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Mehitabel
WDYT of the name Mehitabel? Do you prefer this spelling or Mehetabel? WDYT of Mehitable nn Mabel?
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It's a guilty pleasure name for me - I really like it but it doesn't fit with any of my other names, and if I were to use it, it would be as a middle name. I prefer Mehetabel.
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I can't say I don't like it, and I wouldn't mind seeing it on someone else's child. It's certainly not ugly, nor is it horrific, but I consider it one of those 'anti-names' (like Olga, Hortense, Ludwig, etc...names that no one else would think of giving their child, but really make charming names once used). It's certainly different and for that, I give it a thumbs up plus some brownie points.As for the spelling, I prefer the first one. I like the Mehitabel pronunciation better than the Mehetabel one. In regards to Mabel as a nickname, I'm not too sure that I like it. I love the name Mabel, but if you're going to use something as fabulous as Mehitabel, I wouldn't cover it up by a name that's a name in it's own right, like Mabel. If I had to choose a nickname for Mehitabel, I'd choose Mitzi. It's loads of cute.A bit of useless information: Mehitabel was a character in the 1946 movie Sentimental Journey starring Maureen O'Hara as a terminally ill actress that doesn't have long to live. She takes a walk one day and comes across a little orphan girl named Mehitabel (but she's called Hitty) and is completely taken with her and falls in love with her instantly. Because she loves Hitty and knows that she deserves a good home, Maureen O'Hara's character adopts her. She knows that she only has a short time to live, but she hopes that once she dies that Hitty will help her husband cope with her death and not grieve too badly. It's such a tearjerker. But I think the character of Hitty has definitely warmed me to the name Mehitabel.
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I've always strongly disliked this name. It just doesn't have a pleasant/attractive sound and seems/looks like it should be a medical term or condition to me.
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Why does this name scare me?Was it ever used as a (bad)witch or evil person's name in fiction?
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I get that feeling from this name too. I can't recall any specific use of this name that leaves me with this impression, but it must come from somewhere if several of us are getting the same feeling. Hmm.
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It does have that feel to it doesn't it? It's weird because I have never read or seen anything with the name portrayed as bad/evil! Perhaps some names just have stronger vibes than others...
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There was Mehitabel the cat in the Archy and Mehitabel stories. And there's a real old children's book about a wooden doll, and her name was Mehitabel, nn Hitty.
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I've read the Archy and Mehitabel series. I think I have it in book form somewhere around here, but I don't think it's from that. The doll thing though...I was afraid of dolls as a child, so that might be it. I don't remember ever seeing or reading the book.
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I never heard of anybody being afraid of dolls. Not liking them, sure, but afraid of them? That's sure a new one on me. :) Oh well, I'm the one who nearly had a heart attack at age four when I unexpectedly ran across an older cousin's belt that had big black tassels on it. That thing scared me near to death!The book is called "Hitty" and it's by Rachel Field. Hitty tells the story herself, all about her adventures and various owners from the time a peddler made her from ash wood up in Maine.
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The book "Hitty" was one of my favorite books as a child. I have a fondness for the name because of it.
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Oh, I have heard of being scared of dolls before. My father was scared of an antique doll that his mother had sitting in an old highchair in their dining room. Also, there is a whole "scary" movie series based on a doll named Chucky.
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I read the book about Hitty...I liked it. So I don't get my 'witch' idea from that. It must be from something else. Was there an evil character in the Disney series named Mehitabel?
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Not that I recall, but the witch from Snow White (I think?) was named Maleficent. It's not really THAT similar, but it's a long M name....
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That may be where I get the 'Mehitabel is evil' feeling, simply because it is similiar.
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Not that I recall, but the witch from Snow White (I think?) was named Maleficent. It's not really THAT similar, but it's a long M name....
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I agree. There is something dark about it. I believe it is the name of a witch in literature or film as well. I did a little search for something but really came up with nothing that would suit that idea. Perhaps we are just a couple of crazy broads.
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lol no doubt,but I still think there must be some basis to it.
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sorry but its nms. I think it's better spelled Mehetabel just because I dont like the 'hit' sound in the other spelling, and the e draws the sound out a bit,softens it I think.
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