RAYNER, RAINER or REINER?
Premising that I am from europe, I am looking to change my name and I have almost settled on this one.
I love this name and its meaning, which is of german origin, meaning "wise army".
Yet, I'm undecided on which form to use. I would love to hear your opinions:
- Rayner (Eng. form); Mostly a surname, very rarely used as a first name, which could be an issue (?), yet it would assure the bearer of the name the nickname " Ray ", which I adore.
- Rainer (Ger. form); The most popular form of this name, still used in Germany. I've seen many people mistaking the spelling and reading it as " Rainier ", which I'm not a fan of and I'd like to avoid.
There also seem to be some pronunciation issues with this form.
It might still be associated to the nickname " Ray ".
- Reiner (Alt. Ger. form); Another less popular form of Rainer. It seems to be used as a surname as well.
Do you think that Reiner is safe from the " Rainier " misspelling?
And could the nickname " Ray " still be associated to it?
Which form do you think is best? Thanks to anyone who will comment with their opinion!
I love this name and its meaning, which is of german origin, meaning "wise army".
Yet, I'm undecided on which form to use. I would love to hear your opinions:
- Rayner (Eng. form); Mostly a surname, very rarely used as a first name, which could be an issue (?), yet it would assure the bearer of the name the nickname " Ray ", which I adore.
- Rainer (Ger. form); The most popular form of this name, still used in Germany. I've seen many people mistaking the spelling and reading it as " Rainier ", which I'm not a fan of and I'd like to avoid.
There also seem to be some pronunciation issues with this form.
It might still be associated to the nickname " Ray ".
- Reiner (Alt. Ger. form); Another less popular form of Rainer. It seems to be used as a surname as well.
Do you think that Reiner is safe from the " Rainier " misspelling?
And could the nickname " Ray " still be associated to it?
Which form do you think is best? Thanks to anyone who will comment with their opinion!
Replies
Reynar, I keep thinking Reynard is that an option
Raynor would be my preferred spelling if you're pronouncing it Ray-ner.
Just because Rayner seems nerdy to me. Reminds me of Maynard. An -or ending looks stronger to me.
Rainer is pretty good. Surnamey. I doubt that people spelling it Rainier would be a problem, but it could be sometimes. I live within sight of Mt Rainier, and that's very different, it's said ruh-N(y)EER around here.
Reiner looks like it should be pronounced "RYE-ner" instead, like I think it would be in German. I would not pronounce it with a "Ray" sound.
Just because Rayner seems nerdy to me. Reminds me of Maynard. An -or ending looks stronger to me.
Rainer is pretty good. Surnamey. I doubt that people spelling it Rainier would be a problem, but it could be sometimes. I live within sight of Mt Rainier, and that's very different, it's said ruh-N(y)EER around here.
Reiner looks like it should be pronounced "RYE-ner" instead, like I think it would be in German. I would not pronounce it with a "Ray" sound.
This message was edited 3/27/2022, 1:20 AM
Rainer
My grandmother's maiden name was Raynor. It changed from the Rayner spelling to Raynor in the mid-1800s in my family.