Seraphina - what do you think

[bunsandroses]

I love the name but have had a very mixed response, lots of people think it is pretentious but i think its beautiful - what do you think?

[Irons]

It's lovely

[bigstripeytiger]

I think its beautiful.

[hulabula]

You're probably going to get exactly the same response, some people will love it, others will find it posh/pretentious. I happen to love it!

[SirBoobAlot]

I think it is pretentious - but I love it.

[fabhead]

I'm the same, I think it is gorgeous but very open to pretentiousness claims, but so what? - same with Persephone (tho the Percy Phone thing would worry me). If I had a girl I'd be tempted to use it and just make sure we always lived in pretentious places . There is one in my ds's swimming class, they call her sephy (seffy) for short - she is lovely.

I think you may just be ahed of the curve here and get away with it - slightly more common and it might lose the pretentiousness - go for it!

[Greensleeves]

it's beautiful, and not pretentious IMO

any such associations would quickly disappear once the name had a little girl attached anyway

I would use Fina for nn though

[Greensleeves]

or Fifi

[Ewe]

I think it is pretty but could be seen as trying a bit too hard, would also be quite hard to pull off unless very beautiful I think.

If you'll be privately educating I would be less concerned and more confident in using it.

[Greensleeves]

that's a bag'o'shite IMO Ewe

most state schools are full of kids with unusual and exotic names, especially schools in multicultural areas

this obsession with children needing to be protected from future bullies by being given nondescript names is bonkers

[APassionateWoman]

I like it. I prefer Seraphine, though.

Very pretty either way.

[usualsuspect]

I'm with greensleeves my dcs all went to state schools with friends from all cultures and races ,the names of their class mates were very wide ranging ..no one gave a toss really

[fabhead]

I agree - might have been the case in our day but nowadays every school has a host of "unusual names" - particularly international names, and the kids don't even notice the difference. Or care in my experience.

[fabhead]

In fact where I live I think there is slightly more variety in the state schools as there is a wider mix of socio-economic backgrounds or whatever you want to call it.

[Greensleeves]

it's more often private schools who are populated by white middle-class kids called Katherine and Elizabeth and Richard

[fabhead]

ooh yes Seraphine is lovely and maybe 1 sylable less tones it down a bit (why am I on this thread? I am having a ds3).

I would have been sorely tempted by Seraphina/Seraphine though otherwise.

[fabhead]

GS - agreed!

[bunsandroses]

thanks, so glad everyone likes it. Agree with nn of Fina. I went to state school and i had a pretty boring name compared to everyone else!

[usualsuspect]

My ds has friends called vijay ,ahmed ,safia as well as the usual jessicas ,liams and bens,

my dds best friend is called sapphire ..no one cares ,they are just names

[Lastyearsmodel]

Sephy is a gorgeous nn. I know one in her 40s but have never come across another.

[fanjolina]

Love it.

[Ewe]

Ok, GS, my own personal experience tells me otherwise. A good friend of mine, Cosmo, spent a couple of years at an inner City state school where he got no end of grief about his name almost to the point where he was going to change it.

Off he went to boarding school at 13 and hasn't had any bother since and I am in my early twenties so this wasn't exactly decades ago!

I much prefer Seraphine actually, think it sounds stronger.

[Greensleeves]

I wonder whether it was actually his name that precipitated the bullying though, or whether he was going to be bullied for other reasons and they picked on his name?

I think that often happens. I don't believe children are bullied JUST because of their name.

[brimfull]

beautiful name

[PussinJimmyChoos]

Reminds me of that witch in the Phillip Pullman Dark Materials Trilogy..its spelt differently there I think but still same pronounciation

[debaronz]

It is pretty, although like Ewe I prefer Seraphine.