Nefeli or Maite

[Mum8]

Which baby name do you like most for a girl: Nefeli or Maite ?
And how would you pronounce them?

The first is Greek and the second is Spanish (Basque).
We love both of them, but unsure how they will be pronounced here in the UK.
My partner is Spanish and I am Greek and we thought it will be nice to give our little one a name from our own cultures.

Thanks very much for any input you may have on pronunciation and if you like the names :-)

Ne-fell-e
May-tea

I prefer the sound/look of Nefeli.

I'm one of those awful people who asks is nosy about unusual to me names, so if she's happy explaining them great.

I like the tie to you and your DH's origins aswell and if your surname is unusual it should sound lovely, unlike something along the lines of Bob Basque iyswim.

Could be Nef-ely though, but still a lovely name.

Thank you, the pronunciation is Nef-ellie, maybe easier to change the spelling in this case to avoid confusion and the need of little one to explain her name

Not necessarily so, if you start of saying her name in rl then people will pick it up quickly and it will be automatically excepted by those she grows up around. Unusual to the UK names are a nice change to most, I hope it has a nice meaning, lots of familied holiday in Spain and Greece so it might not be unusual to many.

How do you pronounce Maite?

I have a french rl name and have to explain it a fair bit but it's always been good and I have a South American friend whose name no one can pronounce

sorry I have a cold and typing like it

accepted not excepted

families not familied

d'oh

I like Maite.

I wouldn't know how to pronounce either of them without asking. I think I probably prefer Maite.

I don't like Maite. Too easily mispronounced as Mate in English speaking countries. There would be nudge nudge wink wink remarks about Play Maite.

Nefeli is lovely.

I don't like either of them.

Maite in Australia would be a disaster. Mate/Matey is a very widely used term of endearment.

Nefeli sounds like a Greek Island...

Isn't Maite short for Maria Teresa?

Maite IS short for Maria Theresa, I have a good friend called Maite (who is Spanish) however I think it is too Spanish to be adapted in English. What about other more pronounceable Spanish names such as Carolina, Alba, Cristina etc?

Actually most of us pronounce maites name differently but mostly My-tea, My,teh

Maite is pronounced as Ma-ee-teh with the emphasis on the a.
It means beloved in Basque

The Maria Teresa version is usually spelled Mayte and emphasised on the teh.

Nefeli means Fairy of the Clouds, she was formed from the clouds by Zeus in Greek mythology.

I think they're both lovely :)

Maite has the possibility of being shortened to May / Mae, if she wants to.

Nefeli is just lovely and has a great meaning.

Oh, sorry, I'm thinking of it at May-ee-tee.

I like Ma-ee-teh too, but on reflection, Nefeli has the edge for me I think.

Maite would never forgive you if she's growing up in England. Trust me, a lifetime of "how do you spell it? Mate with an I in the middle? Really? Are you sure?" and always always having it said wrong when they are reading it....its not fun.
No-one will ever get it right without being told seventeen times

There is a Nefeli in DS's year, I think it's a lovely name.

I think Maite would just end up as Matey.

I know a Maite born in this country to Spanish parents. It is short for Marie Theresa though. She pronounces and (after many times her friends learned to pronounce it) My-tay.

Thank you everyone for all feedback.
We are between Nefeli and Lara now, second one DH's favorite, which one do you like most between these two? Is Lara very common?

Only to add that DH likes Lara or Laoura, either of these two versions

If Laura or Lara both are very nice imo.
If pushed I would say Lara. It's not exceptionally popular. I see it as a classic name that grows with you throughout your life, and has a nice Russian/East European feel to it (a bonus for me).

please please please call her lara

I like Lara, as nickname for Larissa.

I LOVE laoura