Thea

[rek21]

After much debate dh and I have agreed on Thea Rebekah for dd2, who is due to arrive any minute (dd1 is Eve Oriel for comparison purposes). However, since we have started telling people about this a few things are starting to niggle;

1. people ask what it is short for. It is dorothea, but we have no intention of using the whole name although we like the meaning (gift of god).
2. people pronounce it th-ay-a when we intend th-ee-a
3. some people have said 'oh that's different' as though we'd chosen fifi trixibelle or something.

So, should I stick to my guns or will I, and possibly she, be driven insane by endlessly repeating, 'actually, it's th-ee-a'.

one of my favourite names
love it

Glad you're going for Thea - lovely name, one of the top of my own list. Perfectly fine as name in itself, does not have to be short for anything.
Am reassured myself from this thread that not too many people are going to say 'thay-a' (unless they have a really posh accent, maybe) - I would certainly intend it to be thee-a.

I think it is a beautiful name and was a serious contender for ds1 had he been a girl. Dh liked it too but because we lived in London at the time thought that she might be called Fee-a at school! He can always think up a way to make a nice name sound awful. i agree with the others who say don't tell anyone till she's born. People can be so rude. Definitely stick to your guns and if people mispronounce her name, educate them.

my name is thea as in tayuh. and i get called so many names including theeuh, thayuh, tia.. you name it. so no matter what you name her she will still get drivin insane. although its not that bad because her friends will also tell the teacher or whomever what her name is and so that helps a little.

gorgeous name

I love it. My friend's 5 year old is called this and she has no problems with people pronouncing it! Surely it's just a female version of Theo?

Thea is really pretty.