Thena vs Thea

[rachelhowell]

Hi, I made a post a couple of weeks ago on three names my partner and I really liked (Maeve, Willow and Thea) and after seeing the many responses/ opinions and thinking further, we concluded on Thea! It seems to flow nicely with our surname Howell and I was pretty confident on the choice until one of my friends thought of Thena, I think they are equally gorgeous but as they are so similar its really hard for me to pick a favourite. I think Thena is so pretty and quite timeless, however would people always assume its short for Athena? because Im not so keen on Athena, so if I did pick Thena then that would be her full name. So basically, I just would love to hear some more outsider opinions once again despite how similar the two names are. Thanks!

I think it sounds like you are just trying really hard to find something more trendy or unique than Thea. You like Thea and it’s a nice normal name that won’t cause any confusion, I’d stick with that. And yes I’d assume thena was short for something or that I’d misheard.

I think with Thena I’d assume the parents were Marvel super fans.

Thea is lovely

however would people always assume its short for Athena?

Isn't it literally a short form of Athena though?

I would I assume it was short for / mishearing of Athena.

Thea is lovely though.

I prefer Thea, but if I knew a Thena I'm sure I'd get used to it and stop thinking of it as different. I know plenty of people whose names I'd never heard of before I met them. Doesn't matter.

If I heard Thea I’d assume it was short for Dorothea.

Thea Willow Howell.

I love Thea, but I really like Thena as well. It's a good choice if you want something different but not ridiculous. It's said exactly how it's spelled, which is a plus. Thena Howell is a lovely name.

Thena sounds daft. Athena is reasonable. Thea is a unattractive name to me, but better than Thena.

I think Thea is pretty, Thena has just been autocorrected twice by my phone to Athena! I think it’s pretty but I’d assume the name was Athena and I’d misheard.

Thena will be constantly misheard as Athena and misread as Thea. Call her Thea or Athena - both are fantastic names.