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Baby names

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

Abigail, Phoebe or somthing else?

52 replies

bogie · 09/05/2008 22:12

These are the 2 names me and dp have agreed on and I want to know which one everyone likes best.

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sweetkitty · 10/05/2008 08:40

A bit biased as I have an Abigail but definitely Abigail, mine is shortened to Abbie.

Do like Phoebe but agree you will get miss-spellings constanty but then again we do with Abbie.

TheMaskedPoster · 10/05/2008 08:58

I like them both.

DD1 has a friend Phoebe, she calls her 'The Phoebster'

SSSandy2 · 10/05/2008 09:28

Prefer Abigail. I wouldn't shorten it to Abi/Abby though, I'd go for Gail.

Here in Germany Abi is used as the standard abbreviation for Abitur (A level exams) so maybe that's why it sounds daft to me. Wouldn't be relevant in the UK though.

You could just keep both in mind and have a look at the baby you get. Abigail is a stronger name to my mind which is perhaps why I prefer it. Phoebe I find more girlish. It wouldn't suit my own dd for instance but I do know little girls who could carry it off well

LaDiDaDi · 10/05/2008 18:03

I like Phoebe but hate "Feebs" so that would put me off.

HarrietTheSpy · 10/05/2008 21:53

DH is crazy about Phoebe. I do like it but I keep thinking of what laDiDaDi says...and Friends, although I guess it won't resonate with her friends as it did with our generation...

kitsmummy · 11/05/2008 21:04

defintely Phoebe

beckystaffs · 11/05/2008 21:21

Prefer Phoebe- i would have had it on my list apart from my sister (who had no kids at the time) wanted it if she had a girl. sisters dd is now Jessica !!!
I know an 2 Abigail's though

KristinaM · 11/05/2008 21:23

both nice

squanderedzeitgeist · 12/05/2008 02:07

Both good names in the grand scheme of things- Phoebe is prettier, rather Victorian, and Abigail more 70's...Abigail's party..?

PerkinWarbeck · 11/12/2008 22:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

mazzystartled · 11/12/2008 23:01

Phoebe was on my list for dd
but had to be ditched because dh couldn't spell it
not wild about Abigail

KittyBigglesworth · 12/12/2008 03:09

I think they're both pleasing names.
Phoebe perhaps sounds a little more American to me because of the Friends association, however that will probably fade with time.
When I think of Abigail I associate it with more historical origins:
In the bible, she was the wife of Nabal, who saved his life, he died and David married her for her good qualities. So that might possibly temper any Abi Titmuss bad girl connotations! Or not?
Abigail Adams, First Lady, married to John, one of the US presidents in the 18th century, apparently known for her keen intelligence.

There was a Baroness Abigail Masham, favourite of Queen Anne and cousin of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough.

Oh and there's Abigail's party, the entertaining, 1970's play about class interplay. Crucially, the teenage Abigail is never seen, only spoken about quite briefly. Her mother, Susan goes to a neighbour's house where a few neighbours enjoys drinks party whilst her daughter is having a party of her own at home. This is shamelessly copied and pasted from Wiki! "Susan represents the upper middle class, Beverly and Laurence the aspirational middle middle class and Tony and Angela the "new arrivals" and lower middle class. The comedy arises from Beverly's inept attempts to help Angela and Tony, which have their roots in her sense of class superiority, and Susan, which has it roots in the fact that she is married...Several critics (notably Tom Paulin[1]) have responded more negatively, noting that Abigail's Party appears to represent a middle-class schadenfreude, with the only true middle class character, Sue, looking on at the antics of the couples with disdain.

I think there might also be a feisty schoolgirl with the name in Skins too.

They're both great names. I lean towards Abigail a little more personally. Depends on how it sounds with your surname too.

wem · 12/12/2008 03:22

I have a 6 week old Phoebe snoring away on me right now . She has already been called Pheebs, but we were expecting it and not bothered at all.

NowICanSpellGeansaiNollaig · 12/12/2008 08:33

Phoebe, because I just prefer it. Both perfectly nice names though.

NowICanSpellGeansaiNollaig · 12/12/2008 08:36

I saw Abigail's Party about 20 yrs ago, when I was a teenager. I thought it was all about how boring it was to be married! Really, that's what I thought it was about! The tedium of marriage and suburbia! HOW much of it went over my head??

McDreamy · 12/12/2008 08:38

Abigail, I would shorten it to Abbie, not mad on Phoebe. I have Abigail on my list of girls names along with Amy and Elizabeth (probably shortened to Libby)

Piccalilli2 · 12/12/2008 08:38

I love them both. I have an Abigail and dd2 would have been Phoebe if I could have persuaded dh. Interestingly, dd1 very rarely gets called Abi (only by me, very occasionally, when I'm sick of repeating myself for the fiftieth time)

2pt4WiseMen · 12/12/2008 08:40

Phoebe is beautiful

kslatts · 12/12/2008 08:41

I love both of them, but would probably opt for Abigail.

Sesi · 12/12/2008 10:25

I prefer Abigail. There is just something not right with the sound of the name Phoebe ? it?s inelegant if that makes sense. Also Feebs is really not good.

nissa · 12/12/2008 16:57

I have an 8 year old Phoebe so that's got my vote!

I always loved it. She doesn't mind it and although people often get the spelling wrong it never bothers her. The only thing she hates is being called Fi-fi! But then it's only the nasty girl from next door who does this....She would have found something equally annoying to shout if her name had been anything else - she's just a bully!

LaDiDaDi · 12/12/2008 16:58

I like both of them but I really dislike "Feebs" so I'd go for Abigail.

LaDiDaDi · 12/12/2008 16:59

PMSL, I've just made almost exactly the same post on this thread 7 months later and only realised after posting .

ElectraInExcelsis · 12/12/2008 16:59

Abigail - my dd is an Abigail. She is usually Abi, but my dh and I were happy for that to be the case, so it depends how you would feel about it tbh.

clairebear88 · 12/12/2008 17:58

Hi
These 2 names are on my list amongst quite a few others like Lydia, Libby, Amy, Caitlin, and Isabel.
I think out of the 2 I prefer Abigail though

Good luck