Naming a girl after a man

[Opinion4321]

Hi, I posted in chat too but I'd really appreciate the honest opinions I often see on this board : )

My FILs name is Ray and if we have a boy we would use this as a middle name. However, I'm wondering if we could also use it for a girl, either with the English spelling of Rae or Rei/Rai (as my FIL is Japanese).

Would it be really odd to name a girl after a man? It would also potentially really annoy my MIL but my FIL is such a lovely man. I'm worried he might think it's odd.

My DH is very close to his dad but isn't sure if it's a strange thing to do.

Honest opinions welcomed! Thank you

I know a female Ray, it's a lovely name. But I just saw someone suggested Raya which I haven't heard before and I think that's lovely.

It's my daughters middle after my grandpa's sister who died when she was a baby, and was called Rae.

I think it's cute and would have used it as her first name but DP wasn't keen.

My Dd has a unisex name that is more commonly used for boys,one of my other friends was going to use the same name for her as even if he had been a girl and my other friend named her Dd after the grandfather so not strange to me at all.

*Ds not as

Rei is lovely!

I really like it as a girls name x

Rae isn't great, although fine as a surname, but Rei is a Japanese name and given the link should be fine as a middle name.

It's fine.

How lovely to honour FIL. I like both Raya for a first name or a middle and Rae or Rei for a middle name (I think Rae is a bit too nn for me personally as a first name).

My son has the masculine version of my grandmother’s name. It was well received when she found out

It’s fine. That’s how lots of feminine versions of male names started I imagine eg Charles / Charlotte etc

Rae is becoming a really common middle name choice so personally I wouldn't use it, especially not spelt Rai as I don't think this is pronounced how you'd like. I also think it's unkind to name your child after one parent if anotjer parent would be upset about this, unless you really hate MIL or are NC with her. I think every baby deserves their own name! Dont see the need to name a little girl after her living grandad.

My friends dad was called Ray and she wanted to honour him so she named her daughter Reya, which is gorgeous.
Other spellings could be Raya or Rheya ☺️

Raya is new Disney movie.

I can't see a problem, society is slowly moving away from gendered names.

I do love Rei, I can see is being a lovely middle name.

I work with a woman called Rai. I think it's short for something though (an unusual Jewish name I think) but can't remember what the full name is. Everyone just calls her Rai though.

I 27th no it's fine to use Rae as a middle name. Dont like it as a first name.

@Opinion4321 Rae is on our list for a girl! I absolutely love it! Thinking of spelling Rey, the Star Wars character Rey! We've had a lot of mixed views on it saying it's a nickname but I love it x

I know a Rei, I think it’s a great name. Go for it.

It's nicer for a girl IMO