Are we crazy to name DD this?

[Amelia786]

Ok - I'm ready for the onslaught here...

But I loveeee the name Ithaca. Our surname is very common, one syllable.

Thoughts?

Yes. The middle name slot is made for impractical loves.

It's fine, OP.

My immediate thought was ipecac, but I don't think enough people would make that link for it to be problematic. It sounds nothing line Jessica and looks fairly straightforward to pronounce (certainly more so than Ianthe).

Go for it.

Do it if you like it

The thing with these names is that yes, it might be easy-ish to read aloud when written down, but imagine ringing someone up and saying "Hi, my name's Ithaca Jones and I'm calling to arrange...". Or just introducing yourself to a new person: "Hi, I'm Ithaca". The person at the receiving end will be giving off a strong vibe of "Whaaa?! WTF did she just say?". There'll be a whole load of "Sorry, Jessica? Iss-a-ca? Iff-a... Sorry, can you repeat it again, I'm really sorry...".
Every day, all her life.

Went on honeymoon with first husband, windsurfing in Ithaca. Lovely island. Odysseus sailed away from there to Troy, to do macho things & slaughter people. Buggered off for 20years, abandoning his gorgeous wife; then the fecker comes back & expects things to be the same. Name of child? Hardly!

I think there’s too much potential for bullying with that name, the thick bit in the middle

But more than that, I always think would I want to be called it and quite frankly I wouldn’t wish to be called Ithaca.

I have lived with an unusual name for my whole life (and it’s not Queen Victoria’s teapot 🙂) I cannot tell you how many variations I have been called or how many times I have had to spell it and then still be called something completely different because they couldn’t remember it.. so tiresome, I have cursed my mother forever because she chose the name.. I would urge to think long and hard before choosing a name that will possibly cause a lifetime of grief...

I think it's lovely.

It reminds of the story of the mythical Greek man who flew too close to the sun.

That was Icarus. (Too close to the sun.)

Totally different story.

Please do not do that to your child

Haven't heard it used as a name before but I quite like it.

@bourbonne

The thing with these names is that yes, it might be easy-ish to read aloud when written down, but imagine ringing someone up and saying "Hi, my name's Ithaca Jones and I'm calling to arrange...". Or just introducing yourself to a new person: "Hi, I'm Ithaca". The person at the receiving end will be giving off a strong vibe of "Whaaa?! WTF did she just say?". There'll be a whole load of "Sorry, Jessica? Iss-a-ca? Iff-a... Sorry, can you repeat it again, I'm really sorry...". Every day, all her life.

If she's anything like me, she'll just say, 'Ithaca- that's Indigo, Tango, Alpha...'

It's really not that arduous. I probably need to introduce myself on the telephone less than once a month. I'm surprised you need to do it daily.

Any time I see that someone has given their child a 'Younique' name, I think they've done it for themselves and not actually thought about their child having to live their entire life with that name.

No, too out there - and not a nice sound for a name anyway.

@WineInTheWillows why is it surprising? I have a job which brings me into contact with various people, both inside my company and externally. It's not at all unusual that I'm introducing myself to, or receiving a call from, someone I don't know well. That's on top of life admin and social stuff.

Some people might not mind having to explain their name and be met with bafflement and mispronunciation everywhere they go, but I'm not one of them. Luckily my name is much more common where I now live, than it was when I was growing up. But it was a constant annoyance and embarrassment growing up. It's so nice now to say "I'm Bourbonne" and people just understand and recognise it.

Apparently it's also a gun company in the US. 👀

I don’t mind it, but it’s a bit odd perhaps if you don’t have a reason for it...

It’s originally Odysseus’ island home in the myth, before it was anywhere in NY, just so’s you know.

Cassia is nice....

@WineInTheWillows why is it surprising? I have a job which brings me into contact with various people, both inside my company and externally. It's not at all unusual that I'm introducing myself to, or receiving a call from, someone I don't know well. That's on top of life admin and social stuff.

Mainly because I tend to email first and call second, if at all.

@WineInTheWillows I guess my point is nobody can know what little Ithaca's life will be. There's not much point us saying "well I just email people"; she might find herself working in a call centre, or face to face with clients, etc. So I'd always err on the side of giving a child a name that's easy to live with. One less hassle!

Maybe @bourbonne, but that does narrow the field a lot. I have a DNiece called Clara and I've been out with her when she's had to correct, 'Sorry, Tara? Lara? Kara?' I've a friend called Lorna who gets 'Laura' on the phone a lot...

If you're limiting your name choices to those that will not be misheard over a phone line, you're discounting a lot of names. I think it's perfectly reasonable to be unwilling to do that.

Yeeesss... But there's Clara, and then there's Ithaca.

It looks quite nice written down, but I’ve tried saying it a few times and it really makes my skin crawl. Sorry OP! It’s something about the ‘th’ making it sound like I’ve got a lisp. Not pleasant at all. I rarely feel so strongly about names.

Icatha (so with the c sound first and th sound last) rolls off the tongue a lot more smoothly.

Makes me think of 'icky'

@WineInTheWillows if she ends up in sales, it could be 20 times a day. Not really unusual at all to use your own name a lot at work. Or nursing. Or loads of jobs.

It's a bit too try hard for me but if you like it, use it. Who cares what we think?