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HelpBlanche
What do you think of Blanche? I think it's very harsh, but I wonder how many others agree and how many like it. Also, what do you think of Blanchette? Is it an improvement upon Blanche? Is Blanchette okay on its own or should it only be a pet form of Blanche?
I do like the fact that Blanche is a very old, classic name, and as such it's better than names such as Kaylen.
I do like the fact that Blanche is a very old, classic name, and as such it's better than names such as Kaylen.
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I kinda like it, but not enough to have it at the top of my list... esp. since Blanche on the Golden Girls may have given it a bit of a trashy image... but when separated from that, it's ok. Not a fan of Blanchette though... Somehow doesn't appeal.
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I really dislike it. Blanchette does nothing to make it more appealing to me. The sound is absolutely terrible to me. Also it reminds me of blanching vegetables. Just a very unappealing name to me.
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I like the French pronunciation, or even an intermediate semi-French "Blawnch," but I don't really like the English one, which makes me think of blanching vegetables, and faces blanched with horror. Blanchette seems goofy to me - reminds of planchette like on a Ouija board. I have a hard time imagining Blanche (English prn) on a child, but I don't think it's unusable. Agree, better than Kaylen.
This message was edited 3/28/2012, 4:43 PM
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...Dubois.
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Blanche is only nice to me pronounced in the French way. It is softer that way, and more pleasant. I think Blanchette is probably too much.
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I can appreciate it, but I can't like it. To mimic RoxStar, it sounds like squelching milk to me.
I think I'd prefer Blanche over Blanchette, though. But Bianca's a serviceable substitute. It's also sassier.
I think I'd prefer Blanche over Blanchette, though. But Bianca's a serviceable substitute. It's also sassier.
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Blanche is a very harsh name. It reminds me of the verb blanch, as in grimacing. Blanchette is slightly better, but I'm not too fond of it either.
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I'm glad I'm not the only one that likes Bianca.
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I always kind of liked it. I wouldn't use it. I mean it was pretty popular in France around 1900 and in the US as well but feels dated now. I also think the French pronunciation is much nicer. I dislike Blanchette. It would be ok as a nickname though. It is very Golden Girls, in my opinion. I would love to meet a little Blanche but I wouldn't use it. Dorothy is more likely to make a comeback or maybe Rue thanks to The Hunger Games.
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Aw
I'm going to be in the minority here, but I adore Blanche.
I first fell in love with it in a museum. There was an old, banged up coronet in a display case. It came with a young princess named Blanche upon her betrothal to a local prince / king in the 1200s (or close thereto). Suddenly the name became real for me. I pictured a pretty, vulnerable young woman traveling far from home to marry a man she'd never seen. The pathos of it all hit home. All of those feelings are now in the name Blanche for me. I used to think it was harsh sounding in English. But now I love it.
And then there's Blanche DuBois, from "A Streetcar Named Desire." If the name Stella can have a comeback I don't see why Blanche shouldn't at least get an open hearing. I love names dripping with Southern elegance.
On top of all of that, there are associated names like Blanchefleur and the Spanish form, Blanca. I'm not so crazy about Italian Bianca though. Now that one still sounds harsh to my ears.
Blanche Honeysuckle is my stock combo, GP that it is. But I could see a more realistic combo in Blanche Isadora / Isidora, Blanche Isolde or Blanche Audrey. Blanche Matilda brings out her medieval roots as well.
Hold the phone. Blanche Melanie! "A Streetcar Named Desire" meets "Gone with the Wind." White meets black/dark. Can I get a shout out for Blanche Melanie?
I'm going to be in the minority here, but I adore Blanche.
I first fell in love with it in a museum. There was an old, banged up coronet in a display case. It came with a young princess named Blanche upon her betrothal to a local prince / king in the 1200s (or close thereto). Suddenly the name became real for me. I pictured a pretty, vulnerable young woman traveling far from home to marry a man she'd never seen. The pathos of it all hit home. All of those feelings are now in the name Blanche for me. I used to think it was harsh sounding in English. But now I love it.
And then there's Blanche DuBois, from "A Streetcar Named Desire." If the name Stella can have a comeback I don't see why Blanche shouldn't at least get an open hearing. I love names dripping with Southern elegance.
On top of all of that, there are associated names like Blanchefleur and the Spanish form, Blanca. I'm not so crazy about Italian Bianca though. Now that one still sounds harsh to my ears.
Blanche Honeysuckle is my stock combo, GP that it is. But I could see a more realistic combo in Blanche Isadora / Isidora, Blanche Isolde or Blanche Audrey. Blanche Matilda brings out her medieval roots as well.
Hold the phone. Blanche Melanie! "A Streetcar Named Desire" meets "Gone with the Wind." White meets black/dark. Can I get a shout out for Blanche Melanie?
This message was edited 3/28/2012, 10:02 AM
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I can't make up my mind about Blanche.
Years ago, I had a client who named her daughter Blanche, and I was honestly delighted, even though everyone else who read the BA was making the EWWW face. I saw Blanche as an elegant, pretty, sophisticated, and sadly neglected name with plenty of flapper-ish moxie. Meeting Blanche made me love the name more, at first; she was an adorable baby, who grew into an adorable toddler, who, unfortunately, grew into a really unpleasant and creepy girl who seemed to highlight the name's downsides. Blanche lost a lot of its charm when attached to a charmless person, and I just thought of "blanch" after that--bloodless tissue and boiled vegetables. I don't think I could ever use it because I've come to see it as a name that's hard to pull off.
Whatever flaws Blanche has, though, Blanchette is much worse.
Years ago, I had a client who named her daughter Blanche, and I was honestly delighted, even though everyone else who read the BA was making the EWWW face. I saw Blanche as an elegant, pretty, sophisticated, and sadly neglected name with plenty of flapper-ish moxie. Meeting Blanche made me love the name more, at first; she was an adorable baby, who grew into an adorable toddler, who, unfortunately, grew into a really unpleasant and creepy girl who seemed to highlight the name's downsides. Blanche lost a lot of its charm when attached to a charmless person, and I just thought of "blanch" after that--bloodless tissue and boiled vegetables. I don't think I could ever use it because I've come to see it as a name that's hard to pull off.
Whatever flaws Blanche has, though, Blanchette is much worse.
This message was edited 3/28/2012, 8:13 AM
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It's such a funny name. It's like blowing your nose. BLAAANCH. And it's so literal, too, and represents such a generally undesirable, unfashionable, un-PC ideal. I don't like it, but I do kind of admire it abstractly as a sort of name-parody. Blanchette is even funnier. Funnier than Babette, even.
I'd name my kid Blanche before Kaylen in a second, even though I'm not into Blanche. I'd much rather have a stodgy name than a flimsy one.
I'd name my kid Blanche before Kaylen in a second, even though I'm not into Blanche. I'd much rather have a stodgy name than a flimsy one.
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Blanche sounds like somebody stepping on a box of Rice Krispies
Stepping hard.
And blanch is what you do when you hear bad news, or what you do to tomatoes so you can peel them.
Blanchette is even worse. That ette ending is frumpy as all get out.
Stepping hard.
And blanch is what you do when you hear bad news, or what you do to tomatoes so you can peel them.
Blanchette is even worse. That ette ending is frumpy as all get out.
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I'm trying to imagine the sounds that would result from someone stepping on a box of Rice Krispies hard, but none of them are making me think of Blanche. Blanche makes me think of nails on a chalkboard. That's cliched, however, and not funny as is the Rice Krispies reference.
Now did you know that frozen maggots look like Rice Krispies? I know that from painful personal experience. I haven't been a Rice Krispie fan since.
Now did you know that frozen maggots look like Rice Krispies? I know that from painful personal experience. I haven't been a Rice Krispie fan since.
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I didn't know that...
I've never seen frozen maggots. I have heard that ice-fishermen buy ordinary maggots for bait and when they freeze while they're out on the ice the fishermen put them in their mouths to thaw them enough to put on the hook. But I've never lived where ice got thick enough for ice fishing, so never actually saw one. For which I am very grateful.
I've never seen frozen maggots. I have heard that ice-fishermen buy ordinary maggots for bait and when they freeze while they're out on the ice the fishermen put them in their mouths to thaw them enough to put on the hook. But I've never lived where ice got thick enough for ice fishing, so never actually saw one. For which I am very grateful.
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Yes, it's something you should be grateful for. My story of how I ended up seeing frozen maggots involves a vacation home which had not been inhabited for several months, a power outage, and a freezer full of meat. The thought of putting them in my mouth? *GAG* It was bad enough just disposing of them.
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haha!
you are so good at coming up with creative ways to describe how you dislike things! I am legitimately impressed with that :)
you are so good at coming up with creative ways to describe how you dislike things! I am legitimately impressed with that :)
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I love Blanche. Sometimes it even floats up to the top of my list of favourites. It is a bit harsh in an English accent, but that doesn't detract from it for me. It's got this heart-of-steel thing happening I really like. Blanchette is interesting, but I don't think it does much to actually soften Blanche. It's like putting ruffles on a butcher knife.
I also like how old Blanche is, and the fact that it was the name of Medieval queens is pretty neat. When I think of it as medieval rather than something from the forties, it puts a neat spin on it.
I'm a rebel and I like the nickname Babs as a short form of Blanche.
yay Blanche!
I also like how old Blanche is, and the fact that it was the name of Medieval queens is pretty neat. When I think of it as medieval rather than something from the forties, it puts a neat spin on it.
I'm a rebel and I like the nickname Babs as a short form of Blanche.
yay Blanche!
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I don't really like it. It has a horrible sound, super nasally. Practically hurts my sinuses to say it. Like ranch. Just not a good word.
Blanchette isn't so bad because I don't do the nch together. I'd say Blan-CHET. That takes away the major nasaliness. Not sure how I feel about it as a name though. All it makes me think of is Cate Blanchett.
Blanchette isn't so bad because I don't do the nch together. I'd say Blan-CHET. That takes away the major nasaliness. Not sure how I feel about it as a name though. All it makes me think of is Cate Blanchett.
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Blanche is a reasonably common name where I live;sometimes it's Marie-Blanche-that's quite pretty.
For new posters,I'm in a French-speaking area, so the French pronounciation is used, it's a bit softer than the English pron.
Blanchette (again, where I live) is a last name, not extremely common, but not unusual.
For new posters,I'm in a French-speaking area, so the French pronounciation is used, it's a bit softer than the English pron.
Blanchette (again, where I live) is a last name, not extremely common, but not unusual.
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Marie-Blanche is really nice! In french, I mean.
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Blanche
Blanche makes me think of blanching food and of the color white. Also of the Golden Girls!
Blanche makes me think of blanching food and of the color white. Also of the Golden Girls!
This message was edited 3/28/2012, 12:30 AM
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Very hard to get the Golden Girls image out of my mind, which although may seem bad, is actually a step up from the second image, bleach. As a northern girl, I just can't see it but I suppose it could work well in the South. I slightly like Blanchette more as a GP but probably because I love Cate Blanchett so I can see it more as a middle name. Rose Blanchette, Lucile Blanchette, Ruth Blanchette, works rather nicely actually. Still as a first name, it might come off a bit frilly, unlike Blanche.
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