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HelpRe: Vanessa
in reply to a message by paul_skinsale
It's a little dated, yes.
It's about as legit as Cordelia and any other name from a literary canon, that has been used for real people generations after its creation. That is to say, it's second-tier legit. It's only not third-tier because some quasi-authoritative etymology exists.
My references are a soap opera character from the 80s, and a woman I met in the 90s when we were both 25-30. My impression of the name is still that it puts on airs (Van- reminds me acutely of the word vanity, and -essa reminds me of contessa, and the whole construction also reminds me of vanilla and that makes it seem shallow) ... despite the real life Vanessa I met, not being unusually stuckup.
- mirfak
It's about as legit as Cordelia and any other name from a literary canon, that has been used for real people generations after its creation. That is to say, it's second-tier legit. It's only not third-tier because some quasi-authoritative etymology exists.
My references are a soap opera character from the 80s, and a woman I met in the 90s when we were both 25-30. My impression of the name is still that it puts on airs (Van- reminds me acutely of the word vanity, and -essa reminds me of contessa, and the whole construction also reminds me of vanilla and that makes it seem shallow) ... despite the real life Vanessa I met, not being unusually stuckup.
- mirfak
This message was edited 1/16/2016, 10:19 AM
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