Ralph pronounced Rafe
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Ralph pronounced Rafe
| Tue, 07-06-2004 - 12:15am |
DH and I really like the name Ralph with the British pronunciation of Rafe. My question is...is there any point in persuing this as a name or is the baby doomed to a life of being called Ralf if we use this name?
Steph
Steph
Steph, momma to Rhys - May 17, 2002

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What about the name Rannulf, and using Rafe as a nickname? I'm not sure of the derivation of Rannulf. I ran across it in a novel and liked it. Perhaps German, or Danish?
Good luck.
Cara
I agree with Simonenicole's suggestion.
Michelle
Graham May 1999, Lily P
This is what I found out about this pronunciation for those who are interested ;)
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxwordsw.html
"Ralph" was traditionally pronounced /reIf/ in Britain -- Gilbert
and Sullivan rhymed it with "waif" in H.M.S. Pinafore; that's how
the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams pronounced his name; and even
today actor Ralph Fiennes (of Schindler's List fame) is said to
pronounce his name /reIf faInz/.
momma to
Rhys, Niamh, Isla and Deirdre!To my knowledge I had never heard of Rhys before I started posting on this board and the first couple of times I saw it I had no idea how to pronounce it :) At least with Ralph there's something to go on, imo anyway lol
~ Liz ~
First of all, Steph, are you in Canada or the U.S.? I ask only because I imagine Canadians might be a little more familiar with British pronunciations.
Yes, I think your son would have to correct everyone the first time, but that is really no worse than many names, from the made-up ones to the ones who are Michaela pronounced Mi-shay-la vs. Mi-kay-la or Alicias who are A-lee-see-a vs. A-lee-sha. People can be trained quickly. I thought there was only way to pronounce Rhys (Reese), but if people have to learn that, too, it doesn't seem insurmountable. I hear plenty of people say "Rafe Fines" for Ralph Fiennes, and every radio announcer I've ever heard says "Rafe Vaughn Williams."
Good luck!
Thelma
Olivia 5/12/03
DD#2 9/17/04
Yep I am in Canada but honestly everyone I know here pronounces is ralf....thus my question. I do have to correct people with Rhys' name all of the time but there really is only one way to pronounce Rhys (pronouncing it Rice or Rise is just wrong not an alternate way of pronouncing it KWIM?) Plus honestly when people look at the name Rhys they *expect* that it might be hard to say LOL which wouldn't be the case with Ralph where everyone will assume that they understand how it should be pronounced since they have seen the name one thousand times before and the vast majority of those times it has been pronounced ralf.
The rayf pronunciation is an accepted pronunciation though...I didn't pull it out of a hat...
Spelling it Rafe doesn't work for me because then you lose the sense of history that is actually one of the things I *like* about the name...pronouncing it the traditional ralf way doesn't work either because it just isn't the mental image I picture for a baby KWIM??
I dunno I think we may have to drop this one....even though we both agree that it meets our criteria for "cool and strong" LOL!
Steph
Steph, momma to Rhys - May 17, 2002
momma to
Rhys, Niamh, Isla and Deirdre!Pages