[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there! I have a unique predicament with my daughters name and would love some kind feedback. My nearly two and half year old daughter [name_f]Fay[/name_f] has gone by her middle name since very young. It is the name she knows herself as and first responded to. We love and adore it. We never had the intention of her going by her middle name, but very long story short, her birth name did not feel right and she very much feels like [name_f]Fay[/name_f].
Since it wasn’t our intention for her to go by a middle name, early on we decided we would legally change it. We also began early on sometimes using [name_f]Fay[/name_f] and [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] together, as we planned to give her the new middle name of [name_f]Leigha[/name_f], after my middle name [name_u]Leigh[/name_u]. We weren’t in a rush to legally change it, we wanted to live with it a while and make sure all felt really great. With some time, the two names felt so naturally and beautifully her, we began using the names together more frequently to the point where now we are considering legally putting them together in the first spot, and have [name_f]Fay[/name_f] be her short name.
So the options are, first and middle name, [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f], first name Fayleia, or first name spelling Faylia. I would also consider putting the two names in the first spot as a double barrel name, but I’ve never been very drawn to double barrel names. Despite that, if you prefer that choice I’d be interested in hearing.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] some of my personal perspective on the two spellings of Fayleia and Faylia…Faylia feels very light, airy and clean to me, but I feel slightly concerned that it would be pronounced Fayl-ya, like failure. Fayleia feels more connected to my middle name with the e, and feels a bit more earthy, or grounded if that makes sense. Perhaps slightly more complicated, but also almost more regal. With any of the choices she is for sure our sweet [name_f]Fay[/name_f]-lee-uh! Thank you so much for your help and thoughts on preference of the different choices!
I really am not a fan of made up names and Fayleia and Faylia seem entirely concocted to me. But obviously a lot of people are okay with that. My choice would be [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. If you want [name_f]Fay[/name_f] to be a nickname - and I do like giving the kids options to work with for later in life - then what about finding a more common F name that it could be seen as the nickname for, like [name_f]Faith[/name_f] or countless other options? If not, then Fay Leigha would be my choice over combining the two into a first name.
I agree with PP I wouldn’t combine it, too confusing. With [name_f]Leigha[/name_f], I want to say [name_m]Lay[/name_m]-ah, not sure if that would be an issue with other people. I would do [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leah[/name_f], [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Lea[/name_f], [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Lia[/name_f], [name_f]Faye[/name_f] [name_f]Leah[/name_f], [name_f]Faye[/name_f] [name_f]Lea[/name_f], or [name_f]Faye[/name_f] [name_f]Lia[/name_f]. I usually like [name_f]Lia[/name_f] as opposed to [name_f]Leah[/name_f], but I’m leaning towards [name_f]Fay/name_f [name_f]Leah[/name_f] for you. I think you should just keep them as first and middle, as opposed to double barreled or two first names. I have a double barreled name w/hyphen and it can cause problems like with my license, they didn’t have the ability to put the hyphen in.
I would use [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leah[/name_f] or [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f]. I wouldn’t combine it into one name. [name_f]Fay[/name_f] is adorable!
Thank you teensy and jalila13 for your feedback. My husband and I are not fans of the spelling [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. My middle name of [name_u]Leigh[/name_u] is a Celtic name. As separate names we would use [name_f]Leigha[/name_f]. Yes, adding the a is “made up”, but no more than adding an e to [name_u]Skye[/name_u] or [name_f]Faye[/name_f], which looks like [name_f]Fa[/name_f]-yee to me. I realize [name_f]Faye[/name_f] is the preferred spelling on nameberry, but we prefer the lightness, and simplicity of [name_f]Fay[/name_f]. We are ok with out of the box names, but I appreciate your perspective.
It wouldn’t be my first choice to combine the two names or to do a double first name. I prefer [name_f]Fay[/name_f]/[name_f]Faye[/name_f] [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. This might be confusing to a child that is learning to write their name, etc when there are multiples. But if you do choose to go that route, I can understand the spelling concern and would go with Fayelia. We know a couple of [name_f]Faye[/name_f]'s but they always spell it with an E…So I guess I’m partial to that spelling. Good luck!
Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t change it. [name_f]Fay[/name_f] is already in her legal name and lots of people go by their middle names. It will be a huge legal headache for her throughout her life- many legal forms (tax forms, passport applications, insurance forms, employment applications, DMV documents, etc.) ask for an explanation of any legal name changes. Your daughter will have to write that out on every form she fills out forever and I could imagine there being confusion associated with that. Her birth certificate won’t have the same name as her driver’s license. And if she gets married and decides to change her last name, there’ll be yet another legal name change for her to deal with.
Personally, I’d continue to call her [name_f]Fay[/name_f], keep her legal name the same, and let her change it, if she chooses, when she is of age. It just seems the least confusing and fairest option, and it gives her a say in her own name.
Of the opinions you’re considering, I agree with other posters that [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] is the most elegant.
I realise you want that spelling of [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] for a reason, and that you don’t like [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. If you like Faylia and Fayleia, though, would [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Lia[/name_f] or [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leia[/name_f] work? I know they’ve been suggested already, but I just wanted to point out the connection between them and the combined names you’re considering.
The reason for my hesitation about [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] is a spelling/pronunciation one. There are very few words in English with a silent gh followed by a vowel (usually it’s at the end of a word, as in sleigh, or followed by a consonant, as in caught). The only exceptions I can think of are Celtic names that cause a bit of pronunciation difficulty outside countries where they’re traditional (e.g. [name_m]Eoghan[/name_m], [name_m]Laoghaire[/name_m]). I think some people might assume it’s Germanic, and pronounce it [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-cha (with a gutteral ch as in loch).
You mention that your middle name is Celtic, not from the English surname. If you have Celtic heritage and want to honour that (and don’t mind the pronunciation issues), would you consider a more traditional Celtic name with a [name_u]Lee[/name_u] sound? If you’re Irish, there’s [name_f]Laoise[/name_f]. If you’re Welsh, there’s [name_f]Llio[/name_f]. If you’re Scottish, there’s [name_f]Lilias[/name_f]/[name_f]Lileas[/name_f] (not Celtic in origin, but it’s a Scottish version of a latinate name).
Good luck with the decision. I hope you find the perfect name for your family.
[name_m]Hi[/name_m], I knew two Leighs growing up and it was obvious to me that [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] is pronounced like [name_f]Leah[/name_f]. Since I’ve known two Leahs (out of many I’ve met) who pronounce their names [name_m]LAY[/name_m]-uh, I actually prefer [name_f]Leigha[/name_f].
I love the name [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f]. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think that she will want to introduce herself as [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] when she’s older, or just [name_f]Fay[/name_f]?
My mom called me [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] [name_f]Anya[/name_f] (pronounced awn-ya, not ann-ya) during early childhood but it got dropped to [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] when nursery school began. She continued to introduce me to people as “Nicolawnia” and everyone would say, “sorry, [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] is her name?” There was so much resistance. I sensed there was an issue and felt embarrassed, so I always said my name was just, “[name_f]Nicole[/name_f]”. At home, my name was [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] [name_f]Anya[/name_f] until finally my parents quit calling me that when I was in Grade 3 or 4.
[name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] is simpler than [name_f]Nicole[/name_f] [name_f]Anya[/name_f], but still my experience keeps me from recommending double barreled names or smooshes very often.
I’m Australian and in my accent [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] and failure are pronounced exactly the same. I would double take if someone introduced their child to me as [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] here! Also agree with pp that this change will follow her around forever. What was her original name? Can’t this just remain a nickname?
If you decide to put the two together I would use Fayleia, that spelling is a bit easier to get the right pronunciation. I do think [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] is fine as a first and middle that you sometimes put together and call her both. you could always add a second middle if you want to use something else too.
Thank you anyagreenwich for your positive feed back about [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f]. I love it too. So elegant and magical to me. You have a beautiful name as well. I have always loved the Irish name [name_f]Aine[/name_f], pronounced like [name_f]Anya[/name_f].
I’m not sure if she will prefer to go by simply [name_f]Fay[/name_f] or [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f], but I have thought of what you share here, that most people will choose to shorten it, even if we did put them together. Most likely she will go by [name_f]Fay[/name_f] predominantly. I have a longer three syllable first name, and most people shorten it, despite my preference for the longer version. Thank you for sharing your experience.
upthewolves, oh wow, that’s a little concerning, lol. I have an acquaintance who is Australian, and she told me she thought the name was gorgeous, lol! Maybe she was just being polite. Thank you for your feedback.
If you want to legally change her name, make sure you don’t neglect to change her Social Security card and birth certificate. That doesn’t happen automatically; you have to apply for those changes, pay the fees, and sometimes also go before a judge.
It’s probably easier to leave her name as is and just call her [name_f]Fay[/name_f] or [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f], as a loving nickname that connects her to you.
I’m from [name_m]New[/name_m] Zealand and all I hear when I say [name_f]Fay[/name_f] [name_f]Leigha[/name_f] is Failure. So I wouldn’t smoosh them together. I’d just continue calling her [name_f]Fay[/name_f], even though it’s her middle name.