Help us choose between Astrid and Thora!

[Taggys]

Hi...

We have finally managed to narrow our search for a Scandi baby girl name down to either:

First name + middle name:

Astrid Thora
or
Thora Astrid

Help!! Which one is nicest? We love both <3

How would you pronounce Thora, out of interest? Because sometimes the English pronunciation is quite different between two similar names such as Eric in English and Erik in Swedish. Maybe me thinking of it with the Swedish pronunciation makes it sound really harsh whereas you are thinking of English way?

My DD has a friend called Thora it's pronounced Tour-ah, she's 7 and German.

@timoteigirl how is Erik pronounced in Swedish?
Out of curiosity.... because I didn't know there was a difference.

Love it!

I much prefer Thora Astrid. The "A"s are not the same sound in standard English pronunciation. Probably depends on the local accent.

@Switcherood , There's a tendency to slip an 'r' sound between 2 As and some other combinations (Laura Norder, drawring etc)
Thora Astrid might get said as Thora Rastrid or Tora Rastrid.

@oliviaxxx , Isn't that a bit outing?

How so?

I love Astrid so definitely Astrid Thora .

There are websites where you can find out about this. I first started looking into this when I met a Tove Jansson (From a Swedish speaking background but a Finn) fan who named her daughter Tove but pronounced it in a totally different way. It is quite different in Danish as well. Pronounce Names - Dictionary of Name Pronunciation, How to say or pronounce names, Name pronunciation website is one of them. Thora - How to pronounce Thora (babynamespedia.com)
Thora - How to pronounce Thora (babynamespedia.com) E is very short in Eric Eric - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com but long in Erik Eric Name Pronunciation in [20 Different] Languages (kidpaw.com)

I love Thora.

I know a Theodora who goes by Thora.

I don't like thora it sounds like you have a lisp.

Big fan of Astrid. Astrid Thora sounds gorgeous.

You couldn't post any of the other girl's names you were considering by any chance? Scandi girl on the way, and not found a name yet! Thanks!

can you start your own thread and I can help there?

Thanks timoteigirl! Have started a new thread - Baby Names - A sister for Lars.
Thanks!

Astrid Thora sounds much better, however Astrid is a quite common name in Sweden which you may want to consider (if close connection to Sweden / moving there etc)

Yes, I am Swedish and it is a bit too common in Sweden if I am being really honest...😏

Congratulations, how exciting! 😍We had these other names on our list too:

Ilse
Eira
Helga
Asta
Elfrida
Selma
Iris
Vega
Aina

Still really like most of them - and still might be considering "Ilse" or "Eira" even though I think we are pretty set on Thora now with the middle name Astrid.

Thora is clunky and not pretty imo so
If I had to pick I'd chose the other one.

Thora Astrid sounds better -it has a lighter flow. Astrid Thora sounds a bit clunky and heavy with the two consonants together.

But in day to day life, she will only be called by her first name, right? So choose the one you love the most. Thora is a fab name imho.

Do you have a groovy old aunt or a relative with a cool Swedish first or surname? I always think middle names are for the slightly crazy - or honouring of family past. Then there's a story, or a history, or a sense of connection there.

Astrid might be that name for you, but if putting Astrid in the middle is the equivalent of putting a generic name, why not go all out and choose something really meaningful, rather than another name you just quite like?

There - throwing that into the mix!

Thank you! I think we are pretty set on Thora now as first name, as it's just the one we like the most! It's also the one that is much less common in both the UK and Sweden - and a true Norse name.

I really like your idea of maybe using a different middle name - thank you! I am thinking of family names, there could be a fun option there, which has more meaning than Astrid (even though I love this name and the link to Astrid Lindgren)...😍