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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Asa?

65 replies

BlueMountains5 · 15/05/2023 17:32

My husband and I just found out that we’re having a baby boy and we’re so excited! Except for the name.. we have so many great girl names but are really struggling to find a boy’s name we like.

I love the name Asa (pronounced Ace-ah) and it’s an old family name. But I know it’s pretty uncommon. My husband really likes it too, but we don’t want to saddle our child to a name that they’ll constantly have to explain.

Thoughts?

OP posts:
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ParentsTrapped · 15/05/2023 20:29

I love it. I know a 2.5 year old Asa and he’s never had pronunciation issues. It’s a great name.

AlltheFs · 15/05/2023 20:32

I know one Asa, I don’t think it has caused any issues for him. He’s a child of a former work colleague. Nice name, not 100% my cup of tea but I like it.

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 20:35

Why would any name be 'only used if you are Jewish?'. Sounds a bit of a dodgy opinion to me.

Joolsin · 15/05/2023 20:39

I love it, only know one - he's in his 30s.

notsurewherenotsurewhy · 15/05/2023 20:45

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 20:35

Why would any name be 'only used if you are Jewish?'. Sounds a bit of a dodgy opinion to me.

I dunno, I think some names are so very Jewish that it would inevitably lead people to assume this child is Jewish and cause confusion and sometimes awkwardness when that's not the case. I would think of, for eg, Rivka or Shmuel as being in this category. I don't think it's true of, say, Daniel or Asa.

I think the same is true for names borrowed from all cultures. At some point they seem to reach a tipping point and become less closely tied to their culture of origin (or in many cases, they actually have origins in a diverse range of cultures to start with), but I think it's always worth considering when naming a child.

FormerlySpeckledyHen · 15/05/2023 20:45

I like it. Not heard it for a long time, since the football player Asa Hartford back in the olden days.

Somanycats · 15/05/2023 20:48

Absolutely Asa Hartford. I have always loved it for a man.

lavagal · 15/05/2023 20:49

I like it!

ChufftyBadge · 15/05/2023 20:51

I like it

SpringIntoChaos · 15/05/2023 20:55

I had a HUGE crush on Asa Hartford growing up...70s footballer, complete with the obligatory 'footballer perm' 🤣

Not sure about it for a girl though? It's a bit harsh sounding to my ears, but whatever floats your boat OP 🤷‍♀️

Ihatenicknames · 15/05/2023 20:57

I have an Asa. Some people do struggle to pronounce it but it's a great name and, as others have said, becoming more well known thanks to Asa Butterfield.

TrudyTuesday · 15/05/2023 20:57

I absolutely love it! Was my number one choice for DS but was vetoed by my partner 😒 still bitter about it!

bravotango · 15/05/2023 21:04

Shookethtothecore · 15/05/2023 19:22

I love it I wanted it but it would have been daft with our surname.

Spades?

I like Asa OP, easy to spell and pronounce, a winner!

Fandabedodgy · 15/05/2023 21:07

I know one Asa. He's in his 40s and no one has any problems pronouncing his name.

It's perfectly fine name

Superdupes · 15/05/2023 21:16

I like the sound of it but would have thought it was Assa if you hadn't said. I wouldn't call my child something that was one letter away from Ass though. I'd use Acer.

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 21:26

Superdupes · 15/05/2023 21:16

I like the sound of it but would have thought it was Assa if you hadn't said. I wouldn't call my child something that was one letter away from Ass though. I'd use Acer.

Wouldn't you need a double consonant to make it Assa? After all, laser, phase, chase, all have a short 'a' sound.

PinkBuffalo · 15/05/2023 21:31

I like it!

also I do sometimes have real problems understanding pronunciation but have no problems with Asa if that helps!

CharlottenBerg · 15/05/2023 21:33

Anyhow, 'ass' is mainly American. In the UK, we sit on our arses. Which reminds me. Quite a long while ago, (like 100 years ago), upper class English people pronounced 'ass' (donkey) the way we pronounce 'arse' (backside). Our music teacher at school used to say 'you silly ass' that way, he was aged about 80. A comedy character, 'Lord Charles', a ventriloquist's dummy operated by Ray Alan, used to say it. Both got laughs.

ConstitutionHill · 15/05/2023 22:36

Love it.

Whatisityoucantface · 16/05/2023 07:38

I really like it, only came across recently it because of the actor Asa Butterfield. Ace is a cute nn too

Original poster
BlueMountains5 · 16/05/2023 11:56

Thanks all! Really helpful. Asa is definitely still at the top of our list, although my husband is somewhat concerned about "Ass-a" teasing, as a few have pointed out here.

I'm not as worried. I knew one Asa growing up and I can't remember any issues, although it wasn't in the UK and in an area where unusual names were pretty common. So maybe I underestimate the teasing potential...

OP posts:
Shookethtothecore · 16/05/2023 12:25

My children have unusual names that some people thought might lead to teasing.

none of them have been teased for their names, unusual names aren’t that unusual anymore and I don’t think kids are that arsed about other peoples names tbh.

TallulahBetty · 16/05/2023 12:27

I knew a little Asa. No issues with pronunciation.

MyFaceIsAnAONB · 16/05/2023 12:28

I like it! I prefer Acer like the tree 😍 (also a tech brand though I think? 😄 in our family we already have a different tech brand, nail varnish brand, and 2 cars so that’s not a huge deal to me)

Asa is nice but a bit biblical for me, and I just easily misspelt it as ‘Ass’ annoyingly!

fairycupcakes · 16/05/2023 21:34

Asa is fab, it’s on my list too!!
I feel like it’s quite clear it should be ace-a pronunciation and not as-sa as that would need the double s :)