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Daphne
So I'm fairly new to this board, just started posting regularly last month some time.Daphne is a name that has been on my short list for quite some time - well, three years or so. I'm seeing it posted a lot on this board, and am wondering... is this a rising name? A chart climber? A board favorite? Did I just on the wrong boat again, with a name that is climbing fast? I like traditional names that aren't trendy or popular, and I would be sad to see this become *too* well-liked.Elsa too. Our current combo is Elsa Daphne. I don't want to be so arrogant as to assume that the names are showing up more since I arrived -- I'm sure that's not true. But I'm not stranger to online name boards and this is the first time I've seen these names posted as often as they have been. (However, I've noticed this board seems to have a good number of non-american posters, so that might be a factor in the taste here too).
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I adore Daphne for a first name. It will NEVER become an Emily, Isabella, or Sophia, so don't worry. I don't think it will ever be in the top 100. I think it is losing the connection with Scobey Doo. It is a beautiful name, and I would definitely use it. I have loved it ever since I was a girl.
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Daphne - Highly connected with the Scooby Doo character in the U.S. but it could definitely rise above that. It's a great Greek alternative to the popular Chloe and Zoe but I like it better than Phoebe. :) I don't think it'll be on the top 100 anytime terribly soon but you never know. :-/I ADORE the name Elsa. I don't see it soaring to the top of the charts soon, either, but you never know -- parents could see it as an alternative to Ella (or even Emma and Isabelle / Isabella). I personally "discovered" it about 6 months ago and it's soared to the top of my personal favorites list recently. :b My grandmother's name was Elsie, and I'd toyed with the idea of using Elspeth as a mn to honor her, but since I met a lovely, sweet woman named Elsa, it's really made me notice the name and I prefer it to Elspeth now. :) I think it would make a lovely fn to honor my gm, and Elsie as a possible nn, too. BTW, Elsa Daphne is a lovely combo. :)
~Heather~
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If my twelve year old son were a girl, he would have been named Daphne. It doesn't seem too popular anywhere, actually, but I suppose more so on this board than most others. Elsa is also one of my favorites and I have seen a surge of interest in it on this board and others. I've heard several comments that it sounds like a cow's name, so I don't think it will ever rise too far up the popularity charts.
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Daphne and Elsa...it's that generational zeitgeist. Both are on the rise in the USA: Daphne was down at #914 in 1993, but by 2004 back at #593, while Elsa was at #998 in 1998, and #818 in 2004 (but #728 in 2003- the bottom 200 names jump around a lot). Both fit the current trends, but aren't heard as much as, say, Phoebe and Ella- making them prime candidates for taking off popularity-wise.sa
Couple of neat sites, if you haven't found them yet:
www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames
http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html
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Well familiar with them, but thanks. :)
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figured you would be, but thought I'd make sure:-)

one of my sisters sent me the link to the namevoyager one about six weeks ago, and I've been obsessively checking all "my" names since. You don't know how many names I thought I was alone in loving are actually rising fast...Iris is the one I was most traumatised about, though the husband had already vetoed it as a first name. Works as a mn, but probably not for this little one. Iris is more popular than Jane, Anne, Frances, Ellen...Oh, and I actually know two small Elsies- one Elsa, one Elspeth. Both are under 2.
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I know, that site is totally obsessive!You're in England, right? I think names are a little ahead in the trends than the are here in the U.S. Elsa and Elsie both get pretty cool receptions from most Americans. They think it's either an angry German woman or a cow's name.I love Iris but can't use it myself. I definitely agree it seems to be climbing!Edit: Never mind, just read you're in BC. Well, still probably a bit ahead of the U.S. ;)

This message was edited 3/2/2006, 9:28 PM

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B.C., Canada, actually, though my family's mostly in the UK. The Elsies are from BC. Vancouver would like to think of itself as the coolest place on the planet, but namewise, we're all behind the UK and Europe ;-). Oliver and Lewis (and Archie, and a few others my sisters are sick of) are just getting 'cool' here.Elsie's not a cow's name! The only named cows I ever knew were Abby and Kate, and THAT wouldn't go over well, I don't think. sa
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Elsie has been the name of the Borden dairy product mascot, a cow, for like sixty or seventy years - she's a cartoon as far as I know, but so prominently featured on packaging and in advertising, for so long, that most Americans have a pretty solid association. I can picture the logo in my head, even, and I have never taken the slightest interest in it. It just got into my head the way those things will. And when I hear Elsie, I think dairy cow... When someone suggested it'd become popular soon I actually laughed at first. But I realized that although Elsie is a cow's name to me, it's also a suitable and cute name for a person, regardless.I doubt that Borden's cow could keep us from using the name Elsa for much longer, if its time has come .. I just think it'd keep it from getting as popular as it will probably get elsewhere. - chazda

This message was edited 3/2/2006, 10:37 PM

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Cow namesYou know what always throws me off is when people like the name Clarabelle. I can't believe that so many people have forgotten Clarabelle Cow.
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Yeah, that doesn't help, either. Two of my absolute favorite names are Clara and Elsa. :-/~Heather~
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Elsie the Cow. Yes, I worry about this association. It's still quite strong in the U.S., especially here in the South, it would seem. :-/ My grandmother was Elsie and she heard the comments, but it didn't bother her much. But luckily she wasn't overweight. I am, and therefore my dd could be as well, so I even worry about naming my dd Elsa (to honor my gm) and someone picking up on the "Elsie the Cow" thing years from now. :-/ But maybe I worry too much? lol~Heather~
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Yeah, you worry too much. I think it'd be fine. It wouldn't stop me if I were you, at any rate! Anyone over 10 whose opinion would matter, knows it's a lame joke and wouldn't stoop to make it. Besides, folks who tease will always tease folks who are teasable -- doesn't matter the name, that's just a convenient target.- chazda
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LOL. Thanks. :)
~Heather~
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Thanks for clearing that cow-association up!Do you like Elspeth, Heather?
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nevermind!Gragh, not signed in- didn't read your reply first. serves me right!sa
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I love Daphne and have ever since I was little--the names of all the characters on Scooby Doo appeal to me. Even Shaggy (if only as a nickname!). I don't think it's been climbing terribly fast, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's going to stay that way. It's a two-syllable name ending in E--sort of the thinking person's Kaylee. ;) I don't think it's going to be the next Ava, but given how well received similar names (Daisy, for example) are, I don't think it's going to remain especially obscure. It's sort of a sleeper hit, much as I hate the phrase. Daphne is familiar but mostly unused.Elsa, I've liked ever since a woman on another board mentioned it was her daughter's name. It's harder to warm up to, but it's another nice one. Elsa Daphne sounds quite nice, especially with the nickname Elsie! :)Array
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