I don’t know if this bothers you or not, but feo/fea is the Spanish word for ugly…
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[name]Sarah[/name]–I don’t know which is the proper pronunciation, but there’s an Italian restaurant near my house called [name]Fiore[/name]'s–and it’s pronounced fee-OR-ay. I looked it up on forvo, too, and it appears that’s closer to the original Italian pronunciation, rather than fee-OR-ee. I had been thinking about [name]Fiore[/name], too, as an alternative to [name]Fiora[/name] (maybe because I keep driving by that restaurant and I’m craving Italian now!), but it sort of strikes me as a more masculine-ish Italian surname rather than a FN.
[name]Fia[/name] is fee-ah and the Spanish feo/fea is fay-oh/fay-ah. I don’t think it’s a reason to completely wipe it from your list, [name]IMO[/name].
Also [name]Finola[/name] (I think there’s a soap actress w/this name).
Agreed! I was just going to post this. 
Besides, while I’m not fluent in Spanish, I still know quite a lot, and fea never crossed my mind for one second in your whole [name]Fia[/name] thread. I would hope that you’re safe. I am curious, though, with what frequency [name]Fia[/name] is given to girls in Spanish-speaking countries… Is it possible to ask your missionary relatives what they would think if they met a [name]Fia[/name]?
I am sure I am in in the minority, but how about just using [name]Fia[/name]? I am a firm believer of naming the child what she will be called. If [name]Mia[/name] can be a stand alone, why not [name]Fia[/name]?
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I actually checked out the stats in Spain because I was curious too. I speak Spanish fluently, have lived in Spain for a few years, and “fea” never crossed my mind either.
Turns out, though, that [name]Fia[/name] isn’t used in Spain, or if it is, it’s used less than 20 times in the country. I mean, I know a bunch of people in Spain whose names don’t exist in the stats because there’s too few of them, so that’s not to say there aren’t any Spanish Fias. I’d check out Italian stats, except I don’t know where to find them…
My cousin didn’t associate fea with [name]Fia[/name]; she says I and E are significantly different in Spanish and not at all interchangeable, and besides, the sound of the central vowel is different (don’t I have a cool cousin!). So very good news for the [name]Fia[/name] fans!
So does [name]Fia[/name] have a chance still? :]
[name]FIANNA[/name] is an Irish name meaning “fair”. I always loved it and think [name]Fianna[/name] “[name]Fia[/name]” is sooo cute <3 and works well on a child and adut.
I knew a [name]Philippa[/name] who went by [name]Fia[/name].
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[name]Do[/name] American’s say it ‘sair-a-fee-na?’ [name]Sera[/name] is ‘SEH-ra’ here.
[name]Finola[/name] is my favorite, but I like it because I like [name]Nola[/name].
I came across these names that, I don’t think have been mentioned yet:
Phiala is the name of an Irish [name]Saint[/name]
Fidelma (fee-delma)
Finnea (maybe it’s like [name]Linnea[/name]?)
Fineena - means beautiful child!
Siofra means fairy, [name]Fia[/name] could work as a nn…
Any F name could work. [name]Fairuza[/name] is pretty.
I have heard a [name]Felix[/name] being called “[name]Fee[/name]”. I am not too fond of [name]Felixa[/name], so what about [name]Felicity[/name]?
Oh, did anyone suggest [name]Seraphine[/name]? It is a bit less frilly than [name]Seraphina[/name]!
Hm…I think I say [name]Sarah[/name] like what you’re describing as SEH-rah, and [name]Seraphina[/name] is the same. I have heard other accents pronounce [name]Sarah[/name] with a pretty harsh [name]AIR[/name] sound, but we don’t in this region, which borders the Great Lakes.
Forvo to the rescue… http://www.forvo.com/word/sarah/#en I say [name]Sarah[/name] like the pronunciation posted by “palitioner” and “Sar27.”
[name]Seraphina[/name] is like “LaFratta_N” http://www.forvo.com/word/seraphina/#en
So not any particular difference between [name]Sarah[/name] and [name]Sera[/name]. I guess maybe there should be, but there isn’t.
@niteowl, turns out hubby seems to like the frills; I’m less keen on frills but I don’t mind if we find a compromise that makes us both happy. We know someone named [name]Nola[/name] and don’t want her name, so that one was probably first out, but it is cute. Someone found Fiala which I think would be about the same as Phiala, yes? The others are new to the list I think! Very cool, thanks! I sort of wondered about [name]Felicity[/name] in passing, I know DH likes that one but it’s kind of too…lacy? I just know I’ll never say four syllables every single day, but if he doesn’t care that I actually call the kid [name]Fia[/name] every day, we may have opened a lot of options.