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HelpRe: Clarice?
in reply to a message by Emilie
One of the prominent baby-naming websites suggests Clarice as a name is dead due to Silence of the Lambs.
Nameberry: "The fictional detective Clarice Starling may not have been murdered by Hannibal Lecter, but her name unfortunately was."
I think that commentary just reflects the age of the people who write that website. And their denial that it negatively affects their ability to stay on the pulse of baby naming! In my unhip opinion. It's like they are trying to make the name die because they don't like it, using their supposed influence.
Clarice was out of style in the 1960s (when they were young) so to them, Clarice is an old-lady name. They probably feel about it the same way that I feel about Doris, and the way that many 25-year-olds probably feel about Carolyn (associating it with old women).
Silence of the Lambs came out in 1991. Most of the people who'll be naming babies in the next 20 years, were born after 1991. It's an old movie to them. Jodie Foster is in her fifties. The number of people who've seen that movie declines with their age. People who haven't seen the film can't associate Clarice with horrific images. Anyway, the character was sympathetic and attractive.
Clarice went out of style because of its sounds. Not because of the film. It went out with Bernice and Clara. Whether it comes back depends on how parents will feel about how it sounds and looks, far more than anything - which isn't very predictable to someone like the writers of that website (or to myself).
I think it's equally possible that the use of the name Clarice in that film would boost Clarice in the future, because otherwise the name would have had little public exposure in between old ladies and the present/future.
So I agree with you, the name's not ruined, that's ridiculous. It stands as good a chance of coming back as Damien which already has come back significantly despite having way, way, way more baggage from Hollywood than Clarice does (and which conceivably could have been boosted by exposure from The Omen).
- mirfak
Nameberry: "The fictional detective Clarice Starling may not have been murdered by Hannibal Lecter, but her name unfortunately was."
I think that commentary just reflects the age of the people who write that website. And their denial that it negatively affects their ability to stay on the pulse of baby naming! In my unhip opinion. It's like they are trying to make the name die because they don't like it, using their supposed influence.
Clarice was out of style in the 1960s (when they were young) so to them, Clarice is an old-lady name. They probably feel about it the same way that I feel about Doris, and the way that many 25-year-olds probably feel about Carolyn (associating it with old women).
Silence of the Lambs came out in 1991. Most of the people who'll be naming babies in the next 20 years, were born after 1991. It's an old movie to them. Jodie Foster is in her fifties. The number of people who've seen that movie declines with their age. People who haven't seen the film can't associate Clarice with horrific images. Anyway, the character was sympathetic and attractive.
Clarice went out of style because of its sounds. Not because of the film. It went out with Bernice and Clara. Whether it comes back depends on how parents will feel about how it sounds and looks, far more than anything - which isn't very predictable to someone like the writers of that website (or to myself).
I think it's equally possible that the use of the name Clarice in that film would boost Clarice in the future, because otherwise the name would have had little public exposure in between old ladies and the present/future.
So I agree with you, the name's not ruined, that's ridiculous. It stands as good a chance of coming back as Damien which already has come back significantly despite having way, way, way more baggage from Hollywood than Clarice does (and which conceivably could have been boosted by exposure from The Omen).
- mirfak
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