Serra not Sarah

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't hold it against the person with that name, but I would assume their parent didn't know how to spell either Sarah or Sierra.

[Anonymous]

Is that even a Spanish name?

On the other hand, I knew several Saras when I lived in Latin America

[Anonymous]

Team Sara(h)

[Anonymous]

spell a name how it is pronounced. As a teacher I hated trying to sound spell names and then the kid would tell me some other pronunciation out of the blue.

one example, the name was spelled Cerus and i called her (at first) seer...us

she corrected me with care...us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think of Father Junipero Serra: "Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 25 September 1988 in Vatican City. Amid denunciations from Native American tribes who accused Serra of presiding over a brutal colonial subjugation,[9][10][11] Pope Francis canonized Serra on 23 September 2015 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., during his first visit to the United States. .[12] Serra's missionary efforts earned him the title of "Apostle of California".[13][14]

Both before and after his canonization, Serra's reputation and missionary work during the Spanish occupation have been condemned by critics, who cite alleged mandatory conversions to Catholicism, followed by abuse of the Native American converts.[15][16]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junípero_Serra

That's a ding on Francis.

[Anonymous]

Why would you saddle your child with that burden even before they are born?

[Anonymous]

My mother gave me a name (not Serra) that was similarly unusual but like other names and it has caused me a lifetime of hassle.

Every person I met, I had to explain my name, spell it, and help them learn to pronounce it, or just accept whatever mispronunciation they used. At the beginning of the school year, I’d have to go through the whole rigamarole in each class, halting roll call 6-7 times before the day was over.

Any time I had to listen for my name (doctor’s office, etc), I had to listen for and respond to any permutation remotely similar (and you’d be surprised how many variations people can come up with that aren’t similar at all), and then check to see if they were calling me or just someone who actually had the similar name.

My medical and pharmacy records have both been lost multiple times.

While people I interact with regularly eventually get it right, I’ve learned to cheerfully accept people getting it wrong. When I have to give my name and it matters (legal, medical, business, etc.), my name is no longer just my name, but my name, my name spelled out, and my name explained - and they still sometimes get it wrong. If my name was your daughter’s this is how the exchange would go:

“What’s your name?”
“Serra, S-E-R-R-A, it’s spelled like Sierra but without the I”.

You may think you are naming her Serra, but in reality her name is likely to be:

Serra, S-E-R-R-A, it’s spelled like Sierra but without the I

or

Sara
Sarah
Sierra
SEEra
SIRah
SirRAH
Senna
Ciara
etc.


If you really want to give your daughter an unusual name, go ahead. Just realize that people will be confused by it. If your daughter doesn’t want to hassle with correcting them, or wants to go by a nickname or her American middle name, please don’t get upset, but allow her to minimize the hassle you’ve saddled her with. Simplifying her life by trying to simplify her name is neither a reflection of how she feels about you nor her heritage, it’s simply her trying to simplify her life. Similarly, don’t get upset with others when they get it wrong, it’s not meant as disrespect, they just have trouble adapting to the curve ball of an unusual name, which you knew would happen when you selected it.

[Anonymous]

Why would you do that to a kid?! You want to cause her problems?

Just name her Sara(h) with a normal spelling.

[Anonymous]

Pick Sara.

[Anonymous]

Serra means to cut, and it’s pronounced differently than Sara. Also Sara is a Latin name already. In fact it’s in the Bible and quite traditional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too “try hard”.

Agreed. It's another version of Ashleigh or, worse, Myriel (for Muriel).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would think you were naming her after the artist Richard Serra (1928-2024).

Yeah, this.
RIP Richard Serra.

[Anonymous]

Pronunciation depends on accents.

I pronounce Sarah like Serra. In the US, I put in an American accent to draw out the R sound if I want the listener to understand what I'm saying. In Europe they pronounce Sarah with a hard R that almost sounds like a D, and the first syllable is very short.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looking to name my daughter Serra. Sarah is a family name, however my name has a bit of an earthy meaning and is of Spanish origin, so I thought it would be a good idea to partially commerate my side as DD will have an American middle and surname. I know that she'll spend her entire life correcting people and they may call her Sierra(we do not want to choose this name). What are your thoughts?

Not meant to be snarky, but what about Serra connects to your name of Spanish origin? It's a word in Portuguese, and apparently as other PPs have pointed out is a name in Turkish or Arabic. But in Spanish, you have the verb serrar which means to saw, but even that does not have any conjugated forms that become serra.

[Anonymous]

The character played by Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas is named Sera, spelled like that. One of the bleakest stories ever. I can't think of negative connotations for Sara(h). Doesn't need any other spelling.