Is Rafe a real name?

[tortoiseonthehalfshell]

When we were expecting our first, my husband put forth Rafe for a boy. Old english, he tells me, he's read it in Simon Schama.

I said I would only consider if it was actually a real name and not a nn or something he'd made up . We couldn't find any reference to it and we had a girl anyway so issue moot.

Anyway, am reading Wolf Hall now, set Tudor era, and have just come across a character called Rafe, not short for anything.

So, does that mean he's right, it's an actual old English name? Because if so, I am honour bound to consider it for Hypothetical Future Son.

And, do you like it?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/baby_names/919107-What-do-you-think-of-Rafe

Sorry try this!

I think Rafe is a bit made up - really it's spelt Ralph but pronounced Rafe. Always thought that Rafe spelt that way was made up by people who like the name Rafe but not the spelling Ralph ~(like me!).

Highlystrung It's Germanic, and Rafe is
the medieval pronunciation of the name Ralph...!

I love the name, I too assumed that Ralph is pronounced Rafe. Go with it and choose which ever spelling you prefer.

According to behindthename both Rafe and Ralph have the same root (Ralf) but Rafe actually has a slightly older provenance (C17 as opposed to C18) so yes Rafe is a real name. I like it (we had a sort of extra great uncle who was a Ralph/Rafe. He was very posh but spent time in a South American prison for some unknown reason, so a bit of a mystery figure to us children ).

To me:

Ralph/Ralf/Rolf are pronounced with the LF at the end, so Ralf/Rolf

whereas

Rafe ryhmes with Safe.

Anything else will be very un-intuitive and difficult to understand (especially non Brits).

This is one of my fav names, sadly it's not on DHs list, in fact it might be in his veto pile.
To me Rafe is quite American, a character in Gone with the wind was Rafe Calvert and in the film Pearl Harbour Ben Aflect plays a Rafe.

Should be Ralph, but doesn't really matter. Ralph/Rafe pronounced "rayf" is definitely a proper English name.

I think "Rafe" counts as a real name, and indeed it may now be safer to spell it that way as Ralph (and Huey) can be terms for vomiting.

Rafe is a real name. It is an old English name & it is the way that Ralph was pronounced in the Middle Ages. Rafe is just the modern phonetic spelling so modern people get the pronunciation correct. Actor Timothy Spall's son is called Rafe. I really love the name. It is not of US origin. Ralph has Germanic/Norse origin & would be brought over by Vikings.

I love Rafe

Made me think of Ralph Fiennes. Not sure if he has misspelled an old English name Rafe or not - but to me it at least sounds as though it is a name that some people do already have and not something that your OH invented

Yes it is definitely a name!
Friends son is called Rafe.
I think it's a solid name, quite like it!

No, no, no. Ralph is pronounced 'rafe', unless you live in Burnley, but some are anxious that their little ones will go around being called Ralph with a hard 'l, which is tantamount to being called Trevor.

All this after-the-event justification of the 'Rafe' spelling by appealing to so-called authority and 16th C. renderings of Raff is frankly bollocks. Just spell it Ralph and raise an arch eyebrow at anyone who pronounces it incorrectly.

The composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is pronounced "Rafe".
I think Rafe might be made up but has passed into being a real name now.

I was all set to come on and say, 'well, there's a character in Wolf Hall, yada, yada'.

For what it's worth, I love it.

Yeah It's a real name, I'm called Rafe! :) And yeah of course I think it's a great name!

Yeah It's a real name, I'm called Rafe! :) And yeah of course I think it's a great name!

Yeah It's a real name, I'm called Rafe! :) And yeah of course I think it's a great name!

I like it, and at least there's no confusion with pronounciation, unlike with Ralph. And it looks better as a word, Ralph (however you pronouce it) looks awful.

Long but interesting - and reliable. Referred to, I think, by summarizing poster above, but worth reading:

www.behindthename.com/name/ralph

Is Germanic (Saxons and Vikings), modiefied by Normans (=Vikings from Northern France)
Ralph spelling not 'French invaders' but 18th cent. French version is Raoul.

I always thought Ralph was pronounced Ralf?
Until Ralph Fiennes!

I'm in the UK and I would always pronounce Ralph as Ralf unless corrected.

I like the sound of Rafe... I would spell it like that to cause less confusion!

I know a Rafferty called Rafe.

I went to school with two Rafe's lovely name.