Thea as a sister for Freya... too close?

We are pregnant with number two and already have a [name_f]Freya[/name_f]. We are strongly considering [name_f]Thea[/name_f], with the middle name [name_f]Iris[/name_f], if this one is a girl. I have always loved the name [name_f]Thea[/name_f] and wanted to use it for my first but my partner wasn’t sold on it, and he’s now warmed up to it. [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is a family name on both sides (his mother and my grandmother). [name_f]My[/name_f] only hesitation is that [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] do sound a little similar somehow, but I’m not sure if it should be a dealbreaker?

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they are a bit similar in sound, but i think they look different enough that it would be fine

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[name_f]Do[/name_f] you pronounce [name_f]Thea[/name_f] as thay-uh?
Otherwise they’re not too close at all to me, frey-a and thee-a feel very different from one another!

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As long as you’re saying it THEE-ah and not THAY-ah or TAY-ah, I think they’re fine together. I can see where you’re coming from but stylistically they feel like a great pairing, and they feel distinct enough not to get confusing.

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The sounds are similar. They both are soft and breathy with the emphasis on the first syllable and share the same ending vowel sound. It doesn’t have to be a deal breaker but it is part of the package and you choose it knowing that.

The only impact I can imagine are the following scenarios:

  1. Yourself or others sometimes mixing up the sounds and saying FREE-a and THEY-a when saying their names together.
  2. When Thea is younger she is likely to say her own name as FEE-a potentially up to around 7 years old as the ‘th’ digraph takes longer to develop in speech
  3. Other people sometimes confusing one sister’s name for the other sister’s name e.g. I know brothers called Otto and Hugo and due to their closeness in age and the similarities in their names, staff including myself often mix up their names.
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I personally find them too similar but mainly because I have a lisp and do sometimes get my Ths and my Fs mixed up like I lot of children do! :joy: For that reason, I would say they are probably too similar for sisters, as children tend to mix up those sounds when they’re young. I just never grew out of it paha I do love the name [name_f]Thea[/name_f] though, you have great taste

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They do sound a bit similar, but that doesn’t have to stop you as they’re both different names with different histories!

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I absolutely love both of these names and think they’re lovely together. Yes, they sound a tad similar, but I don’t think it’s an issue at all. [name_f]Thea[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is an absolutely beautiful name and I think [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] make a gorgeous sibling set.

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[name_f]Thea[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is lovely!!

[name_f]Thea[/name_f] and [name_f]Freya[/name_f] are similar in sound but I don’t think unusably so

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They are a little similiar but not too matchy. Have you considered [name_f]Thalia[/name_f]? As that feels more distinctive in sound from [name_f]Freya[/name_f]?

You can also use names like
[name_f]Althea[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] to get to [name_f]Thea[/name_f] too.

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They feel too similar for me but I think people could handle it if you could

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Agreed! As long as they don’t rhyme, I think it would be alright. If it’s a concern for you, though, it wouldn’t hurt to look at other names as you decide how you feel!

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I’d go [name_f]Althea[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f] :):):slight_smile: [name_u]Love[/name_u] it.

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I agree with Katinka! Thea and Freya are beautiful together.

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I’m right on the fence on this. I agree with PPs that TAY-uh and THAY-uh would be too similar but THEE-uh might be OK. I do like the earlier suggestions of longer names that could use [name_f]Thea[/name_f] as a nickname - [name_f]Theodora[/name_f], [name_f]Althea[/name_f], and [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f] all sound very distinct from [name_f]Freya[/name_f].
I would also love to see [name_f]Iris[/name_f] with [name_f]Freya[/name_f] if that’s on the table!

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We pronounce Thea as THEE-uh. There is a possibility that some family members on my partners side might pronounce it TAY-uh, as that is how it is pronounced in their language, but then those same family members also pronounce Freya as FRY-ah so they are still different lol

I think that they are very similar in sound, if you love [name_f]Thea[/name_f] you could always consider it for a middle name. It is also a bit of a tongue twister to say because [name_f]Freya[/name_f] has the ffff sound while [name_f]Thea[/name_f] is th, saying then together can be a bit hard. depending on pronunciation it might be a bit better, I think that Thee-uh and [name_f]Freya[/name_f] are fine together really. [name_f]Thea[/name_f] [name_f]Iris[/name_f] is very lovely

To me, [name_f]Freya[/name_f] and [name_f]Thea[/name_f] aren’t similar at all, especially if [name_f]Freya[/name_f] doesn’t go by a nickname. They’re both very pretty and they sound like an awesome sibset with a stronger name paired with a softer name.

I think it depends on how you are saying [name_f]Thea[/name_f]. If you pronounce it as “thee-ah”, then I think that’s fine. [name_f]Thea[/name_f] and [name_f]Freya[/name_f] have a really nice vibe together. I agree with @Flexiblejones in that I don’t personally consider them to be super similar.

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I think they sound beautiful together and while they have the potential to sound close, depending on your dialect - if they aren’t close to you that’s all that matters.

I was coming to suggest
[name_f]Althea[/name_f]
[name_f]Athena[/name_f]
[name_f]Anthea[/name_f]
[name_f]Dorothea[/name_f]
[name_f]Theodora[/name_f]
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] (this one might be a stretch but I think it works)