I was doing some calculations with the name rankings for 2008 in [name]England[/name] and [name]Wales[/name] and came across the name Austeja. Thirteen little girls were given the name here in 2008 – not a great many but still enough to be of interest.
I googled it and it turns out it is a well known Lithuanian name (it ranked #5 there in 2008)-- the name of a old Lithuanian goddess of bee keeping – that means ‘weaver of honeycombs’. It also seems to be spelt Austheia.
I was pronouncing it ‘aus-STAY-uh’ but looking at Lithuanian pronunciation (Online Lithuanian School DEBESĖLIS) it looks like it should be ‘ow-STAY-uh’ (ow rhyming with how)
So, out of interest, what do you think? I think it has a lovely sound and would perhaps be an interesting choice for someone looking for a rare/uncommon but not made-up name
It sounds kind of exotic and strong, and somehow reminds me of a soccer player. Also, it reminds me of [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name] from the look. I could see it with an Eastern European surname.
I think it looks very exotic in a good way but sounds kind of unusual in a not so good way. I guess what puts me off is how it sounds like you are pleading for someone to stay-a. In another way, I would defer this kind of name to people who really like something unusual but easy to say. I’ve personally never heard a name that ends in the sound “ay-a” that I like enough to consider, but so many others do, then it must be more a matter of taste that everyone else seems to have, which I lack. Names like [name]Andrea[/name], [name]Thea[/name], [name]Freya[/name], that sort of thing, that’s not my thing, but Austeja is admittedly a little more appealing to me for some reason. I tend to like a consonant between the AY and the [name]AH[/name], like [name]Elena[/name], [name]Teresa[/name], or even [name]Zenaida[/name], or names that end in EE-[name]AH[/name] better than AY-[name]AH[/name]. Austeja reminds me of the exotic [name]Zenaida[/name] mostly, I am convincing myself to like it a lot more than I did when I started this post. They seem very matched in an offbeat way, not particularly close in origin, but both somewhat interesting but doable if you want something way out of the ordinary.
