View Message

I don't think I like Tarquin - it's too close to Larkin (Peterkin, whatever like that), which is one of the names I hate with the big H.
It is nice that its origin might be Etruscan - I'm very fascinated with everything connected with that culture. Oh, my parents were a few weeks ago in Rome, and the pictures of Etruscan architecture they took were so impressive! Everything Etruscans did was so big and kingly! After that I've dreamed of going to Rome - I've been already in Italy two times, but only in Toscana and Venetia...
Tarquin Lapis Lazuli - Um, Lapis made me smile, it makes me think of the Russian word lyapsus, which means blunder. The whole combo is very funny, it'd make a great name for some literature character.

---

Cecilia - My favourite female combo/name is Anna-Cecilia. I find Cecilia one of the most musical names in the world - not only phonetically, also... I know four Cecilias - three of them do music on a very high level. I think that Cecilia has some aura that makes you more fascinated by music or whatever... But definitely, C. makes me think of music. Bach. The flute solo in Monteverdi's Orfeus. Yeah, Cecilia is a great name!

---

Joan - I just cannot stand the pronunciation! JON! It doesn't make any sense - sounds like crooked John. Why isn't Joanna pronounced JO-nah then? The only prn. I can tolerate and like is JO-ahn. The Joan-connection I like is Joan Hickson, the only right Miss Marple. :)

---

Minerva - My first reaction is always "tries too hard". After reading an interview with a silly Minerva I've lost a lot of respect to this name - Wisdom's goddesse's name looks pathetic on not very wise bearers! But a few weeks ago I got to know that my favourite teacher's (he teaches religion, philosophy and Russian - what a wonderful set!) daughter is named Minerva (the second daughter is Anna-Sofia, and her name is officially the most perfect female name in the world!), so I think it could grow on me.

---

Benedict - A little too pope-ish. The current pope Benedict XVI is an ex-inquisitor (today this organisation is named Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and ex-member of Hitler Jugend, btw. :P But phonetically etc. it is very nice, I just don't like the associations.

---

Cornelius - Oh, in my old school there was a little boy (he is four years younger than me) named Cornelius - I remember that he found himself always in wrong places, and with him always happened something odd. The name "Cornelius" looked so funny on that young man that I smiled every time I saw him.