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Deborah
I just posted about Judith. Now I'm wondering if one of my secret favorites, Deborah, might be ready for a comeback as well. Does it sound dated to you or do you see it as a nice classic?For some reason I don't think Debbie is ready for a comeback at all. Judy as a nn for Judith, yes but for some reason Debbie still sounds dated. WDYT? I also dislike Debra.Do you know anyone named Deborah? do they go by Debbie? how old are they? middle names?I dislike Debbie and Debra so much that I thought about using Devorah instead. WDYT? Also do you think people might pronounce it like Debra instead giving it its three syllable pronunciation?
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Deborah or Devorah could be good and they're not overused now like they were in the 50s and 60s. I'm not a fan of Debbie or Debra either (Deb's ok if you want to get one's attention quickly)... I know one family with a 9yr. old named Deborah... Most others I've met are my generation or older... I think it wuld be a good name to bring back. *_*... of course, I may be a litle biased. It's a solid, sensible name, so that's good.
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I really like Deborah and I know a girl who is about six now named Deborah "Debbie"...I think it is sweet.But I don't think it is ready for a comeback just yet and won't be until our grandchildren's generation. The boom of Deborah's are only just becoming grandmothers so most people having kids see it as a 'Mum' name and our kid's generation will probably see it as an old woman 'Grandma' name. It will be their kids that will see it as fresh and new again, I believe
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My best friend is Deborah. She used to hate her name because our teachers in elementary school always called her Debbie, which she despised. She preferred to just be Deborah, or Deb if she needed a nickname.By the time we got to high school, she'd realized that she was going to be nicknamed, and (to avoid Debbie at all costs) just called herself Deb. I think the nickname grew on her though... she likes to sign her name deb (all lowercase) because she likes the symmetry... and her closest friends from college call her bed sometimes because of that.Her middle name is Ann.I've always though Devorah was a funny name (even though it's my friend's Hebrew name) because I once had a Hebrew school teacher who we called Morah Devorah. (Morah is the Hebrew word for teacher.) I just thought the rhyming thing was hilarious. At times, I'd look at her and wonder how to take her seriously.
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I definitely agree on the "Debbie" thing... started insisting on Deborah in gr. 3 and just wouldn't answer to Debbie after that. People would either be ignored, be corrected or receive questions about having an imaginary friend. My parents put Ruth as my middle name... Some other friends of mine have a Deborah Rose. I've met 2 other Deborah Ruths though.
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Deborah Ruth is lovely!!
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works for me... I even go by the full name among other En. speakers... the Jpns. have a hard time with the pronunciation of Ruth though, so most just call me Day-bo-rah
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Sorry, I don't like Deborah or Debra (where I live they're pronounced pretty much the same). It's one of those 'mom names' to me. (I'm 23, all my friends mom's names were/are Debbie, Tammy, Lori, Susan, Linda etc).
edited to correct spelling

This message was edited 11/17/2008, 9:28 AM

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I've known several Deborahs, one was a girl I went to elementary school with, one a teenage friend of my sister's, one was the sister of my sister's first husband, one was a woman I used to work with who has passed on now. The first one is about forty-eight now, the second about forty-seven, the third is fifty-four, and the last would be fifty-five is she were alive now. Every single one of them went by Debbie. I don't know any of their middle names.I've known one Debra, who is forty-four now. She goes by Debbie also.I really dislike it, though that's due to a bad association with the last Debbie I mentioned, and not anything inherent about the name itself. It's undeniably dated.I think Deborah and Debra are pronounced the same. It's always sounded that way to me.
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depends how lazy people are with their pronunciation... thing I like about the syllabic style of the Jpns. language is they don't butcher it and turn it into Debbie... It's much nicer as Deborah than Debbie, I think... but I'm a full names person in most cases.
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I know a Deborah who's 22 and doesn't go by Debbie. Her nickname is DeeDee. I think it's just a family thing from when she was a kid. Most of the time everybody calls her Deborah. I don't know her middle name.
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Deborah is a name that I harbor a lot of love for. I used to absolutely hate it, seeing it as nothing than an outdated, stale 50s/60s name. However, now I love it to bits. Among the more trendy, common, and popular names of today, Deborah sounds refreshing and I think it would be adorable on a child.I do hate the nicknames Debbie and Deb. I just don't like them. I could see Debbie growing on me in the future, but right now, I hate it.I know of a couple of Deborahs/Debras personally and they're all over forty years old. I occasionally hear of a Deborah, but they're generally all over forty. I don't know any middle names.Here, Deborah is most commonly pronounced like Debra.I like Devorah/Dvorah, too. I don't know which one I like more, though. I kind of like them equally.
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Deborah is my mums name, so I like it.
It doesn't sound dated to me at all, and I think it would sound lovely on a young girl.I also know a girl called Deborah who must be about 8 or so by now. We thought it was a little strange when we first heard her name, because we were so used to hearing on older people. My mum goes by Debby but I don't think the girl shortens it and almost always goes by Deborah.I dislike Debbie also, Devorah is nice but it looks a little odd and people would probably just confuse it for Deborah anyway. I think Deborah is much nicer. Both Deborah's I've know have pronounced it with the three syllables like Deb-a-rah sort of, but I suppose said fast it does sound like Debra. Definately go for Deborah :)
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My name is Deborah and I love it. Like you, I dislike Debbie and although I used to go by Debbie as a child, I'm now very much a Deborah.I pronounce it De-bor-ah, not Deb-ra.
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yeah... when I started insisting on my full name in elementary school, it was back in the 80s and no one seemed to go by the full name... Then suddenly in the 90s it became more common for people to use the full name (I'm in my 30s now... and still won't answer to Debbie).
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I'm in my 30s too! 95% of Deborahs went by Debbie in the 70s and 80s but now it's probably 50/50. I do quite like Deb and I do get called Debs a bit - which I don't mind too much. I think Deb is cool though.
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I think it all depends on the person what fits... Only selective people get away with Debs (ok... 1 that I can think of and she's a closer friend)... some of my En.-speaking friends will occasionally shorten it to Deb, but I don't tend to get the Jpns. doing that as their syllabic language turns it into "Debu", which means "fat"... not the direction I want to go with my name.
After switching over to my full name (once I found out my real name) in the beginning of gr. 3 or so, I wouldn't even answer to Deb until some time in my later teens... I'm ok with it now though. It's just Debbie *does beach bimbo airhead bob reminiscent of late 80s/early 90s blond jokes* I'm not so fond of.

This message was edited 11/18/2008, 2:48 AM

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I don't think the image of Debbie has been helped by 'Debbie Does Dallas'!
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I haven't seen that show... and had pretty much forgotten it even existed. Maybe I can go back to forgetting after this... I thought it was the sitcoms from the 80s ("Three's Company" type shows) or so where it seemed to be the name of the odd date a guy would have with intentions of getting their way with her...
Maybe that's why some of them started switching over to Deborah in the 90s.

This message was edited 11/18/2008, 4:26 PM

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Does it sound dated to you or do you see it as a nice classic?
Well, I don't see it as a "nice" classic because I can't stand it, but I do think it has the potential to rise again in popularity.Do you know anyone named Deborah? do they go by Debbie? how old are they? middle names?
My ex best friend was called Deborah. She's one of the reasons why I hate this name now. She went by Debbie but she really despised her name, and I think we all agreed with her that it was horrible. She didn't have a middle name.I dislike Debbie and Debra so much that I thought about using Devorah instead. WDYT?
I definitely like Devorah better than Deborah or its nicknames. I think the V sounds and looks more elegant than the B.Also do you think people might pronounce it like Debra instead giving it its three syllable pronunciation?
I'm not sure. My best friend never got that but that might be because we don't live in an English-speaking country. But her father was from England and even he pronounced it with three syllables. She would probably have killed him if the didn't, though. :)
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I can't stand this name, I don't really know why though. There was a girl in my highschool named Debra and she was a bit of a backstabber so maybe thats why I don't like it (though I never really cared for it anyway)Apart from her I don't know any other Debras or Deborahs, but I do know two Debbies in their 50s (they're just Debbies, not short for anything) I think its dated.I was watching a movie ages ago and one of the main characters was named Deborah but it was pronounced Deh-BOR-uh and not deb-ruh or deb-o-uh.
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I love Deborah and have been seriously considering it as a mn with Elizabeth. My favourite Biblical name is Miriam.
Devorah captures the lovely sound but I don't think I'd use that where I am.
Most Deborahs are 50 or over and I see it making a quiet return.
Debra is tacky.
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not only is Debra tacky, but it almost looks like you're advertising a bra size: De-bra... SO thankful my parents chose the standard spelling.
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