Is my name choice for my baby that strange?

Congratulations on your coming baby!

I think it’s a very pretty name, and I knew what it meant as soon as I read it. Reddit users are heavily influenced by the US members on the site, so you will get mostly English speakers there.

I thinks it’s a good idea to talk to your husband about the alternative of Lorena.

I think it’s pretty. The meaning behind it is a plus. I think you both did a good job making a unique name sound just as casual as a real name + prettier.

Not a “real name”, I meant a common name. My bad.

@Hawaii_Jake I really like it, it’s not like I’m often around Spanish speakers where I live. Most people won’t bat an eye, maybe if we went to Miami or something. I’ve had some Spanish speakers on Reddit just respond with “Oh, Reina is common no worries!” but not really directly mention Lareina so I’m not sure but there are others who say it’s weird. I really like the spelling only if it weren’t so linked to Spanish faux paux of The Queen translation…but Queen is acceptable haha

@Austin_ I don’t know why I’m so focused on what Spanish speakers think when I’m rarely around them LOL I guess my fear is if we do happen to move in an area where there is a heavily influenced area they’d laugh at her.

I like Lareina but like Reina even more. Sometimes I question using unique names because I think of the child having to spell it out for all of their lives. However, she can always switch to using Reina if she doesn’t like Lareina when growing up.

(My DIL is Filipino too.)

@jnabb Lol being Asian, we are used to having our names butchered. I am going to see if he is on board with other spellings that may be easier. Reina would most def be a nickname though.

^^ I get that and I can never read what her family and friends comment on FB because they are in Cebuan!

Congratulations!! I think that’s a lovely name. The kid will be lucky to have it and you as a parent.

I love the name! I think the nick name is beautiful, too.
Congratulations!

Seems normal enough.
For comparison, Nicolas Cage named his son “Kal El”, and Elon Musk named his “X Æ A-XII”.

I prefer “Reina.” Call me a traditionalist, but if someone named their son “Theking” it would be weirder to me than naming him “King.” That said, I’m just some random asshole on the internet, and who cares what I think? She’s your daughter, so you should name her what you want!

@gorillapaws would it be concerning still if I am not really around Spanish speakers? Just when I go over there to the country and vacation or say Miami. Oddly enough, search the name Lareina and I see a lot of Chinese lol.

I actually had a CEO name King.

Lareina is a pretty good name to pronounce. Translated it means “The Queen.” It’s cool imho.

@mazingerz88 Thank you, yes I know the translation but wasn’t sure how to feel about Spanish speakers feelings if I were to tell them her name. Are you latino? Just curious.

I’m getting mixed reactions from Latinos either it’s pretty cool or weird. Haha

I might just talk to husband about spelling variatons: Laraina, Lorraina, Larena, Lorena, lol

It’s a beautiful choice for a name!

So excited for you!!!

My aunt’s name was Reina, and she was beautiful and very special in so many ways. I miss her terribly.

In my family we pronounced her name Rye-na. Rye like the bread. My husband, who is Spanish speaking, of course wanted to pronounce it in Spanish, which is a different pronunciation. A lot of people would mistakenly say ray-na when they first saw her name, which is very close to the Spanish, but they quickly got it “right” once corrected.

Lareina will be three syllables, often people like to shorten three, just be aware. I have three.

So, of course it is not unusual at all for someone from the Philippines to have a Spanish name, they very often have Spanish Surnames too. Maybe people don’t like adding the La, because some Spanish speakers don’t use La or El for a person, some countries do.

To some Americans some of the “made up names” just don’t sound right to their ear or pigeon hole the person. I’m surprised Spanish speakers have more problems with the idea than “Americans.” Why don’t they like it? For instance, my husband thinks of a maid or poor person when he hears the name Maria. I can ask my husband what he thinks about Lareina if you want me to. Lareina sounds pretty in my opinion.

I always tell couples who are expecting a baby to keep the baby name a secret so they don’t open themselves up to people saying something negative about the name they like.

@JLeslie Sure, I could use another opinion from a Latino, thank you! I’m getting mixed reactions but enough to make me concerned if we do visit any Spanish speaking countries. As mentioned, I live in an area where it’s not predominate but I feel like Spanish is a big part of American culture still. I was also considering variations to spelling to get away from the Spanish literal translation/spelling like Laraina, Loreina, Larena, etc. but my husband seemed to have been set on the spelling so it may take convincing.

Yeah, we haven’t told many people the names. I only really told my sis because she is fluent in Spanish and has been in Chile, Peru and Spain. She didn’t have negative things to say but she’s not Latino haha.

@chelle21689 I’m just a purist, so being around Spanish speakers doesn’t really alter my opinion. There’s a beauty/softness to the sound of “Lareina,” but the article smashed into the noun bothers me on an analytical level. Like I said though, name your daughter what you want. She’s your baby and my opinion is entirely unimportant in her life.

I think it’s a nice name. Just know that people will misspell it for her entire life and she will need to correct them.

@caravan We are Asian so dealing with mispelled names is our whole life experience lol our last name and my maiden. But I was thinking of convincing husband to spell it differently now.

Loraina, Laraina, etc.

Heck, I get my typical English name butchered! For example: Crystal people will say Christy, Christa, etc.

If you do go for an alternate spelling, I wouldn’t choose Lorena that you mentioned above. That’s such an unusual name that most people will associate it with Lorena Bobbit.

@janbb, I never even heard of her until now but I was never a fan of that spelling for some reason lol

I was going to say the same as @janbb. If someone said the name I would spell it Lorena. That’s me as an American, English speaking, for two generations.

Do you care if the name is infamous to some people from a news story years ago?

Lorraine is the English name, although it might have originated in France or Germany? Not sure.

@jleslie, I dont think most people in my circle know who that is? I certainly didn’t, but I would not spell it that exacy way.

I feel like in that case, why isn’t Jeffrey associated with Dahmer. Is it because of a less common name?

@chelle21689 Yes, it is because it is less common. Not saying anything against Lareina which is a totally different name; just Lorena.

@chelle21689 I personally don’t think of that news story when I hear the name, I’m just aware of it. I would guess most people under age 40 would not know about that news story at all.

My mom doesn’t like the name Jason because of some story or movie, I don’t remember. You just never know.

My SIL named her son a name that her own parents can’t say easily or well, because it is very difficult for Spanish speakers to make the sound of the first letter in the name.

My husband said bad idea, but hasn’t expanded on why. :(

I hate telling you he was negative about the name. It’s your baby, your choice.

When I was pregnant we were going through names and it was harder than I expected choosing a name. I think you know I lost all of my pregnancies, but anyway we did think about names the first couple of times.

My mom didn’t get to name me or my sister what her first choice was. Her first choice for me was Leslie. :)

@jleslie my husband is deadset on this spelling but maybe open to Laraina. Is that far enough away from Spanish spellings??

sigh I mean, I like it but I just worry what Spanish speaking people would think if we were around them which isn’t too often…

I’m not sure if my husband meant the spelling or what. I’ll press him when I can talk to him. He’s out of state.

I find this an amazing thing that you are asking a bunch of strangers to help with this. Pick the name you want to give your child without input from outsiders. You will have many decisions to make and you, the mother, must be able to do that for the health and safety of your family. I wish you well but have no opinion on a name for your baby.

Ok, sorry for multiple posts.

I reluctantly will tell you what he said, because I still think it’s your baby do what you want. People have all sorts of different names and names sound very different to people from different cultures. If one group doesn’t like it, it doesn’t have to matter.

Here goes:

It is the La in front. Sounds “made up” or could be perceived as lower class. Same type of thing you hear about some Black names that are made up. Probably not PC to say it, but even my Black friends criticize that sort of thing. To be clear, not the same as real African names, I don’t know anyone who has a problem with those names, it’s specifically the American made up names.

My husband said Lorena or Lorraine or any other spelling that is slightly different is fine.
I said to him Lorena and Lareina probably sound the same to most Americans, and he replied to me with an emphatic no. To him it’s completely different.

He was stuck on the literal translation too,The Queen, and he did agree Reina alone is perfectly fine and a commonly given name.

I asked him about using La with a first name when talking about someone (I never hear his family using it) and he said they use it when they don’t like the person. So, say for instance his nephew was dating a girl named Sarah and his mom didn’t like her. His mom might say (all in Spanish) “he is with La Sarah today.” If his mom liked her she would just say “he’s with Sarah today.” So, maybe that’s partly why it sounds off to some Spanish speakers, but my husband was more stuck on it being made up by putting words together.

@snipsnip first child and natural worrier lol

@jleslie thanks! That helps understand his side though suprised with la being associated with lower class. I am around many blacks and have heard some sort of La and never thought of that. But my husband did shoot down spelling with Lor, he has a weird reasoning that it reminds him of a Lorie he hated and his reasoning was we are in Ohio with no strong hispanic ties haha. She will be nicknamed Reina, so I mean oh well…

However, curious why names like Rosario (my aunt) is okay to be called a Rosary haha

@chelle21689 Yeah, the Spanish use Rosario, Jesus, that’s all weird to me. In English the name Christian is weird to me too. My cousin is named Noel, his mother is Jewish! So, that is really odd, and my side of the family couldn’t wrap their brains around it, but it is just a fleeting thing. They said something once, and then that was it, that is his name. It is not like my family talked about it again and again. I know so many Mohammad’s who are Muslim, that’s kind of similar too. I like a lot of biblical names, but when it is the top people in the holy book it seems odd. LOL.

Regarding the La, I guess names like Lakisha, Labonita, or Latiffa come to mind. Although, my husband said twice, “The Queen,” so he was translating it.

When are you due? A jelly baby, I am so excited.

@jleslie mid September, it is coming quick!!

Random but for some reason a ton of Chinese are named Lareina if you search in LinkedIn, Facebook, IG….I wonder why!

Yay! Ok, you still have time to think about the name. Maybe when you see the baby it will help.

@jleslie, people keep asking for a name to personalize gifts or be curious… but that is my reasoning too. I may feel different when I see her and pull towards another name.

I think it’s lovely, and the spelling is especially pretty. If you both love it, go with it.

What do you have in mind for a middle name?

I think your choice of name for your baby girl is pretty! Reddit mostly composed of english speakers and they tend to comment some rude or very straight forward words. Maybe that’s why.

But for me, Lareina is a very unique name, as compare to Lorena, of which the name is very common already. Moreso, you can have a discussion with this with your husband and for sure he will be willing to listen to you and both of you will arrive on the final decision for your baby girl’s name! Congratulations in advance to both of you!

Wait, that’s a new thing to me addressing the baby by name before it’s born. Other people using the name before the baby is born probably flies in the face of all the superstitions my culture has regarding unborn babies. I don’t know all of the superstitions, I’m just using some logic. Jewish people aren’t even supposed to set up a baby room or bring any baby clothes into the house until the baby is born. We have ceremonies like Baby Namings after the birth. Not that all Jewish people follow the superstitions, but I wouldn’t think to call a baby by it’s name before it’s born.

Agree with @gorillapaws.

For some reason, “The Queen” feels weirder to me than just “Queen”.

But I’m just some internet rando, so who cares? If you and your husband both love the name, I say go for it. :)

Congrats on your first baby. Happy days! As for the name, if you and your husband agree on the name, then the opinions of a bunch of Whos on Fluther really don’t matter. The only thing I ever really worried about with names for my kids was whether I was setting them up for a world of torture by naming them something really weird. I think back to the Johnny Cash song “A Boy Named Sue”. At the time that song was written, naming a boy Sue would have guaranteed he would face a lifetime of abuse from others. But Lareina for a girl sounds perfectly fine.

@jeruba was thinking Averie

@advi LOL, he hated any Lor- beginning because it strongly reminds him of an ex he hated named Lori. He seemed somewhat open to Laraina or Lareyna to get away from the Spanish spelling words but thinks it’s silly I am so worried about what Spanish speakers think when we aren’t in a place where it’s heavily populated and changing one letter just because of that.

I personally think that the name Lareina is a lovely name but as you say it is rare.

As a girls name it is pronounced la-RAY-nah. It is of Spanish origin, and the meaning of Lareina is “the queen”. and can be compared to Leroy meaning the king. Leroy is of French origin.

@poseidon Yeah, it sounds like the websites where I got this name from, which is why I was surprised when people said it’s not a real name and they never heard of it.

When a person shoves an 8 lb. human out of their va jay jay, then they can name the baby. Besides that, they should have no say in what you name her. Again, I think the name is pretty.

@chelle21689, that’s pretty too. Maybe do the girl a favor, though, and use standard spelling for that one? Avery

@chyna Hahaha

@jeruba I always saw Avery and Averie? I associated it as a more fem version from the lists out there. Middle names are rarely used, so not a huge deal to me.

Anywho, we did come up with a different spelling to Lareina to move away from the Spanish literal spelling that was stuck in my head.

I spent a lot of time hemming and hawing over what name to name my daughter. I was thinking of a name that starts with the first letter of my name, so we’d have the same initials. Then I was thinking of “Colette” because it is kind of elegant and also is unusual. However, I was thinking that kids in school might make fun of her and call her “clit.” Yes, I was thinking of all the possibilties, good and bad. I didn’t want something trendy, like Morgan or Taylor, because although those names are very nice, they’re also trendy, and I didn’t want trendy. Kind of like when you hear of someone named Ashley, you can often guess about how old they are, or Patricia. A Patricia that I know who is now about 70 told me that when she was in school, each classroom had at least one Patricia. The name I chose, finally, is not a trendy name.

My mom had this thing about being very careful not to spell something bad with the initials. She had a kid in school with her who had the initials DOG. Any time you put a middle name starting with a vowel it can be a risk.

@JLeslie: Also the first name and the last name should sound good together.

I once had a teacher named Mrs. Muller, and she said when she was considering baby names, she thought about the name Pamela, and then she thought that it would be Pam-mulla Mulla sounding haha.

@jca2 Lol. Maybe her maiden name sounded ok? My married surname is a mouthful with Mrs. or Ms. in front of it.

My SIL felt the first name should go well with the last name, but she meant ethnicity and nationality. My niece and Nephew have Italian last names so they were given Italian first names.

My mom wanted to name my sister Shannon Elizabeth, but the family thought that didn’t make any sense for a Jewish girl. A woman I worked with, her son named his daughter Savannah, and the woman I worked felt that was odd since they were Jewish.