View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Opinions] Re: Thoughts on these extinct girl names?
Last time I checked here, people hated Kirstie. I like it. But, it's kind of a curio ever since I noticed it sounds like "cursed"I seem to remember Paralee is "Par" (like the word par) -a-lee, and the origin is unknown. I think it's neat.Gilda, if pronounced like "gill duh," seems like it could be revived. If those sounds were.Delphia seems revivable, considering that Sophia and Delphine /a are. Maybe it's the ambiguous pronunciation that is the problem (DEL-fia vs. del-FEE-a vs. del-FIE-a). I dunno, I'm kinda liking it alright as DEL-fia. It's better than Delphine imo. Not so much dolphininess.Maud sounds too much like "mod" today imo and won't come back at scale any time soon.I feel like Latoya was not meant to be lasting, it was meant to be youthful in its moment. Basically all the La-names seem like that to me. Like the Mc-names too.Shaniqua got kinda stereotyped. The sound of it reminds me of "je ne sais quoi" in English. If it was meant to sound regal and exotic, I think that worked pretty well, in its moment anyway ... it's also kind of a name of its moment, like Latoya, to me.I hate Hester, I think it sounds sloppy and small. And sort of hostile and rude. Word associates with heckler, hassle, hiss, hysteria. Just bad sounding to me. Esther isn't much better imo.Minta seems like it could be resurrected.- mirfak

Replies

I wonder if Delphia reminds people too much of Philadelphia.
I LOVE the name Kirstie! I was honestly shocked to see it's not used at all anymore.
Par/para as in by/for/from/with/alongside/against? + Lee? It seems to exist a bit pre-1840, though now I wonder if it peaked during/after the Civil War (maybe originally it was a reference to Richard Henry Lee, as in: indepedence, antifederalism, states' rights? And then more popularly, maybe also a reference to Robert E. Lee and the actual Confederacy? Used about the same period as Pharisee "separatist"?). Aaaaaa.I guess one could also say it's 'equal + an elaboration'.

This message was edited 4/12/2024, 11:25 AM

Dr Evans implied he didn't think people in the 1820s used -lee as an elaboration https://www.behindthename.com/bb/fact/322573 It wouldn't surprise me if the name "Lee" could have made it feel more fashionable to CW-era Southerners, too, but I doubt that's anything to do with the origin.This person has an interesting theory about it:
https://appellationmountain.net/paralee-baby-name-of-the-day/
I like that it's related to cards. That is funny.