the sound so much.

I like Constance (Connie) and I like Hope.

I like Marguerite too.

Thanks for the thoughts. I can sort of see what Ghoul means about the cheap chocolates!
Much prefer Raffy to Ella as a shortening, just because there are so many Ella's around ((four of my colleagues have a child called Ella!)- DH, DD and myself all have pretty unusual names, so it would be a shame for her to have a 'normal' name!