Comments for the name Phaedra

A derivative of Phaedra, i.e. Phedre, was the protagonist in Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy trilogy.

Pronunciation is FEE-dra. An interesting alternative to the overused Phoebe. :-)

Pronounced with a long "A" (as in ape) or short "E" (as in egg). Never was or will be FEE-dra.

Commonly mis-spelled "Phadrea".

The masculine form is Phaedrus.

When I studied the play my Greek (that is, born in Greece) lecturer pronounced it FEE-dra. I've never heard it pronounced with a short e.

I like this name pronounced "FAY-dra". I think it would make a lovely middle name, since having it as a first name is sort of, well, out there. But it's beautiful, nonetheless.

I knew a girl by this name and she pronounced it Fay-dra. The name fit her as she was very pretty.

I think it sounds really pretty, but it's so dramatic and unusual. I think you would have to have a really big personality to carry a name like Phaedra.

I adore this name. It's the most beautiful name I've come across so far. I would love to use it on my daughter, assuming I'll have one some day. I've been thinking of naming my daughter Phaedra Juniper, but I'm not fully decided, nor need to be. This name is far simpler than stranger-sounding names like Persephone and such, so I don't think it's ''out there'' at all.

This is definitely a beautiful, strong name--the kind which models usually have.

Phaedra is the title of a rather psychedelic and liquid track by Tangerine Dream.

In Greek, the -αι is always pronounced like a soft E (ĕ). The only exception is that -αϊ is pronounced like a soft A (ă) followed by a hard I/E sound (ē).

I like the sound and history of the name, but I always see the people who would name their child this name as a sort of pompous modernist who thinks they're smarter than anybody else.

The correct pronunciation is with a short E - FED-ra.

I used to love this name, and I might still use it for a character. But I could never name my child after such a character in Greek Mythology. In all of the sources I've read, I have yet to find a redeeming quality in her.

I like the Portuguese version (Fedra) better.

Hi my name is Phaedra and absolutely love this name. I'm in my teens and all my friends love this name, they have a nickname for me it's Pha or Phae. I don't know anyone with the same name as me.

I hate this name. It sounds ugly, and it's very pretentious. Phaedra sounds like a name that snobs would use and brag about it.

I don't think it sounds pretentious or ugly at all. And most snobs I know aren't smart enough to think of a Greek mythological name to use and brag about. I think Phaedra is interesting, unusual, and pretty. :)

This would be a cool name for a character, but not for a person (as a first name, anyway).

I consider this name to be extremely strange and unusual, but not wholly unlikeable. :)

What an ugly name. Terrible spelling, and an equally terrible back story.

If only I knew the correct way to pronounce it . . . *sigh* Anyway, I don't really like any of the pronunciations listed. They all sound so rough to my ear.

Considering the Greeks pronounced each vowel individually (Ione: Eye-oh-nee, Zeus: ZAY-os), is it possible this name is pronounced fa-EH-dra, or something close?

Most Greek names I know of which feature "ae" are pronounced with and "EE" sound - like Aesop - similarly Phaedra would be pronounced "FEE-druh"

That said I do like the sound of "FAY-druh" better.

I think the backstory of this name is pretty disturbing. Nonetheless, it does have a nice ring to it.

I think Phaedra is absolutely gorgeous. I pronounce it fay-druh. I also think the pronunciation is intuitive. I don't much care about its back story.

The English pronunciation is FEE-drə (Random House Dictionary and Collins English Dictionary).

The Oxford English dictionary lists ˈfeɪdrə (FAY-druh) and ˈfiːdrə (FEE-druh) as acceptable English pronunciations of Phaedra.
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Phaedra
I imagine the Greek and Latin pronunciations to be somewhat different.

Yesterday there was a question about the mythical Phaedra on the BBC quiz show "Eggheads". I assume (this being the BBC, which prides itself on correct pronunciation of personal names and countries) that the question master got it right when he pronounced it FY-druh - I thought immediately of Hydra and this killed Phaedra as an option for me!

There's a tragedy of Jean Racine, "Phèdre". So maybe it's the french form of the greek Phaidra.