ralph or ray?

[clueless2]

why do people call Ralph Fiennes "Ray"?

[Shipstabber]

Posh people called Ralph pronounce it Rafe.

[rugeleyboy]

i think its cus he's a posh out of touch luvvie who thinks he is more important than he actualy is?

may not be the truth but it sounds good to me!!

[Dollie]

I think it was sometime around the turn of the century (victorian times) when aristocracy decided to change the pronounciation of Ralph to Raife or Rafe (rhymes with safe) Its stuck within posh circles to this day -can't think why for the life in me !

[RogK]

Yes, you misheard, clueless - it's Rafe.

[clueless2]

hmmm... i thought it might have something to do with the fact that he's Charles' 8th cousin...

so does this apply to all ralphs or just the aristocratic ones?

[Merthyr Imp]

In Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore, first produced in 1878, there is a character called Ralph Rackstraw. His name is always pronounced as 'Rafe'. It has to be because it's rhymed with the word 'waif' in one song. So I think it must date back to mid- Victorian times at least.