Mordecai

[17caterpillars1mouse]

Thoughts on Mordecai?

Do it if you aren't picky about care homes!

First thing that sprung to my mind was morcilla - which is Spanish black pudding - so its a No from me.

I've never heard of it before but don't mind it tbh! I'm not that keen on it written down but I think out loud it sounds fine. If Malachi can be a name why not Mordecai 🤷‍♀️

Appalling, please dont

I'd just assume it's a kid of parents who are proud to be of Jewish heritage. I love the name but I am biased of course. People who have bad visceral reaction to this name thinking it's ridiculous and pretentious or - it just gives away that they aren't very educated. It's also common for people from their own community to object to giving 'too ethnic' name for kid to spare the 'poor kid'.

I hoped someone else had this!

No problem with the name, though.

I love it

Interesting. I think you have to think about different accents. I know my name is pronounced very differently depending where I am in the country. Like Theo can be Feeoh, Michelle can be Me-shell. The last too syllables could sound like Dicky or ducky.

It looks a prestigious name written down but how it sounds on a day-to-day basis is important. He would probably be known as Dec or Kai as everything gets shortened by mates.

I love it - it's one of my favourite names. I'd assume that you were religious - probably Jewish - but that would be as far as it went.

Erm….

No, the boy in Children of the Corn is called Malachai

It's a great Jewish name and all the posters branding it "weird" and "appalling" are being straightforwardly ignorant. It's not a name I would choose as a) not Jewish and b) I think it would be hard to shorten, and it feels a bit of a mouthful for a toddler. But if you love it OP go for it.

Never once have I heard cai pronounced as kay. The i alone should be indicative that the i sound is stressed.

The ending of cai is pronounced in exactly the same way as it is in kookai (for those whom remember the fashion brand).

Several of my ancestors were called Mordecai, it's a lovely name. (And yes, I'm Jewish).

I think if you’re Jewish it’s fine. Would probably be shortened by friends.
If not Jewish I would why you chosen a very obviously Jewish name

I thought of Fiddler on the Roof, although I checked and it seems that character was called Mordcha not Mordecai.

Many Mordechais I know (I am Jewish) are shortened to Mordcha, Motti, Mordi etc.

You can't be 'very' Jewish. You're either Jewish or not.

💯 percent agree. Very questionable

Its awful sorry

You're right! Oops :)

It brings to mind an ultra Orthodox Jewish man, with the long black coat and everything. Nothing wrong with that if that's what you're going for, although I don't think it has a particularly pleasant sound TBH. Other Jewish names eg Malachi as mentioned up thread sound much more mellifluous.

It also makes me think of undertakers, not sure why, maybe because 'Mord' sounds a bit like 'Morte'.

I think of Mordecai Roberts from the Chrestomanci books.

I'd think it's fairly unusual, but quite nice. I would worry a bit about the spelling though, and I don't think it shortens particularly easily.

I like it. And Malachi. They were both on my list before DS was born, pretty near the top, but in the end we went for another Biblical name that shortens more easily.

Do you want to name him after a relative? put it as a middle name. It's a bit old for a baby. You can find another name with another root having the same meaning.

I understand what you are saying and it sounds nice the way you say it. My own name sounds very different in different parts of the country. Try saying the name in accents like the West Midlands where the stresses are different to you. Not criticising a West Midlands accent (my name sounds alright there!) just you can’t guarantee what your child’s name will sound like said back to you when we have such varied accents in this country. And people (like me) who are coming across the name for the first time and stumble over the pronunciation. I knew a mish-elle who was driven to distraction by moving to a place where she was me-shell. She hated it. Emphasis very much on the first syllable and she hated sounding so pretentious correcting it when it was the normal way of saying it there. Other people may like the sound of me-shell to mish-elle.

I never knew how to say kookai either but the K rather than c would make me want to sound the Kai to rhyme with eye. Cai is a more difficult sound to decipher to me. Maybe because I know a Cain well (pronounced cane).

When faced with a new word for the first time we can only go on best guesses for what it sounds like. If I ever come across the name I know how to say it now!