The name 'Rach' - what do you think?

Question

my husband and I are expecting our first child and it's a baby girl. we're both keen on the name Rachel but we want abbreviated version 'Rach' to be used most of the time for our daughter. In school we'd like her to be called 'Rach' all of the time - so Rach in all but official documents etc. - like Matthews are often "Matt". what do people think of this name? Do you think Rach works as a proper name, not just an abbreviated nickname? We both love the name but are reluctant to call our child anything that might make her feel silly when she's older!

thank you

Answer 1

I think whatever you want to name your child is fine.

Answer 2

I think you should name her Rachel because she will get called Rach all the time anyway - my friends all are.  As for school, if you go in and say 'we call her Rach, so please call her this' at primary school they will do so.  The only time they will refer to her as Rachel is when she needs to learn to write it.

Nice name choice!

Answer 3

hope its not a girl shell be known as RACK  ,,   cough cough not cool..

(. ) (. )

Answer 4

I think it's fine if you want to call her Rach, but why don't you let her decide what she wants to go by in school when she's old enough.

Answer 5

yeah thats fine i thinks its really cool actually i know loads of people called ratch and they all love it !!! congratulations by the way x

Answer 6

Most people go by a nickname, or an abbreviation - but there are some moment in life where a full name is more appropriate. Interviews, for example - if she goes in and introduces herself as 'Rach', they will immediately think she's being informal, and not showing them proper respect.

Call her Rachel, and allow her to choose for herself when the abbreviation is more appropriate.

Answer 7

i much prefer Rachel to Rach but it will obviously be shortened. i don't like the name Rach it sounds like the cross between a rash and an itch!

also its my sisters name and therefore doesn't have great connotations!!!!

Answer 8

Lleh, you took the words right out of my mouth.

I clicked on this question thinking that she wants to name her child after Sergei Rachmaninoff. Which would have been much cooler to me, than the short form of Rachel.

Name her Rachel and adopt the nickname Rach when she is older (don't call her Rach from the start, kids need to get used to their full names first, or they will not identify with them later in life).  

Answer 9

i guess thats cool.

Although, my name is Rachel and i actually don't like for people to call me Rach a lot. People who are close to me call me Rae sometimes and thats kinda special to me. Just that they can use that abbreviated name because we are close. But most people call me Rachel and I love that.

But... its your little girl :) Name her what u wish.  

Answer 10

i like it.

Answer 11

I know racheals that go by the nick name rara and ray :)

Answer 12

how strange ive got a 3 year old called rachel who we call rach and a 8month old lad called matthew who we call matt!

Answer 13

well, Rachel is a very common name. but you could have her legal name be Rachelynne and then have her go by Rach as a nickname. Rach as a legal name is kind of unusual..

Answer 14

weey my name is Rachel and i get called rach all the time and god dam it i hate it so much i would rather be called rachel

Answer 15

It's ok.

Why not have some guts and go for a creative spelling

Raech

Raich

Raitch

Raych

I'm normally against creative spellings but i love unusal names!

Answer 16

No, Rach will forver just be a nickname. Its not the same as for instance alexandra, alex.

Answer 17

I and most literate people would be inclined to pronounce it like the first syllable in Rachmaninoff.  (sort of like rock)  If you want it to have the long a and soft ch sound you should probably spell it Rache and even then a lot of people won't get it.  You could spell it Raych.  People could pronounce that and it doesn't look quite so truncated as Rach or Rache.

BTW there is a famous Sherlock Holmes story in which the victim writes the word Rache on the wall in blood.   The dumb cop goes looking for a woman named Rachel but the infinitely more intelligent Holmes knows that Rache is German for revenge.  

Answer 18

I know a lot of Rachels. Most do go by Rach.

Good luck!

Answer 19

try something a little more original

and i think rach sounds stupid.

just go by rachel.