Thoughts on Bette?

[SemperIdem]

Came across it on a Netflix programme I’ve been watching and thought it was quite different to all the soft sounding girls names popular at the moment.

I love Betty...

I wouldn't worry about people not knowing how to pronounce it, you only have to be told once and then you know. Its not like the alternative pronunciation is rude or embarrassing 🙂 i watched the series too and its a lovely different nickname to Elizabeth. I'm big on nicknames though so would go full name and then shorten it

Elizabeth is a lovely, whatever your choice of nn.

The nn on the birth cert is not so nice.

I think to be honest that Bette has quite an ugly look and sound, though I am with the OP in preferring it to these horrible, twee names so popular these days - Betsy being a prime example.

I'd put Elizabeth on the bc, much better than having a diminutive on there. Elizabeth is such a versatile name.

@ChristmasJumpers

I wouldn't worry about people not knowing how to pronounce it, you only have to be told once and then you know. Its not like the alternative pronunciation is rude or embarrassing 🙂 i watched the series too and its a lovely different nickname to Elizabeth. I'm big on nicknames though so would go full name and then shorten it

It's true that people she knows will (hopefully) only have to be told once (though never underestimate people's ability to keep getting a name wrong)... But she'll have a lifetime of strangers pronouncing it wrong when they only see it written down. Being called by receptionists, greeted by an interview panel, called up on stage to receive a prize... I mean, it's happened a lot to me, and my name's not even that ambiguous, just similar to some much more common names.

@sandandso I suppose it depends how well you can deal with it. My name (you would think) is straight forward to pronounce but it hasn't stopped lots getting it wrong, especially during a year of studying abroad. It's the source of many jokes as once pronunciation is quite a rude word but I just have to laugh along

I like Bette, and I agree about nice, strong names.

What about Bettina, if you’d consider Elizabeth but want to avoid Liz.

Agree @ChristmasJumpers. I guess the thing is, we don't know how well our children will deal with a tricky name. I'm fine with it all now, but felt very self-conscious about my name growing up. For that reason I've been very cautious naming DC, just in case. (Well, cautious in the sense of choosing easy-to-pronounce, uncontroversial names. I don't mean we all have to give our children top 10 names.) I figure there'll be challenges enough, so I don't want to give them another.

Love it! Strong name!

I like it. Rather cool I think. I think it works well as a stand alone name, not just a short form for Elizabeth.

I like it. I do think 'Middler' and don't know why. Might give it a Google 🤔

I think Middler but I like it. Much prefer it as a full name to Elizabeth as a full name as I really dislike a lot of the shortenings. Beth seems to be the more common shortening these days where I am.

I like it. I think Bette Midler or Bette Davies both good associations

I like it but think like others some will think it's Bet and others will pronounce it Betty. I think though it doesn't have to be a big deal. Some people just get used to being called by different names.

I quite like it. I would call her Elizabeth nn Bette though, as it doesn’t sound like a full name to me. Liz is a rare nn these days, if you start w Bette that’s what she’ll be called.

I have a colleague Bette (Dutch) who pronounces it Bett-a. So I wonder whether the European tendency would be to add the a sound (for pronouncing the e). Either way, strong choice.

It's a good strong name. People will learn to say it properly- it's hardly difficult to say. Not my personal taste but I like anything original so for it!

I know the show, the ballet one, and I think her name is Elisabeth with Bette as the NN

Horrible. Bête (pronounced the same way) means “beast” or “stupid” in French. I’d go for Betsy or Elizabeth instead.

I love it. Unusual but not weird.

It’s a no from me. A lifetime of mis pronunciation and mis spelling. Don’t forget we are moving to a era of communication via email etc where people will have to decide what a name says without hearing the owner pronounce their name and that makes it awkward. I think of Bet Lynch too.

I love it. Unusual but not trendy. Class.

I don't see why people would struggle, and if they're not cultured enough to have heard of either Bette Davis or the Divine Miss M, that's their loss!

My passions were all gathered together like fingers that made a fist. Drive is considered aggression today; I knew it then as purpose.

Bette Davis

Lovely but Betty is much better and she wouldn’t need to correct everyone on the spelling once she was older.

Really close to the French word for both "stupid" and "beast".

I like Bet, Bette, Betty whichever spelling you choose. It's a nice name.
I met a lady years ago called Beatta. I'd never heard of it before