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Original poster

Help with spelling of Raeya

73 replies

SillySausage21 · 09/12/2023 07:50

Hi there! Just had a baby girl called Raeya but I'm not too sure about the spelling! My partner liked Rhea but I felt that was pronounced like Ria but we want Rae-ah.. is there any other way we can spell it without having to say "its pronounced Rae-ah"

I've seen Reya, Raiya (unsure if that would be pronounced as (rye-ah) and Raya.

Any help is much appreciated 😀

OP posts:
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SheilaFentiman · 09/12/2023 08:16

Raya.

I agree that I would pronounce Rhea as Ria.

purpledahlias · 09/12/2023 08:19

I would go with Rhea. It’s pronounced Ray-a,

Surely Rhea rhymes with Thea and is pronounced Rhee-a?

megletthesecond · 09/12/2023 08:23

If you can't spell it now she will have a lifetime of everyone spelling it wrong.

GoodVibesHere · 09/12/2023 08:25

You could spell it Reia (like Princess Leia but with an R).

Raya works well though.

Fillyfrog · 09/12/2023 08:27

Raya

eleah · 09/12/2023 08:30

I know of two Raya's, both pronounced Rah-yah. I have never heard of Rhea and to be completely honest, I would think it was pronounced Ria or Reh-ah. I think Raeya or even just Raeah would be best.

Congratulations on your daughter. You have chosen a beautiful sounding name, regardless of how you decide to spell it.

TheLongpigs · 09/12/2023 08:31

We know a Raya.

YourNameGoesHere · 09/12/2023 08:33

Raya would be the easiest for her pronunciation wise and the least likely to cause issues.

LylaLee · 09/12/2023 08:37

GoodVibesHere · 09/12/2023 08:25

You could spell it Reia (like Princess Leia but with an R).

Raya works well though.

Reia (like Raeya) looks made up.

Rhea makes me think of those emu birds (also called Rheas, I'm sure).

Raya

Angrycat2768 · 09/12/2023 08:37

I like the spelling Rhea ( but would pronounce it Ria) Reya or Raya is the simplest (but one of those is a celebs dating app I think!)

TommyandGina · 09/12/2023 08:42

Saxendi · 09/12/2023 08:00

Freya?

This is a good suggestion, and will save the person a lifetime of stress spelling their name out to people. You can always use the nickname Reya.

Saschka · 09/12/2023 08:43

Rhea - every Rhea I have met pronounces it Ria. Pretty name, will probably be mispronounced at least 50% of the time.

Raeia, Rhaeia, Raeya, Raeiya, Rhaeiya etc - just no. Sounds like a minor character from House of Dragons, and it will be constantly mis-spelled by everyone, which will get annoying very fast.

Raya - I would pronounce Ray-a, but the Disney film pronounces it Ry-a. So you may have to correct people. It is by far the prettiest spelling though.

Reya - people will pronounce it correctly when they read it, but it’s not a common spelling so you’ll probably have to spell it out.

But honestly you are going to have to spell all of these options out, so you might as well just pick the one you like best.

FayCarew · 09/12/2023 08:44

Pick a name that doesn't have spelling/pronunciation issues.

WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps · 09/12/2023 08:45

Gumbo · 09/12/2023 07:56

Are you completely set on this name? It's just that naming your baby a name that even you're struggling to spell is setting the child up for a life of having to correct spellings and/or pronunciations.

What's the middle name?

What’s the middle name?

Hope.

lollo8 · 09/12/2023 08:48

Raya.

I think it's going to become pretty naff to insert extra vowels into a name to make it look 'prettier'. It'll look overdone, or trying too hard.

Raya is straightforward, minimal, elegant.

Saschka · 09/12/2023 08:50

FayCarew · 09/12/2023 08:44

Pick a name that doesn't have spelling/pronunciation issues.

Most names have spelling or pronunciation issues - Catherine? Anne? Sarah? Jane? Rebecca? Suzanne? All have spelling issues.

Evelyn? Yvonne? Elise? Eleanor? All have alternative pronunciations that are much more different than Ray-a/Ry-a or Ray-a/Ree-a.

CurlewKate · 09/12/2023 08:51

Raya, surely?

GassyGirl · 09/12/2023 08:55

Rayah ?

Squirrelsonthescaffolding · 09/12/2023 08:55

I think Reya is the clearest if you want to pronounce it Ray -a. And you could say Reya, like Freya and everyone would know what you meant and remember how to spell and pronounce it.

Raya looks like Maya, which is generally pronounced My-a round here.
it is a lovely name and congratulations!

kezzykicks · 09/12/2023 08:56

Definitely Raya. I know a couple of little Rheas and they all pronounce their names as Ria.

user1492757084 · 09/12/2023 09:17

Saying Reya like Freya without the F is a good idea.

Or calling her Rae.

Ardith · 09/12/2023 09:34

Raya.

Definitely not Rhea she’ll spend her life explaining it to people. I’d pronounce Rhea as Ree.

Angrycat2768 · 09/12/2023 09:46

Raeia, Rhaeia, Raeya, Raeiya, Rhaeiya etc - just no. Sounds like a minor character from House of Dragons, and it will be constantly mis-spelled by everyone, which will get annoying very fast.

yes this is what I was thinking! There are many female characters on House of Dragon who are Rhaena, Rhaenyra, Rhaenys, Rhaeor and all sorts of things. You don't want the Game if Thrones situation situation where people called their kids Danerys only for her to turn evil! ( the book is already written though. One of them turns evil!)

Original poster
SillySausage21 · 09/12/2023 10:08

Thank you so much for the comments, we are dead set on the name so I really want it to work the best for her as I have a name myself that I've had to spell and correct all my life so I didn't want the same for her but we absolutely love the name, it looks like Raya is the best & given where we are in the country I'm confident it'll be pronounced correctly instead of Rah-yah haha

@WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps go back to bed and wake up a nicer person 🖕🏽 life's too short to be a petty cow for all of it

OP posts:
WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps · 09/12/2023 10:13

SillySausage21 · 09/12/2023 10:08

Thank you so much for the comments, we are dead set on the name so I really want it to work the best for her as I have a name myself that I've had to spell and correct all my life so I didn't want the same for her but we absolutely love the name, it looks like Raya is the best & given where we are in the country I'm confident it'll be pronounced correctly instead of Rah-yah haha

@WhileMyDishwasherGentlyWeeps go back to bed and wake up a nicer person 🖕🏽 life's too short to be a petty cow for all of it

Bit of an overreaction to a harmless joke. But there you go.