Nickname for Ophelia

Writers' Corner
1

I would like my character, [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], to have the nn [name_f]Lia[/name_f].

When you read that, do you think lee-ya?

Currently, I’ve written the story with [name_f]Leah[/name_f] but it feels out-of-place. It bothers me when a nickname is spelled different than the actual name, like this… For example, [name_f]Katherine[/name_f] spelling their nn [name_f]Cat[/name_f] or [name_f]Genevieve[/name_f] spelling their nn [name_f]Jen[/name_f].

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2

Yes, I would read [name_f]Lia[/name_f] as lee-uh. I don’t know how else one could possibly read that :sweat_smile: To me, Lia feels more like a nickname and Leah feels more like a full name.

4

I reed [name_f]Lia[/name_f] as [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-ya and there’s no other way i’ve ever heard it pronounced :wink:

Leah I read as LAY-uh

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5

Lia looked like LEE-ah. For me [name_f]Leah[/name_f] is LAY-uh and [name_f]Lea[/name_f] is LEE-ah. I do prefer [name_f]Lia[/name_f], I agree that it’s annoying when nicknames are different spellings than the full name.

6

I don’t know how else I’d say [name_f]Lia[/name_f] lol. [name_f]My[/name_f] sister is [name_f]Leah[/name_f] and no one has ever said her name as anything other than lee-uh (which is correct).

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7

I knew an [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] called Opie, and I thought that was very cute!

I would pronounce [name_f]Lia[/name_f] as lee-uh, and I prefer it as a nickname to [name_f]Leah[/name_f] (lee-uh), which is its own name.

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8

Lia is perfectly fine and not ambiguous as a nn for [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]. I wouldn’t use the spelling [name_f]Leah[/name_f] as I don’t think that would ever naturally come from the name [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]. Some names come with pre-existing nicknames that are spelled differently ([name_f]Catherine[/name_f] with the nn [name_f]Kitty[/name_f] for example, or [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] with the nn [name_u]Teddy[/name_u]). That’s fine to me as often people will name their children those names with the intention to use the nickname. Something like [name_f]Lia[/name_f] for [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] comes more naturally when the need or inclination to shorten it comes.