Final call...RR

[Overthinkingalways]

Rafferty (potential for Rafe non) or plain Rafe?

Raphael gets love on here but it doesn’t flow into our surname.

Rafe

I think I’d go for Rafferty as a full name. I’m never sure is Rafe pronounced Ra-fee or Rayfe?

I always thought it was Rayfe but that's a different sound to the start of Rafferty so now you've got me wondering @DotDotDotDotDot
I think Rafferty nn Raff or Raffy is best. Rafe if you're pronouncing it Ray-fe is just really harsh.

Yes Rafe would be pronounced Ray-fe

I think Rafferty is a lovely name, so would go for that

I like Rafe. (Though I don’t like Ray ....)

I like Rafferty too, though I always think it sounds like a Character from Cats.

I love both Rafferty and Rafe (either as the full name or as a nickname.)

If you are only ever going to call him Rafe then use that as the name, but if you like both and will use both, then Rafferty nn Rafe.

Rafferty nn Raff.

I'm not keen on Raff (Riff Raff)

Rafe is nice!

@Overthinkingalways

Yes Rafe would be pronounced Ray-fe

Sorry reminds me of rave.

Rafferty

I prefer Rafe. Rafferty is fine, though I now have 'Baker Street' by Gerry Rafferty stuck in my head. I know a Raphael, who goes by the nn Raffa, which I think is very cute.

Just Rafe, more of a proper name than Rafferty, which is a bit 90s cool

Rafe rhymes with safe.

I like both but maybe Rafe. I do prefer Raffy as a nickname though!

@Overthinkingalways

Yes Rafe would be pronounced Ray-fe

That’s a very odd pronunciation. It should rhyme with safe, surely. I was going to say Rafe out of the two, but not if it’s pronounced like that.

No it does rhyme with safe. Should have written Ray-f

Usually I'm not keen on surnames as first names, but in this case out of the two I'd probably go for Rafferty. At least people should be clear on how to spell and pronounce it - where as with Rafe I think there will be Rafe/Ralph confusion a lot of the time (thanks to Ralph Fiennes pronunciation and the fact the name is less popular than Ralph).

Rafe, unless you really like Rafferty. I think Rafe can have a ‘Raffy’ diminutive when little if you want that.

Rafe sounds a bit more grown up and I think is fine for a ‘proper’ name nowadays.

On paper I prefer the brevity and simplicity of Rafe, it’s the type of name and sound I usually love. But in reality I don’t like it as it’s one letter away from a word which expresses a horrible concept and that’s the first thing I think, I think it sounds too much like this word. It’s probably never going to be realistically misheard as that word but I’d still choose Rafferty on that basis.

Of the two, Rafferty.