We named our daughter [name]Rafaelle[/name]. I imagine a little girl who is unique & fun and a young woman who is stunning, edgy and strong. But I can’t help but wonder if I was being selfish in my decision. What if this name would be a hard name for a girl to pull of? What if people constantly comment that it’s a boy’s name or assume she is a boy when they hear the name. Thoughts? Reactions?
FYI, I was choosing b/w [name]Rafaelle[/name] and [name]Stella[/name]… [name]Rafaelle[/name] came about b/c we wanted to stay with the archangel theme. [name]Rafaelle[/name]'s older brothers are [name]Gabriel[/name] & [name]Michael[/name].
I think it’ll be fine. It looks feminine for reading it. It’s tricky in hearing it in that it doesn’t have the pronunciation distinction from [name]Rafael[/name] that [name]Danielle[/name] has from [name]Daniel[/name], but it’s OK. What reactions are you getting so far? I love the tie-in to her brothers. If she uses a nickname ([name]Rafi[/name], [name]Rafa[/name], [name]Elle[/name], [name]Ellie[/name]) that will largely solve that.
I do think [name]Rafaela[/name] would have been a little easier, but I like the look of [name]Rafaelle[/name] more. : D.
Are you toying with the idea of changing the name? I don’t think it’s necessary, but [name]Rafaela[/name] seems a good candidate.
I think that the spelling helps feminize it a lot but it is still pretty male to me. I don’t think she’ll have a super hard time with it but people will probably assume she’s a boy fairly often. Not a fan of [name]Rafaela[/name]/ [name]Rafaella[/name]? I think it’s really sweet. I know a [name]Rafael[/name] (male) with the nn [name]Rafa[/name] which I think is pretty cute on either gender.
I knew a [name]Rafaelle[/name] at primary school who always went by “Raf”. I can’t quite remember how she spelt it. Because I heard it as a girl’s name first I have always thought of it as a feminine name and I think it’s sweet. She was sweet and lovely with brown ringlet hair and that’s the image I get with the name.
[name]Rafaelle[/name] looks like a variant of the Italian masculine, [name]Raffaele[/name], and the French feminine, Raphaëlle. I might assume that she was a boy, because it resembles Raffaelle, but after meeting her, I’d just think that it was a different spelling of the French name. It’s certainly within the same name family.
I would assume [name]Rafaelle[/name] is male…but the [name]Fae[/name] & the [name]Elle[/name] do have a feminine feel/sound/look.
I see the appeal…I’ve been loving [name]Emmanuelle[/name] lately.
I hope [name]Rafaelle[/name] has a very feminine middle she can put on resumes, ect.
As far as boy names for girls I am not super anti that 100% of the time. I like that this choice isn’t trendier [name]Elliott[/name] or [name]Emmett[/name]. But I feel like [name]Gabriel[/name] reads as more feminine than [name]Rafaelle[/name] which bothers me a little.
I love your choice. [name]Rafaelle[/name] matches all the images that you had in your head. i also see a bubbly, fun little girl yet a strong, intelligent woman.
The are a plethora of NN, as a PP said, Raf, [name]Rafi[/name], [name]Elle[/name], [name]Ellie[/name] etc. However as a current trend is for girls to have traditonal male names: [name]Harper[/name], [name]Avery[/name], [name]Madison[/name] etc (all inthe top at #54, #18 and #8 respectively) [name]Rafaelle[/name] wouldn’t be out of plac, nor should you feel guity for giving her a lovely name, [name]IMO[/name].
I dont think its bad but I’m not sure what to make of it, if I only heard it and couldn’t see her I wouldn’t necessarily know, by just seeing it I would probably think it was a boy but misspelled because it looks like a mix of [name]Rafaele[/name] (Italian mas.) and Raphaëlle (French fem.) as @teacherma pointed out and because I’ve never seen [name]Rafaelle[/name] but I think it will be ok. She might have to explain it a time or two for others but that’s not a huge deal.
Thank you for your response. I am not getting much of a reaction when I tell people her name. She doesn’t getting much exposure as she is home with a nanny most of the time The misspelling are a constant though… [name]Rafael[/name]. And the pronunciation just kills me… [name]Rafiel[/name]. But I don’t like [name]Rafaela[/name] as it looses the spunk and edge, and becomes heavy and depressing. We do use [name]Rafa[/name] as nn. If I do change her name, it would be to ‘[name]Stella[/name]’.
I like [name]Rafaelle[/name] more than [name]Stella[/name], but only because I like [name]Rafaelle[/name] : D, [name]Stella[/name] is fine. I disagree about the vibe of [name]Rafaela[/name], but your taste is the one that matters to you. Best wishes to you!
The misspelling are a constant though… [name]Rafael[/name]. And the pronunciation just kills me… [name]Rafiel[/name]. But I don’t like [name]Rafaela[/name] as it looses the spunk and edge, and becomes heavy and depressing. We do use [name]Rafa[/name] as nn. If I do change her name, it would be to ‘[name]Stella[/name]’.