DH and I are expecting our second in November. We both love our choice for a boy name, but I keep wavering on our top girl name pick, Thea, and I can’t tell if I’m just overthinking it.
My main worry is pronunciation issues. I think most people (in the US at least) pronounce it “Thee-uh”, which is the pronunciation we planned to use, but I know some say “Tay-uh” or “Tee-uh”. I also worry it will be easy to mishear, especially on the phone. Easy pronunciation and spelling are some of our main criteria when picking names for our kids. I didn’t notice these “issues” when we originally settled on the name Thea, which is why I’m unsure if I’m overthinking or not.
My other wavering thought isn’t as big of a deal, but my DH and I really like “old-fashioned” names, and I’m not sure Thea is quite as vintage as we’d like. Our daughter’s name is Ada, and we love her name! Thea doesn’t seem quite as vintage as Ada to me, and we’re not really interested in Dorothea or Theodora as a full name (we also like short names because our last name is long).
I really loved Thea when we settled on it, but since then I’ve offered a few other suggestions to my DH recently (Eliza, Edith, Nina), and he was meh on all of them. I haven’t really raised my concerns with him yet because I’ve been waiting to see if my concerns pass. We do also find out the gender in 2 weeks, so there’s a chance this won’t even be an issue if we’re having a boy.
What do you think Berries? Am I overthinking it or do you see the same possible “issues”?
[name_f]Ada[/name_f] & [name_f]Thea[/name_f] sound perfectly paired. They’re both vintage and trendy, imo
As for pronunciation, I know loads of Thea’s and I’ve never heard anyone pronounce it Tay-a by accident. The popularity of [name_u]Theo[/name_u] helps I think!
Overall I think [name_f]Thea[/name_f] is a perfect choice, and you don’t have anything to be too worried about
I think [name_f]Ada[/name_f] and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] are adorable together and definitely both have the vintage vibe. I know a [name_f]Thea[/name_f] (just Thea) and I’ve never heard her say that she has issues with her name as far as spelling/pronunciation. I think in the US, 99% of the time, people are going to default to the correct pronunciation. Like @hannahwren said, people know [name_u]Theo[/name_u] and names like [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], and [name_f]Theodosia[/name_f] are all gaining popularity as well.
I see the issue, I heard many people pronouncing it Tay-uh ,I agree that it’s very easy to mishear especially on the phone and I personally don’t think that it matches very well with [name_f]Ada[/name_f] , but if you really love it ,you should definitely go for it
[name_f]Thea[/name_f] is an aboslutely lovely name and I think the most popular pronunciation is the one you want. I’ve also met two Theas and no one had trouble with it
I think [name_f]Ada[/name_f] and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] are absolutely perfect together! I’d predict that almost everyone in the US would say [name_f]Thea[/name_f] the way you want- it’s like [name_u]Theo[/name_u].
I do think you’re overthinking it a little although I do understand that, I did exactly the same when naming my children.
I think [name_f]Ada[/name_f] and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] are absolutely perfect together. I adore both names and think they complement each other just beautifully. [name_f]Ada[/name_f] may feel slightly more vintage than [name_f]Thea[/name_f] but [name_f]Thea[/name_f] absolutely gives me vintage vibes as well.
Pronunciation-wise, I can’t imagine you’ll have many issues - I think most people in English-speaking countries pronounce it thee-uh.
Thank you, everyone! I so appreciate the feedback. I’m going to try not to worry about it for now at least. Seeing all the wonderful comments about [name_f]Thea[/name_f] definitely helps me remember how much I loved it when we settled on it
I think it’s a perfect match with Ada!! Almost more vintage imo.
I think since most names are a combination of sounds used in everyday life, they may be hard to hear at different times. [name_f]My[/name_f] real name (not Bea) has me running every time I hear a long A sound! I think this would actually be less of a problem with [name_f]Thea[/name_f] than you’d imagine, and if need be you or she can always spell it out.
There is a reason you loved this name from the start!!
