Orfeas

[Elenaki]

Bear with me here.

I'm interested to know how a few 'foreign' sounding names strike English speaking ears. DP is Greek but has been in London for years now after coming here as a student. I'm English but speak Greek as a second language so am submerged in the sounds and 'feeling' of Greek names...such that I've lost all objectivity. Help!

We'd like to give the DC that we're trying for a Greek name that - either has an English equivalent/nn or is comprehensible as they go through school in England. Here's our list

Boys
Alexandros/Alexander
Orfeas (said or-FAY-as) - I am particularly curios about this one as DP loves it
Rafail/Rafael (any Greek mnetters out there - this is quite uncommon on the mainland, right?)
Leonidas/Leo

Girls
Ines (LOVE this)
Anastasia (his mother's name)
Rafaella
Nefeli

Would really appreciate your opinions!

Oops everyone, not anyone!

Elenaki yes, you've guessed correctly! Nice place to live, on the whole.

I didn't worry about not having an English sounding equivalent, or having a foreign surname (my dc also have their father's Greek surname). I didn't think it was important these days, whether in Greece (where the surname is not foreign, of course) or in GB, as I said, there are people in the UK from all over the world. Besides, I think it suits a foreign surname to have a foreign first name, if you know what I mean. It doesn't sound odd. You don't expect Mr Papadiamantis to be called Bob, do you!

And my English relatives have been extremely positive about my dc's Greek names. My dd is Ariadne, and EVERYONE back in the UK has said they love the name!

Heh heh, thought so alexpolismum - I've never been, myself, but the nearest 'large' city (out of the two) is pretty much my second home. I love it there. (Not sure why I'm being so cryptic!) Would love to live there at some point, especially when DC comes along, but it's not very practical in terms of work - generally speaking - and at the moment. I'm sure we could fill a whole new thread on the other merits of living in Greece verses England. Watch this space - if it ever happens, I will post on here!

You're right, regarding names and the general diversity of the UK. I think I'm over thinking things, and what it boils down to is that I don't really mind if my ancient grandmother can't properly pronounce my baby's full name: as long as we like it and it suits him/her.

Thanks for your advice. It is nice to hear from others who have already considered all of this! Ariadne is a beautiful name!

yes, that's a nice place too. I hope things do improve in terms of work! I like it here and don't really want to have to move back to the UK!

Incidentally, my grandma couldn't pronounce my dc's name either, but it doesn't matter. She has trouble with the (Irish) name one of my cousins chose too. She tends to use terms like "my little ducky" or "Granny's little flower" or whatever, and that solves the problem!

Elenaki, I just remembered something. Are you planning on registering your baby as a Greek national? If you do, you'll probably have to keep in mind the spelling of the name you choose in English and how it will be transliterated into Greek - they tend to be very rigid. For example, DS's name on his birth certificate is Raphael. When DH went to the Greek consulate to register the birth, they could only register him as Rafael (with an epsilon, as opposed to an eta to get Rafail) because the system allows them no flexibility as to how roman letters are transliterated into Greek. So in order to get Ariadne spelled correctly in Greek for example, the name in English would have to be Ariadni. There is slightly more flexibility in transliterating the Greek original into roman letters (so we managed to get DS's name spelled with a "ph" in his passport, to match his birth certificate, even though the strict rule is that phi is turned into f, not ph). All a bit confusing.

Phew, sorry, long post. And they may be more flexible in London.

Interesting. Thank you for that. As I am not yet pg (booo) we haven't started looking into things like that. That's really good to know though. I think it would mean something to DP's parents to 'officially' retain the Greek spelling and we would intend to register him/her as a Greek national, so will keep that in mind!!