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I think of the tennis pro, Rafael Nadal who goes by the nn Rafa. Rafah is definitely not feminine sounding to me. Sorry.

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Perhaps, if you make it Rafaela, nn Rafa? I could see that, even though the tennis player is still in my mind. Somehow, knowing she has a recognizably feminine formal name to fall back on makes Rafa OK on a girl. (At least in my weird brain.)

The h at the end makes it look unconvincing; unfortunately Rafa is totally Nadal at the moment. And the 'raff' sound is a bit dog-sees-postman.

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It's less well-known than Rafiah, but I think it doesn't sound as good. But I wouldn't use either on a human of any gender. London, Paris, Brooklyn, Rafah ... not really!

This message was edited 10/21/2013, 1:37 AM

I think you could get away with that one. It's far less well known than Gaza, at least in my world, mainstream US. Reminds of Rafaela before it reminds of Palestine. The sound of it as a person's name doesn't appeal to me a whole lot personally, but it's not unpleasant either.

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Personally if I had chosen it for the sound, and then discovered the existence of the place name, I'd avoid using it for the same top reason I'd avoid Gaza. But I don't think there is as much of a concern.

I thought it would be a boys name. I'm not sure how it's pronounced. RAY-fah? RA-fah?

To be honest, when I saw Rafah I thought it was for a boy. I think it's usable for a girl, but I'm not very fond of it. It makes me think of Rafael.