Help with a name please!!!

[MammaB21]

Hi all. We just found out yesterday that this baby is in fact a boy!!!! We're thrilled, but this leaves us with the task of finding a name. We had a beautiful girls name picked out that we loved, and hands down was our babies name had it been a girl. Our list of boy names is a bit longer and we just don't have one that we have fallen in love with yet.

I found a name online that came close to that feeling and today upon waking up I was sure it was a top contender on my list. But after looking up the pronunciation I've realized it's not what I thought it was. I'm admittedly a bad speller, so I'm hoping for some guidance here.

The name is Rhys. It is a welsh name in origin. When I first saw it I read it as -Rice-. Looking it up it is actually pronounced -Reece-. It's important to me to have a name that both sounds good and looks good. The look of Rhys on paper is great!!! I love the 'rh' and we like Y's in our names because DD has a Y in her name. But I DON'T like the pronunciation of Reece. It reminds me of an old coworker that I wasn't very fond of.

Could we name a boy Rhys and pronounce it Rice? It isn't a very popular name, so I think people may ask how to pronounce it anyway. When you see the name, is it obvious that is pronounced Reece? Is there any other spelling you can come up with that we could use to get what we want? Or any other name that has a similar sound and spelling? TIA (Sorry this was so long for a name thread).

[MaerynPearl]

I personally thought it was pronounced like Rice too (well more like Ryes but its not that different of a pronunciation... more of a z sounding s than an s sounding s)...

With a name like that anyone who doesnt already know someone names Rhys would probably ask how to pronounce it correctly before trying to do so off of paper or, depending on where you live, possibly automatically try to pronounce it the way you intend.

Names change pronunciation depending on where you live... I know some Gemmas who are Jemmas... and some Gemmas whos G is harder sounding, depending on which country or which part of which country they live in.

[jennica]

Do you know you can do an advanced search here: http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/

Choose the advanced search tab, then choose boys names, then where it says "Which" and has a box that says "starts with" click on starts with and choose "contains" then fill in "y" in the box near that. You can then choose different cultures or things like "nature" or "cool" or whatever, and search only boys names that contain a y.

I am not a fan of the pronunciation "rice" because it makes me think of the food. I like the suggestion of "Ryes" which is pronounced like "eyes" with an r in front of it I think. I do think Rhys is common enough that people would pronounce it "Reece", but maybe that is just because I've been looking for names and seen it pop up quite often.

[MaerynPearl]

of course you could just change it to Ryes or Rhyes... which I am pretty sure means you can change the pronunciation to suit you.

[MammaB21]

Thanks guys. I checked that site out, Jen. Haven't found anything yet, but it's cool to be able to enter all of the things we want.

I could spell it Rhyes.....I'm just not sure that I like the pronunciation as much that way. I really like the sound of Rice, and Rice is actually a girls name spelled just like that. It sounds a little softer to me, which I like. I'm not worried about it sounding like the food so much. My daughters name is Lyric (which you know Jennica...lol) and it's very easy to separate her name from the word. It is very much who she is now. The only concern I would have is that he would be confused at first.

I don't normally share names, but here are the other top contenders right now:

Finley
Weylin

I'm also LOVING the name Emery, but DP doesn't like it so much. It reminds him of an old man I guess. I also like Emmett, Elliot, Oliver, Layne and Wyatt. But all of those are out for one reason or another. We both love Liam, but it's just getting so popular now that we've vetoed it.

It looks like I may just jump back into my list and keep thinking. Anybody like any others on my list and think I should just drop the Rhys thing all together? Maybe it would be better as a middle name.

[MyFillingQuiver]

MammaB,

Names are so personal and you get so many views, huh?! We also keep names a "secret" for the past few babies..just too many opinions..just like any other topic with pregnancy/childrearing, LOL!

Anyway, FWIW, I just love Finley. I think that is SO adorable..and I love it because it's this totally throwback yet up-to-date handsome name....it reminds me of what we're doing (totally diff name though) if our LO is a boy!

So, pick Finley, LOL!

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by MyFillingQuiver

MammaB,

Names are so personal and you get so many views, huh?! We also keep names a "secret" for the past few babies..just too many opinions..just like any other topic with pregnancy/childrearing, LOL!

Anyway, FWIW, I just love Finley. I think that is SO adorable..and I love it because it's this totally throwback yet up-to-date handsome name....it reminds me of what we're doing (totally diff name though) if our LO is a boy!

So, pick Finley, LOL!

Haha...thanks!!! We really love it too. We originally liked Finnian, but then fell in love with Finley. I know it's one of those names I'll regret if I never get to use. Trouble with that one for me is that it's being used quit commonly right now for a girls name. I don't mind a feminine sounding boy name, or even one originally used for girls, I'm just afraid it will be assumed he's a girl since that particular name is being taken over by the female population...lol.

ETA: the plus side of using Finley is that we could use DP's first name as a middle name (well, our own variation on it anyway) which is a tradition in his family. We couldn't use it if we chose the name Rhys with either pronunciation or spelling.

[jennica]

I like Finley! It was above girls in the rankings in 2008, and if you call him Fin that wouldn't be an issue anyway. I think it is pretty even between boys and girls and will probably be one of those names like Quinn that you can do for either. Also, how about Rylan, Ryland, Rylee, or Ryo?

I really like all your names though, have fun choosing

[coffeegirl]

I like Finley the best, too. I don't associate it AT ALL with a girl's name, personally. Every time I've heard it it's been a boy's name. Emery sounds much more like a popular girl's name IMO.

I also like Fin as a nickname and the fact you'd get to throw in your DH's family name is a big plus as well.

As far as Rhys...If you feel very strongly about it and if, all other things being equal, Rhys (with the pronunciation that you want) is your favorite, then I think you should go with it. It's unusual enough that many (maybe most) people will have to verify the pronunciation with you anyhow. So as long as you're ok with that, I say go for it if it's the name you really want.

[redvlagrl]

FWIW, I'm already familiar with the name Rhys so would find it very unusual to have it pronounced Rice. I say if you want it pronounced ddifferently, then spell it differently. I have a name that is often pronounced differently in different languages and have spent my whole life with people telling me "You're mispronouncing your name". It's really annoying as my pronunciation actually is a valid one but i wish my parents had chosen an alternate spelling.

[reneeisorym]

i would have thought Rhys sounds like Reece. On the other hand, I have a friend whose son's name is Rhys and she was fussing because every time he goes somewhere where they call out his name (new teacher, nurse) they call him Rice.

[Kindermama]

would you consider Brice or Bryce?

If not, an alternate spelling to Rice could be Ryce or Raice

[Dee-Groovy]

I think Rhys is a pretty common British name. I've always heard it pronounced Reece. Sorry, not what you wanted to hear!

[welsh]

Originally Posted by redvlagrl

FWIW, I'm already familiar with the name Rhys so would find it very unusual to have it pronounced Rice. I say if you want it pronounced ddifferently, then spell it differently.

that.
but then I am Welsh!

[organicmom3]

I vote for Bryce as well!

[MammaB21]

Thanks everyone. Finley will probably be on our list until the very last minute, even if it doesn't get chosen. It sure is a tough contender.

As for the name Bryce, it's just not for me which I know sounds silly since it's so similar. But it has a very different feel to me.

After thinking about it a little more, I'd like to stay away from the actually spelling of Rhys. I don't want it to look like we just didn't know how to pronounce it. However, we like the look of the name and also the meaning. I think we've settle on the spelling Rhyce or Ryce. That way we get the best of both worlds. I feel like it still represents the original true spelling (and meaning) while allowing us to alter the pronunciation slightly.

DP is pretty settled on the name but I'm still not on board %100. What do you guys think of the alternate spellings of Rhyce or Ryce? And does anybody actually like the name....lol?

[philomom]

Another vote for Bryce here!

[zinemama]

I guess I'll be the lone dissenter here and say I really dislike "Rice" (no matter how you spell it) as a name.

I like rice as much as anyone. Beans and rice, fried rice, tofu with rice, Spanish rice. But those are not the associations I'd want people to have when learning the name of my child. To me, it's like naming a kid "corn" or "millet"

As a last name (a la Condoleeza), ok. But not a first.

[MammaB21]

Originally Posted by zinemama

I guess I'll be the lone dissenter here and say I really dislike "Rice" (no matter how you spell it) as a name.

I like rice as much as anyone. Beans and rice, fried rice, tofu with rice, Spanish rice. But those are not the associations I'd want people to have when learning the name of my child. To me, it's like naming a kid "corn" or "millet"

As a last name (a la Condoleeza), ok. But not a first.

Thanks for your honesty! If we chose the name, we'll have to be prepared to get this type of reaction. I'm trying to get a bit of a gauge of exactly how nutty we are.

I feel like once a baby/child is here and has a name, that name loses it's other meanings and takes on the meaning of who that person is. Example: My DP's name is Jason. Although I've known 20 other Jasons in my life time each one of them are differentiated in my mind. When I address DP as Jason, I don't conjure up memories of all the other Jasons I've known. Similar with my DD's name. I don't think of 'words to a song' every time I say her name. The two are separate in my mind. Although I realize that Ryce is a bit more 'out there' and may be harder for people to take the association away.

So, continue with the gauging of how nutty I am.

[Ahimsa]

You might like Emrys