DH and I both love the name Raphael. One of my criteria, though, is that any name we choose has to have one straightforward pronunciation. This is because I’ve dealt with a lifetime of people mispronouncing my name which has 2+ standard pronunciations and I’m not doing that to my kid!
We say rahf-eye-elle. As far as I know, this is pretty standard. But I’d rather check! We are in the US so I’m less concerned about variation in international pronunciation. If it works across languages, it’s a bonus, but we don’t want to limit ourselves quite that much. I lived abroad for years and just went by a nickname.
I’ve known someone named [name_f]Kate[/name_f] and she has had people mispronounce her name as [name_f]Katy[/name_f] and Cat-y. [name_m]Just[/name_m] go with the name you love
Raf-ah-yell or Raf-eye-elle would be the closest way I could figure out how to spell the way I’d pronounce it. I’m sure there’d be the odd person who would mispronounce it every now and then, but I think across the board it’s a straightforward name to pronounce
As a [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] from the US, I will warn you that I have heard my name pronounced about half a dozen different ways, and I am frequently asked how I pronounce it. It doesn’t bother me at all, but if that idea bothers you, I think you should take it into consideration.
The way I say it is kind of in-between raff-eye-ell and raff-ay-ell, if that makes sense.
(“Raff” rhyming with staff - I’m assuming by “rahf” you mean rhyming with cough?)
Other people I’ve spoken to seem to go with the first pn though.