Felix or Phoenix?

[Plonker26]

I know they’re different names, not just different spellings 😂 which do you prefer?

Felix. It’s getting popular though. DD has two in her preschool class.

I only know Phoenix as a girl's name and Felix as a boy's name

A bird or a cat?

I don't think that using Fenix is a good idea. It sounds as though someone has heard the name Phoenix but has never seen it written down so has used their phonics to come up with a plausible spelling.

I don't think anyone thinks that "they're hilarious".

I wasn't trying to be funny when I said, in a fairly early post on this thread, that Felix is a great name for a cat. It was genuinely my first, instinctive reaction.

I must have seen Felix cat food adverts hundreds, if not thousands, of times, over my lifetime. I have a vague awareness of an old cartoon cat called Felix. It's traditionally a common name for male pet cats (a bit like Fido for dogs).

But I have only ever known one person called Felix. So when I hear the name, my first thought is "cat".

Maybe most people you know won't have thought that when you told them your ds's name. But some will have. Fortunately, most people have good manners and if they have thoughts that could be perceived as negative or rude, they won't voice them.

Felix.

The only Phoenix I know is a a girl, and known as Fee (Phee?)

My Felix has never had this mentioned either. I tend to think ‘tank engine’ when I hear Thomas and ‘fireman’ when I hear Sam, but I like both names and wouldn’t ever think to say ‘ooh Thomas, haha, is that not a name for a train?’ or suggest that all Thomas’s are awful because I wouldn’t choose it for my child.

It’s just a name, an inoffensive name that has always been extremely popular in the German speaking world, but also works pronunciation wise in the U.K. and has a nice meaning, (which was why I picked it!)

Exactly - I’m only half British and that’s also why I picked it as it works well in my other country - where no one has heard of Felix the Cat.

See also:

Felix Mendelssohn
Prince Felix of Denmark
Felix Baumgartner
Felix Dennis

as well as multiple popes.

Those that have a child called Felix and who say no-one has ever mentioned the cat thing to them is probably because people are being polite, as they should be, but I'll bet your bottom dollar at lot of them have thought it.

My son has a marmite old man name and I have only ever heard the positive reactions to it, but I'm pretty certain there are people out there who think 'what an ugly name for a little boy'. Thankfully in real life most people are polite and appreciate we all have different tastes. Mumsnet is a forum where we can anonymously express our true feelings!

DD was at school with a Phoenix, he kept asking her to show him her knickers (aged about 7) but aside from that association for me it’s a perfectly fine name. Felix is nice too but as many have pointed out, this is mumsnet and middle class names are often preferred. My DS name is often ridiculed on here the way Phoenix has been on this thread. IRL I’d say reactions to his name are 50:50. Pick with your heart OP, they’re both nice names.

Felix 100%

It's my DS8 name
I have had people mention the cat but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. He finds it hilarious going down the cat food aisle and wants us to buy that food for our cat. (Who actually has a very human name).

Well, I guess I'm in the minority who prefers Phoenix 😅

Felix