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HelpNevaeh
I know Nevaeh isn't popular on this board but I have to admit I find it rather beautiful.
Would you pronounce it neh-VAY-a or neh-VAY? Well, neh-VAY makes more sense to me because Nevaeh is "heaven" spelled backwards and the word heaven has two syllables, not three. Still I always hear it as neh-VAY-a. How would you say it and what would be more correct?
Do you think it's tacky or trashy? Why? I know it's a made up name but all names were made up at some point. It only bothers me when people spell it Neveah.
Does it remind you of the brand Nivea? When I first saw it it looked biblical to me, maybe because of its similarity to Neriah and Mariah.
Is it common where you live? How many do you know and how do they say it?
Thanks :)
Would you pronounce it neh-VAY-a or neh-VAY? Well, neh-VAY makes more sense to me because Nevaeh is "heaven" spelled backwards and the word heaven has two syllables, not three. Still I always hear it as neh-VAY-a. How would you say it and what would be more correct?
Do you think it's tacky or trashy? Why? I know it's a made up name but all names were made up at some point. It only bothers me when people spell it Neveah.
Does it remind you of the brand Nivea? When I first saw it it looked biblical to me, maybe because of its similarity to Neriah and Mariah.
Is it common where you live? How many do you know and how do they say it?
Thanks :)
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Replies
I dislike it and find it silly. And the pronunciation issue just makes it worse: at least if you invert Noel you get Leon ... but a name that you've constantly got to spell out for people and/or give them pronunciation coaching has got to be bad news.
My DD had a perfectly ordinary English-speaking South African boyfriend at one point whose name was Navarre. Now it's an SUV, but then his mother liked the sound of it. You never know what the random set of sounds of your choice might make a manufacturer think of: Bathroom cleaner? Earthworm farm? Surgical gloves?
I've never encountered a Nevaeh in South Africa, but nothing would surprise me. And I've never heard it said either.
My DD had a perfectly ordinary English-speaking South African boyfriend at one point whose name was Navarre. Now it's an SUV, but then his mother liked the sound of it. You never know what the random set of sounds of your choice might make a manufacturer think of: Bathroom cleaner? Earthworm farm? Surgical gloves?
I've never encountered a Nevaeh in South Africa, but nothing would surprise me. And I've never heard it said either.
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The one Nevaeh I've actually met in real life (and this was on a baby about four years ago) pronounced it as neh-VAY-ah so that's how I tend to assume that it's pronounced. There was also a Nevaeh in a dance recital that I was in this past weekend (she was in a 3 & 4 year old class), but I don't know how she pronounced it.
Yeah, I do think it's tacky, but that's just because I think that names like its frontward version, Heaven, are also tacky. I also get annoyed when people think they're so unique by naming their daughters Nevaeh... whereas in reality there were about 6000 Nevaehs born in the US last year. The sound isn't too bad, I suppose, but I'd tend to go for an alternative like Neve, Neva, etc.
Yeah, I do think it's tacky, but that's just because I think that names like its frontward version, Heaven, are also tacky. I also get annoyed when people think they're so unique by naming their daughters Nevaeh... whereas in reality there were about 6000 Nevaehs born in the US last year. The sound isn't too bad, I suppose, but I'd tend to go for an alternative like Neve, Neva, etc.
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Nuh-VAY-uh is how it is conventionally pronounced, AFAIK, but you could pronounce it neh-VAY.
I don't think of Nivea, but (I know this is nerdy) I do think of a "nevus" which is a birthmark and makes it seem a tad ugly.
Because it's heaven backwards, it appears to make a statement about the relative values of religion and education, which is sort of stigmatizing. I don't expect to find many urban liberal-arts professors whose daughters are named Nevaeh, if you get my drift. I don't think it's totally tacky or trashy though. It might even seem sort of subversive - seems to have the religious equivalent of a punk-rock attitude.
If I thought it were pretty myself, I wouldn't be ashamed to like it. Like, Nirvana backwards is Anavrin, and that's kind of neat. I think some superficial "pretty" names from pop culture, like Anakin, Chanel, and Galadriel are okay, because I happen to like the way they look and sound. I don't think the look and sound of Nevaeh is attractive (and I'm not religious), and I think that is mainly why I'm able to see it as superficial, naive, and image-oriented "tacky-trashy," and/or religious-provincial "redneck." But it's sort of like the way I feel about, say, Samwise, Apple, Briar, Seven, Armani, and Coco ... I dislike them, and I can find a heap of reasons to think they're stupid, tacky, trashy, whatever. Do I think they're unattractive because I think they're stupid, or do I think they're stupid because I think they're unattractive? Who can say.
I don't think of Nivea, but (I know this is nerdy) I do think of a "nevus" which is a birthmark and makes it seem a tad ugly.
Because it's heaven backwards, it appears to make a statement about the relative values of religion and education, which is sort of stigmatizing. I don't expect to find many urban liberal-arts professors whose daughters are named Nevaeh, if you get my drift. I don't think it's totally tacky or trashy though. It might even seem sort of subversive - seems to have the religious equivalent of a punk-rock attitude.
If I thought it were pretty myself, I wouldn't be ashamed to like it. Like, Nirvana backwards is Anavrin, and that's kind of neat. I think some superficial "pretty" names from pop culture, like Anakin, Chanel, and Galadriel are okay, because I happen to like the way they look and sound. I don't think the look and sound of Nevaeh is attractive (and I'm not religious), and I think that is mainly why I'm able to see it as superficial, naive, and image-oriented "tacky-trashy," and/or religious-provincial "redneck." But it's sort of like the way I feel about, say, Samwise, Apple, Briar, Seven, Armani, and Coco ... I dislike them, and I can find a heap of reasons to think they're stupid, tacky, trashy, whatever. Do I think they're unattractive because I think they're stupid, or do I think they're stupid because I think they're unattractive? Who can say.
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I say "nuh-VAY-uh" because that's how I'm told to pronounce it. But neither makes much phonetic sense, which isn't surprising as it's just a jumble of letters.
It's the epitome of trashy.
I've never met a Nevaeh or seen a BA where I live. It's more of a US trend I think.
It's the epitome of trashy.
I've never met a Nevaeh or seen a BA where I live. It's more of a US trend I think.
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I don't like it - it looks tacky and a bit dumb to me. I have never met an Irish Nevaeh but I bet I will some day. I say Nev-a-yah.
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-I've only heard it pronounced neh-VAY-ah.
-Yes, I think it's tacky. It seems to be popular with a lot of teenage mothers in my area, so I can't help but see it as an immature and over-the-top name (no offense to any teen moms here on the board).
-Yes, it does remind me of Nivea.
-As I mentioned before, it's popular with very young mothers.
-Yes, I think it's tacky. It seems to be popular with a lot of teenage mothers in my area, so I can't help but see it as an immature and over-the-top name (no offense to any teen moms here on the board).
-Yes, it does remind me of Nivea.
-As I mentioned before, it's popular with very young mothers.
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I dislike it for two reasons.
1. It's the corniest thing ever, ever.
2. The sound is totally gimmick/cliche/uninteresting pretty. TOTALLY conventional, TOTALLY easy to like. It's like a photoshopped supermodel. I do not find it interesting AT ALL. No meat on this name, it's all cloud and glitter.
I always hear Nevaeh. I don't know any, which is cool.
1. It's the corniest thing ever, ever.
2. The sound is totally gimmick/cliche/uninteresting pretty. TOTALLY conventional, TOTALLY easy to like. It's like a photoshopped supermodel. I do not find it interesting AT ALL. No meat on this name, it's all cloud and glitter.
I always hear Nevaeh. I don't know any, which is cool.
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I find it tacky. I say this because it is a name that was recently made up and has no history to it, but it is still in the top 100. Also the -aeh ending looks ugly.
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I find it tacky and stupid. Yes, all names were made up at some point, but making up a name by spelling something backwards is rather lame imo. The spelling is counterintuitive. Something like Nevah or Neveah would make more sense already. Still, it's not my #1 pet peeve, those tend to be Mcnames.
It's not common at all where I live thanks goodness, it would be constantly be mispronounced and mispelled.
It's not common at all where I live thanks goodness, it would be constantly be mispronounced and mispelled.
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Nevaeh seems to be a "cursed name" to me. Maybe it's just because it's so popular, but I feel like I hear about a lot of terrible things happening to Nevaehs.
warning: terrible things ahead.
Of the top of my head, I can think of:
Nevaeh Buchanan (kidnapped and buried alive, under cement)
Nevaeh Richardson (raped at 8 days old, which led to her death
Nevaeh Jade Abercrombie (car accient, 11 months old, her mom didn't strap her in properly)
Recently, 4 children died in a fire started by a candle and one of them was a 2-year-old Nevaeh.
and googling Nevaeh in the google news archives:
Nevaeh Wanzer, Nevaeh Rae Jones (one news article even points out that her name is "Heaven spelled backwards"), Nevaeh Alana Miller....
Also, it seems this name is given to a lot of stillborn babies (based on this search. The ones I listed actually had something happen to them, but there were a lot of newborn obituaries too. More than if I search any other name).
[I don't really remember how I got started on this, but about a year ago, I looked this up and had a giant list. I think it was because I googled Nevaeh Richardson and got a ton of other Nevaehs and just got intrigued at how such a "heavenly" name could have so many bad outcomes.]
And Nevaeh Buchanan and Nevaeh Richardson are usually my first thoughts with this name. Probably because they lived in this area and were on the news a lot.
...Um... yeah. I don't really care for it. The spelling is ugly to me. The sound is sort of ok, but I'd prefer Nineveh.
I think I once suggested spelling it Nevé (for Neh-vay), and then it does actually mean snow (it's a form of the Spanish Nevar). That's not too bad I guess, but there's still other names I'd rather see.
warning: terrible things ahead.
Of the top of my head, I can think of:
Nevaeh Buchanan (kidnapped and buried alive, under cement)
Nevaeh Richardson (raped at 8 days old, which led to her death
Nevaeh Jade Abercrombie (car accient, 11 months old, her mom didn't strap her in properly)
Recently, 4 children died in a fire started by a candle and one of them was a 2-year-old Nevaeh.
and googling Nevaeh in the google news archives:
Nevaeh Wanzer, Nevaeh Rae Jones (one news article even points out that her name is "Heaven spelled backwards"), Nevaeh Alana Miller....
Also, it seems this name is given to a lot of stillborn babies (based on this search. The ones I listed actually had something happen to them, but there were a lot of newborn obituaries too. More than if I search any other name).
[I don't really remember how I got started on this, but about a year ago, I looked this up and had a giant list. I think it was because I googled Nevaeh Richardson and got a ton of other Nevaehs and just got intrigued at how such a "heavenly" name could have so many bad outcomes.]
And Nevaeh Buchanan and Nevaeh Richardson are usually my first thoughts with this name. Probably because they lived in this area and were on the news a lot.
...Um... yeah. I don't really care for it. The spelling is ugly to me. The sound is sort of ok, but I'd prefer Nineveh.
I think I once suggested spelling it Nevé (for Neh-vay), and then it does actually mean snow (it's a form of the Spanish Nevar). That's not too bad I guess, but there's still other names I'd rather see.
This message was edited 5/25/2010, 1:49 PM
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I think sometimes people are more likely to use a name like Nevaeh if the child didn't survive. I see a lot more babies named things like 'Hope' or 'Faith' and so forth in children's cemeteries than I would expect to see in the general population. It makes sense that people often opt for a 'special' name.
Those news stories are very, very sad. I understand why you have such a negative association. :(
Those news stories are very, very sad. I understand why you have such a negative association. :(
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Poor kids.
I feel the same about about Amy. One girl I worked with hid her pregnancy and had a very premature baby who lived for a little while. She had severe brain damage and she was called Amy Grace or Amy Rose.
And another guy I worked with - same thing - his wife went into labour prematurely and the baby lived a little while and they called her Amy.
Regardless of the fact that I know other healthy Amys( and I have a cousin called Amy) I associate it with dead babies probably because the two babies were born in consecutive years...
I quite like Ninevah.
I feel the same about about Amy. One girl I worked with hid her pregnancy and had a very premature baby who lived for a little while. She had severe brain damage and she was called Amy Grace or Amy Rose.
And another guy I worked with - same thing - his wife went into labour prematurely and the baby lived a little while and they called her Amy.
Regardless of the fact that I know other healthy Amys( and I have a cousin called Amy) I associate it with dead babies probably because the two babies were born in consecutive years...
I quite like Ninevah.
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I feel the same about about Amy. One girl I worked with hid her pregnancy and had a very premature baby who lived for a little while. She had severe brain damage and she was called Amy Grace or Amy Rose.
And another guy I worked with - same thing - his wife went into labour prematurely and the baby lived a little while and they called her Amy.
Regardless of the fact that I know other healthy Amys( and I have a cousin called Amy) I associate it with dead babies :/
And another guy I worked with - same thing - his wife went into labour prematurely and the baby lived a little while and they called her Amy.
Regardless of the fact that I know other healthy Amys( and I have a cousin called Amy) I associate it with dead babies :/
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Uahh terrible :( I know two Destinys and the had terrible accidents as kids but survived and are well now.
But this is really a weird coincidence, so many bad things happening to girls named Nevaeh :(
What does Nineveh mean? It's pretty.
But this is really a weird coincidence, so many bad things happening to girls named Nevaeh :(
What does Nineveh mean? It's pretty.
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Nineveh
I believe is a Biblical place name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh
Not sure on it's exact meaning, but here's something on the Hebrew roots:
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Nineveh.html
I believe is a Biblical place name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineveh
Not sure on it's exact meaning, but here's something on the Hebrew roots:
http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Nineveh.html
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whoa
See, what did I say about the Satanic backwards-thing. That is creepy. Those poor children.
See, what did I say about the Satanic backwards-thing. That is creepy. Those poor children.
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Hate to say it, but I agree on the Satanic thing...I've been saying that all along too. It's disgusting what happened to those children. Is there a curse on Nevaeh? I don't know. But I've always had a good reason why I'd never use it, even if it sounds pretty to the ears.
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I don't hate Nevaeh with the white hot burning passion that many do. I think it's pretty. Although I usually hate made-up names, I don't consider Nevaeh really made up, since it's based upon a word. I don't think there's anything really wrong with creating a name by spelling a word backwards.
I myself wouldn't use it because I think that it denotes religious belief, of which I have none.
I was never sure how to pronounce it, but I usually say Ne-VAY.
I don't think it's tacky or trashy. I don't know any at all. It doesn't make me think of Nivea. I'd rather see Nevaeh than Abigail or Hannah, because I think it's much prettier.
I myself wouldn't use it because I think that it denotes religious belief, of which I have none.
I was never sure how to pronounce it, but I usually say Ne-VAY.
I don't think it's tacky or trashy. I don't know any at all. It doesn't make me think of Nivea. I'd rather see Nevaeh than Abigail or Hannah, because I think it's much prettier.
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I'd say nuh-VAY-uh. I strongly dislike how this name looks. It actually sounds really pretty, but I'd spell it more phonetically: Navaya, maybe.
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That's "Ay, a van!" backwards. Now we are getting somewhere.
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Nice, now I'm going to be checking what all my favorite names are backwards. Thanks!
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My brothers and I used to do that all the time when we were kids. In fact I use my name backwards as a log-in on another site....
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Is it weird that I do that a lot too? Especially when I was a teenager. For some reason it seemed supercool.
Ok maybe I still do it sometimes.
Ok maybe I still do it sometimes.
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I used to do that with my first name, which backwards would be Eilatan. I always thought it looked like the brand name for a prescription drug, most likely a sleep aid. With my middle name, it is:
Eilatan Trah
Eilatan Trah
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My son's name: O, kin!
:o)
:o)
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My name is Amme Snippit.
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!
I forsee many hilarious adventures for Amme Snippit.
I forsee many hilarious adventures for Amme Snippit.
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I like Nevaeh too as a gp. It is beautiful, especially when it's prn neh-VAY-uh. I suspect that's the correct prn since, as you say, that's how most people prn it.
Yeah, I guess it's a little tacky just because names spelled backwards or composed of random syllables are rather silly. I wouldn't say "all names were made up at some point"; most were derived from actual words in some language rather than being a word spelled backwards. I don't believe that Neveah is worse than Nevaeh, either. I mean, if you can go as far as to spell a word backwards to get a name, why can't you change the spelling? Popular names pick up alternate spellings all the time.
Neaveh does look biblical to me, and no, it doesn't put me to mind of Nivea.
I don't know any Nevaehs nor how popular it is where I live.
Yeah, I guess it's a little tacky just because names spelled backwards or composed of random syllables are rather silly. I wouldn't say "all names were made up at some point"; most were derived from actual words in some language rather than being a word spelled backwards. I don't believe that Neveah is worse than Nevaeh, either. I mean, if you can go as far as to spell a word backwards to get a name, why can't you change the spelling? Popular names pick up alternate spellings all the time.
Neaveh does look biblical to me, and no, it doesn't put me to mind of Nivea.
I don't know any Nevaehs nor how popular it is where I live.
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Hmm but neh-VAY-ah just doesn't make sense when it comes from the two syllable word heaven. I have heard it as neh-VAY quite a lot and also as neh-VEE-ah and neh-VY.
But I also find neh-VAY-ah pretty.
But I also find neh-VAY-ah pretty.
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That logic is so strange to me! Why would it need to be the same amount of syllables when the spelling's reversed? Why not just pronounce it exactly like Heaven backwards, without any AY sound at all? Indulge backwards would be Egludni - 3 syllables. etc.
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Because it also makes more sense for Nevaeh. ae is pronounced AY. Or otherwise it would be neh-VAH-eh or neh-VAH-ay but not neh-VAY-ah. That would only make sense as Neveah, maybe that's why this alternate spelling is popular.
Heaven backwards makes an AY sound. Well, more like NEV-eh or so but with a longer eh so it sounds close to ay.
Heaven backwards makes an AY sound. Well, more like NEV-eh or so but with a longer eh so it sounds close to ay.
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If we are really strict about this Nevaeh should be something like "Niveh", shouldn't it?
I think someone needs to make a recording of themselves saying "heaven" and play it backwards for us.
I think someone needs to make a recording of themselves saying "heaven" and play it backwards for us.
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I tried it
It's Nev-EH. [Not Nev-ay. Nev-EH!]
http://www.zshare.net/audio/76510810c988e1d5/
It's REALLY fast, and really quiet, so you'll need headphones (my microphone is crap). I say "heaven" first, and then you'll hear the backwards version.
[*.* and now it's cutting out before it's over. hope it's not doing that to any one else]
It's Nev-EH. [Not Nev-ay. Nev-EH!]
http://www.zshare.net/audio/76510810c988e1d5/
It's REALLY fast, and really quiet, so you'll need headphones (my microphone is crap). I say "heaven" first, and then you'll hear the backwards version.
[*.* and now it's cutting out before it's over. hope it's not doing that to any one else]
This message was edited 5/25/2010, 2:40 PM
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Niveh is actually pretty. Yeah we should try that to make sure ;)
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When I first heard it, I thought it was very creative and a fantastic idea, but now I see it/hear it everywhere so it's losing it's charm for me. Both pronunciations sound very beautiful. It might be difficult getting people to pronounce it neh-vah without altering the spelling though. In a nutshell, I don't love it but I don't hate it.
This message was edited 5/25/2010, 12:50 PM
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I think that Nevaeh is a beautiful name. It is just so pure and lovely to me. I pronounce it like Neh - VAY - ah. Like with an ahh sound at the end.
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It does look Biblical because of its similarity to Nineveh, but I would rather see Nineveh than Nevaeh. I think it is tacky because it is silly and yet pompous. The silliness in itself wouldn't be so bad, because I admire silly names (even made up ones sometimes), but people take it so seriously and try so hard to cram the invented importance of the name down people's throats that it turns me right off. Have some humility and common sense, people. It is not a holy name, it is not a sacred name, it is not deep and amazing. It is heaven backwards. And I thought backwards things were a tool of the devil anyways - what about all the hullaballoo about playing records backwards back in the day?
Why would spelling it differently make you upset? It is a made up name of a backwards word that you want people to take seriously, and now you are trying to get picky about it? Elizabeth can be spelled Elisabeth and Rachel Rachael, so why not Nevaeh Neveah?
I don't know any Nevaehs. It doesn't remind me of Nivea but I could see how it might. I say it "nuh-VAY-uh" because that's how I thought it was supposed to be said. Yes heaven has two syllables but isn't it funny how a word sounds different when we try to say it backwards. Weird.
Why would spelling it differently make you upset? It is a made up name of a backwards word that you want people to take seriously, and now you are trying to get picky about it? Elizabeth can be spelled Elisabeth and Rachel Rachael, so why not Nevaeh Neveah?
I don't know any Nevaehs. It doesn't remind me of Nivea but I could see how it might. I say it "nuh-VAY-uh" because that's how I thought it was supposed to be said. Yes heaven has two syllables but isn't it funny how a word sounds different when we try to say it backwards. Weird.
This message was edited 5/25/2010, 11:30 AM
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Well then I suppose Neveah is the postmodern North American phonetical adaptation of "the original" Nevaeh.
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and Kayghtelynne of Caitlin.
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Yeah, true if there are girls named Kayghtelynne and Emmaleigh, Ashlee or Caydence I guess you can have Neveah. It doesn't look as bad at first sight, actually. It makes more sense for the neh-VAY-ah pr. anyway. Neveah seems the more natural way to spell it. I know a Nevaeh and many people spell it Neveah when they hear it.
I guess I would go for something different altogether, maybe Nívea or Neva or maybe Neriah. Apparently Neweh has something to do with a Hebrew word that means oasis but I have no idea whether that is true.
I really like the way it sounds, though.
I guess I would go for something different altogether, maybe Nívea or Neva or maybe Neriah. Apparently Neweh has something to do with a Hebrew word that means oasis but I have no idea whether that is true.
I really like the way it sounds, though.
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