New Post
Search
Help[Opinions] Re: Tilda
in reply to a message by Puck
Tilda itself can be chic. It brings to mind Tilda Swinton. Matilda is a nice name, but I personally don't like it very much. It still seems antique and matronly to me, despite having met a Matilda who was a pale six year old child from Poland and the name somehow suited her.
I'm afraid I don't agree about Tilda working that well with your surname. It sounds multicultural in an awkward way because Matilda is so very Germanic - it's like Gertrude and Mildred. A chic and artistic Tilda could make it work, though!
Matilda Jane H.
Matilda Shirin H.
Matilda Catherine H.
- mirfak
I'm afraid I don't agree about Tilda working that well with your surname. It sounds multicultural in an awkward way because Matilda is so very Germanic - it's like Gertrude and Mildred. A chic and artistic Tilda could make it work, though!
Matilda Jane H.
Matilda Shirin H.
Matilda Catherine H.
- mirfak
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
I see what you are saying about the "awkward multiculturalism" but I actually rather like that aspect of it.
Maybe it's because I sort of got used to it, going to school with the children of immigrant parents who seemed fond of giving their children rare or dated English names. I was always curious about how that happened - how a parent with limited English would find the names Bertha, Agnes, Eldon, or Marvin and use them on their kids. Like where did they see those names? It's fascinating. So Matilda with an Asian-sounding last name totally works for me and actually gives me some childhood nostalgia feelings. It's got a strong "smartest kid in the class" vibe because of that, too.
Maybe it's because I sort of got used to it, going to school with the children of immigrant parents who seemed fond of giving their children rare or dated English names. I was always curious about how that happened - how a parent with limited English would find the names Bertha, Agnes, Eldon, or Marvin and use them on their kids. Like where did they see those names? It's fascinating. So Matilda with an Asian-sounding last name totally works for me and actually gives me some childhood nostalgia feelings. It's got a strong "smartest kid in the class" vibe because of that, too.
1
I am not sure if "Asian-sounding" described my last name or not, but with that said, even though many people mistake it as being Japanese or Hawaiian, Homayouni is a Persian name. It means "fortunate" or "royal".
1
I remembered that! Iran is in Asia, right?
1
Iran is in Western Asia, but when I hear Asian-sounding, I think it refers to Eastern Asian languages. Asian is not a very specific or useful label when grouping the vastly different cultures of Western and Eastern Asia. I'd subdivide those labels a bit.
This message was edited 10/6/2015, 9:29 AM
1
I've seen a little bit of that sort of naming, especially among people I went to school with, too - not as much among kids now but still a little. I agree with you.
I guess it's more that I see Matilda as being super Germanic in a way that seems ugly to me, than it is that there's anything awkward about the multicultural aspect of the combination. I was trying to come up with a fn-ln combo that sounded as awkward, for comparison, but all the ones I put together sounded fine. Frida Matsumoto, Ursula Ibrahim ... Tilda H. is as cool as those, but Matilda H. (not sure he minds if I post the surname even though he has told us in the past) doesn't quite sit right with me somehow. It's like Gertrude Mahapatra or Hildegard Krylova... the impression the first names give me is kind of ugly, and next to a long pretty unexpected surname they seem worse.
1
I do not agree.
1