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I've always liked it, along with Raphaelle. I'd be fine using either. They'd feel appropriate within my cultural context. The Ninja Turtles association is only a blip on my radar; Raphael's biblical, multicultural, not obscure in modern usage, and the only reason it was used for a Ninja Turtle to begin with was because it's a famous artist's name.

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I don't think it needs a nickname anymore than Miriam does, and Raphi (rah-fee) would seem most natural to me, but maybe El could work?

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I wouldn't not use it just because it doesn't sound amazing with your last name (I guess because of alliteration? or it starts with El? or it rhymes?). Sometimes that bothers me (like I dislike when a FN ends with S, and the surname starts with S, or a one syllable name that rhymed, like Wade Spade, would sound really bad), but I'm having a hard time coming up with a surname that'd sound *really* bad with Raphael. Plus, as Tiggs said, if you'd prefer it as a MN, you could just add a 2nd MN to make it flow better.

This message was edited 9/22/2019, 7:35 PM