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Original poster

Is Rebecca timeless or dated?

217 replies

Candleflamingbright · 13/02/2020 21:40

Just that :-)

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1066vegan · 14/02/2020 21:16

@Bitchbadgerplease maybe we should be talking about pronunciation as well as spelling. It wouldn't have crossed my mind to say Ree-becc-er; I've only ever heard Ruh-becc-er.

doritosdip · 14/02/2020 21:23

Rebecca is timeless but Becky is not

Hypergear · 14/02/2020 21:33

Sounds dated to me, not a fan

Electrical · 14/02/2020 21:57

bitch it’s re-bec-ah, nor ‘er’.

TheVanguardSix · 14/02/2020 22:07

Timeless. I have a 9 year old Rebecca.

Bitchbadgerplease · 14/02/2020 23:13

electrical I understand that , but It's a very similar sound and almost identical in some accents.

vegan true. It's definitely been said as Ree in he circles I've moved in.

ethelredonagoodday · 14/02/2020 23:56

I'm also a Rebecca who frequently gets called Rachel! Apart from that, I quite like it, and the various shortened versions.

grandmasterstitch · 15/02/2020 07:29

@Bitchbadgerplease it's definitely not ree beck er Hmm it's ruh beck ah. If I introduced myself as Reebeccer I would sound like a nutter

headlicehelp · 15/02/2020 07:31

Timeless but I really hate becky which is a likely shortening so I couldn't use it.

DaisyDando · 15/02/2020 07:31

I like Rebecca very much. I know an adult Rebecca who insists on Bex and I find that very cringe.

SallyWD · 15/02/2020 07:38

I've already posted but want to post again! I love Rebecca anyway but love it even more because it's so refreshing in a sea of Islas, Avas, Evies, etc. I actually love all this names listed but it seems all little girls now have those names.

lottiegarbanzo · 15/02/2020 13:07

I've never heard the Re pronounced as Ree, ever. What accent is that?

I'm fairly RP but have lived in quite a few places. Not been listening for it I suppose but do think 'Ruh-BECK-uh' is normal.

gossipgirl28 · 15/02/2020 13:09

Dated and boring sorry

SalmonOfKnowledge · 15/02/2020 13:09

A bit dated but that is not a bad thing in my opinion. It's a bit harsh.

Jillian is dated but a fresh choice if you see what I mean.
Lots of names that aren't in use at the moment are pretty. Melanie is another example. Rebecca is just a bit sharp.

3rdNamechange · 15/02/2020 13:09

Beautiful , but not keen on Becky

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 15/02/2020 13:33

Timeless.

BookMeOnTheSudExpress summed it up for me.
I think people are confusing "had a run of popularity 30 years ago" and "dated". Dated would be something that was never a classic to begin with.

4000 years old, as bridgetreilly said. Yes, it's biblical. She was the wife of Abraham's son Isaac, and the mother of Jacob and Esau.

I love Daphne Du Maurier's book Rebecca and the Hitchcock film version. Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair is one of the greatest characters in English literature.

Good classic name. Go for it!

Bitchbadgerplease · 15/02/2020 14:27

grandma lottie I've lived in a few places in the north. Ive worked with 3 Rebeccas as an adult (thinking quickly, there may be more) and went to school with 4 that I can think of. Two were in my class. As an infant I remember being taught how to say one another's names and definitely was the 'ree' sound. It's maybe softer than that in speech but I'd never have thought of it as a 'ruh' sound. It's not a rule I made, I'm just going off experience.

lottiegarbanzo · 15/02/2020 14:40

What? Why are referring to me as grandma?

lottiegarbanzo · 15/02/2020 14:49

Ohhhh, you're addressing Grandmasterstich (Grand Master Stitch) and me together, without a comma. Ok.

My view is that to say 'Ree' you have to emphasise that syllable. You can't say Ree without pausing on it. Whereas I think it's always the second syll. that's emphasised, the 'bec'. So you can say Re, as in Reh-BECK-uh, rather than the ruh (like small letter 'r' on it's own) sounds I think is usual but I'd expect to hear 'reb' not 'reeb'.

Bitchbadgerplease · 15/02/2020 15:51

Sorry lottie my fault with the enboldening incorrectly
Okay seems the circles I move in are the exception, which can only be a good thing!

InFiveMins · 15/02/2020 16:57

I don't mind Rebecca, but I can't stand the shorter versions - Becky, Bex, Bekka, etc.

Mummyvictoria1 · 15/02/2020 17:35

My Rebecca is Re beck ah sounding :) I'm from Edinburgh.

couchlover · 15/02/2020 17:42

Timeless - its a lovely name

pantsville · 16/02/2020 10:18

Found all the Rebeccas of Mumsnet Wink

It is very dated. Doesn’t mean it’s not a nice name.

By the way, where I live, plenty of people pronounce it a bit like “Ribecca”, so not quite a ree sound at the start, but I understand what that poster is saying.

Mind you, I don’t know any Rebeccas who don’t go by Becky either.

I saw a post on here recently saying something like when the child introduces herself, all her peers will say “that’s my mums/aunties name” so it will seem more dated in that respect.

I have a very dated name myself. All my peers were Claire, Vicky, Becky, Jess, Nathan, Luke, Jamie... doesn’t mean you can’t use these names now but thinking on 30/40 years down the line when the person shares a name most common amongst pensioners, that could be worth taking into account

MyuMe · 16/02/2020 13:27

It is timeless and lovely

But I don't like the nicknames.

Becca Becky Bex etc