"Rafe" Fiennes question for Brits

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>
> Carol earlier:
> > >
> > > Just out of curiosity, is "Rafe" a nickname for Ralph (used by
> Ralph Fiennes and others) or is it the normal pronunciation of the
> name Ralph in England/Britain? 
> > 
> > Geoff:
> > It is one of two ways in which it is pronounced and, yes, it is the
> one used by Ralph Fiennes. Another well known "Rafe" was Ralph
> Vaughan-Williams, the famous English composer.
> > 
> > The other way in which it is pronounced is as it is spelt - ie "Ralf".
> >
> Carol:
> Thanks, Geoff. I do know that Ralph Fiennes pronounces his name as
> "Rafe." That's why I asked the question. Just to be clear, you're
> saying that "Rafe" is not a nickname for Ralph but an alternative
> pronunciation, just as the name Stephen can be pronounced as "Steven"
> or "Steffen"? (And, for all I know, "Geoffrey" may be pronounced as
> "Jeffrey" or "Joffrey" <smile>.)
> 
> Which is the more common pronunciation of Ralph, and is it regional,
> do you think? (Ralph is pronounced only as "Ralf" in the U.S. to my
> knowledge, but there may be exceptions that I'm not aware of, not
> counting Rafer Johnson, who is not a Ralph.)

Geoff:
Referring to Ralph, I have a feeling that it may be a class difference.  I 
think "Rafe" is a more middle- or upper-class pronunciation from the 
times I've met up with the name.

Stephen, in the UK, is always pronounced "Steven". "Steffen" is always 
used with the mainland European version - often often spelt as "Stefan".

Geoffrey and Jeffrey are pronounced the same way - Jeffrey is seen as 
the American form. Knowing me as a rather high-powered and possibly 
loquacious person, close friends are always highly amused when I tell 
them that my name is another form of Godfrey which is derived from 
the German "Gottfried" = "God's peace". As one of them put it: "I've 
never met a more incorrectly named person".
:-(