Xanthe/Ianthe/Evanthe

[Frankiefarr]

Thoughts?

Xanthe - Zanthee

Ianthe - Ee-anthee

Evanthe - e-vanthee

Not a fan of any of them tbh.

I adore romantic, poetic Ianthe - so many lovely literary links and a nice meaning. But I agree that half the time you may get "Eye- an-thee" - I much prefer your pronunciation too but both are technically "correct"/used, so you/she would have to be willing to put up with that.

Xanthe is probably the "safer" option as it seems much better known (and is still pretty imo and my second choice). I don't dislike Evanthe but personally it's my least favourite of the three as I like Evan and Evander for boys - plus there are so many Eva's, Evelyn's etc about already that it doesn't stand out as much.

Xanthe reminds me of a slimming pill

I think I prefer Xanthe.

Although there are other Greek names I much prefer.

@Acqndalous

It's odd isn't it, that nobody has a problem pronouncing Ian correctly, but struggle with Ianthe. I like them all OP so I'm no help, but I went to school with a Xanthe and she was lovely.

That’s a really good point I hadn’t thought of. Why are we all okay saying ee-an not I-an

I love Ianthe but I’m familiar with the eye-anthe pronunciation rathe4 than ee-anthe.

Xanthe, definitely. If i remember rightly, Xanthe plays the xylophone.

I am quite torn as I do like the Eye-anthee pronunciation

I like Xanthe, not keen on the others.

Have you considered Anthea?

Xanthe for me. Lovely.

Ianthe in 2nd (would have said eye-anthe 1st go until corrected) also a nice name.

Evanthe I wouldn’t automatically pronounce the thee sound at the end - so phonetically it would probably become similar to eleventh minus the el iyswim. Which isn’t very pretty on the ear.

I love Xanthe!

Xanthe reminds me of xanthan gum. Ianthe is too similar to Ian so your Dd might have to deal with those comments. However, I think it’s pronounced eye-an-thee, not ee-an-thee.

@EnidFrighten

All a bit Wankthe for me

Reminds of the spoilt kid called Xanthippe in Kimmy Schmidt

😁 I'm afraid I always think that too and am surprised more people don't say it on these threads. I think somebody actually was considering Xanthippe on one thread......

@MintyGreenDream

Xanthe reminds me of a slimming pill

Or Xanax!

@Lucienandjean

Have you considered Anthea?

Makes me think of Anthea Turner and that puts me right off

@PinkMochi

Xanthe reminds me of xanthan gum. Ianthe is too similar to Ian so your Dd might have to deal with those comments. However, I think it’s pronounced eye-an-thee, not ee-an-thee.

Proper pronunciation is definitely closer to ee-anthee

My 20yr old DD is Xanthe - she's had a few odd pronunciations over the years but I've only ever had people say it's a lovely name. I'm of Greek heritage. I love all 3 names.

Ianthe is a clear favourite for me and the definite choice if I ever have a daughter.

I pronounce it ee-an-thee.

I live Xanthe.
It's my friends teenage daughter's name. It's a bit different ( in our area) without being too 'out there'
The others aren't bad names either tbh.

I like Xanthe the most but would be worried about her being called Zanfee. I remember a thread where a poster was horrified that her son Theodore got called Fear Door and so many people said that was the right way to say it 😅

I like Xanthe, not so keen on the others.

How about Isolde?

I like Ianthe.

I love Xanthe, but I think because I like the nn Xan

Xanthe was on my list. Vetoed by DH.