Fae - can it be a nickname?

[MoonlightMagic]

Looking for name that you can plausibly use nickname Fae out of it.

I have thought of Rafaela, Freya, Faelan, Faerie/Faery/Fairy & Phoebe
Fairy and it's variants are big no to be in terms of usability, while Faelan is boys name in Ireland, meaning wolf and I feel iffy about this. Phoebe is name I like, but not that much, while Rafaela is pronounced Rafa-ella, instead of Raf-ella.
I do like Freya nn Fae, but I obviously need no nickname for Freya

what bothers me about Fae is that, based on pronunciation, it's barely three sounds - F-A-Y or maybe F-A, depending on accents... so I'm debating about Fae's usability.
I do not like Fay or Faye.

How is it pronounced?
How is it different to Fay or Faye?

If you like Fae, why not name her Fae?

Why can't you just use Fae? It's a name in its own right.
www.babycenter.com/baby-names-fae-81845.htm

From my perspective I fail to see how you can like Fae but not Faye? I’m going to need more of an explanation as to how Fae is pronounced differently, or why it is important that it is spelt Fae and why Fae is better than Fay!

reason why I look for alternatives is because I feel Fae is too short.

Anything can be a nickname. It doesn’t even have to correlate to the name but normally there’s a reason for it, not sure if there’s any problem if there’s not.

Why get tied up in knots to find a name which can be shortened to a nickname you like just use the nickname!

I knew a Freya nn Fay by friends at primary school

@Bimblybomeyelash

From my perspective I fail to see how you can like Fae but not Faye? I’m going to need more of an explanation as to how Fae is pronounced differently, or why it is important that it is spelt Fae and why Fae is better than Fay!

it's pronounced the same, but when I see both names, I like Fae better based on spelling.

Fae/Fay/Faye is fine alone. I definitely don’t think it’s a nickname for Phoebe; I don’t get why people try to pull names out of a totally different name. Just name your child the name you actually like.

Fae is the same as Fay and Faye isn't it?! Just a different spelling.

Fae is totally reasonable to use on it's own . It is really pretty.

Another name that Fae can be a diminutive of is Euphemia but that isn't everyone's taste.

I know a Bonnie Fae so named because she had beautiful slighly pointy ears when she was born.

Phaedra or Faith?

Faeces?

(Sorry. But maybe something to bear in mind. Kids and their marker pens can be cruel)

Faela?

Another vote for Faith here.

Why is it "too short"? I've genuinely never heard of that being a problem and I'm really curious! Nice and easy to learn to spell and you can always fit it on to personalised items!

Don’t call her Phaedra, in mythology she falsely accuses her stepson of rape because he refused to sleep with her

Fae is a perfectly fine name on its own! There’s loads of one syllable names- Tom, Sam, Anne, Jane, Claire, Eve, Joy, Jack

Fae is a neo-pronoun which seems to be increasing in popularity with some non-binary people. Just in case you're not aware.

Short names....
Eva
Eve
Ivy
Ann

All work fine. My DD name has 4 letters, no one has ever commented.

Fay/e is a name in its own right. I think you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of correcting the spelling if you use Fae, is all I would say.

If you don’t want to use it as a full name then Raffaella is pronounced RA-Fay-ELLa in the UK so that would work fine and also makes sense of your spelling -

Another option is Phaedra (pronounced Fay-draa) - which also - more or less - makes sense of your preferred spelling. Or Faith.

Freya is plausible. Phoebe too much of a stretch I think.

Faith would work. Not rare but not super common either.

@PatNextDoor

Faeces?

(Sorry. But maybe something to bear in mind. Kids and their marker pens can be cruel)

based on my experience working with kids:

1. kids vocabulary isn't that advanced
2. when they bully someone, they mostly care about focusing in other traits/picks, names are usually ignored
3. contrary to popular opinion, they aren't that creative

Fae is lovely (I like the clear supernatural links) and providing you don't mind people regularly misspelling it (similar to May/Mae/Mai) I think it's very useable as a given name - it's an unusual but recognized spelling.

If you want it as a nn then any name with F and A sounds/letters could work - obviously Freya and Faith but also Freda, Fenella, Francesca/Frances, maybe Fiona? I wonder if it could even work for Ophelia? Rafaella nn Fae doesn't seem that odd to me, despite the different sound - the letters are there after all. I don't think it would work for Phoebe though (no A letter or sound), and Faelan is sounds very much a boys name to me.

@MillyMinamino

Fae is a neo-pronoun which seems to be increasing in popularity with some non-binary people. Just in case you're not aware.

^^ this - it's currently used by non-binary folk (like he/she/they/xe/fae).