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HelpUrsula
WDYT of Ursula?
Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
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I love it. Have considered it for a kid. My partner likes it too. My family’s (positive) association with it is mainly K. Le Guin, at this point.
I love the meaning, the sound, it’s strength, and some lovely associations like the aforementioned author.
I love the meaning, the sound, it’s strength, and some lovely associations like the aforementioned author.
This message was edited 1/19/2019, 12:09 PM
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Well, the meaning "she-bear" is neat, and the legend about the princess returning from a pilgrimage gives it some ambiance, but the sound of the name is so frumpy, ugly, and dated that not even Ursula Le Guin can save it. It has a similar hag feel as names like Bertha, Fatima, Maud, Myrtle, and Agatha.
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The word "hag" bothers the heck out of me, because there is no equivalent male term, except maybe "geezer". Well, actually, it bothers me because right-wingers call Hillary Clinton and now Nancy Pelosi a "hag", while they never call any male politician of equivalent age and level of unattractiveness due to age a "geezer", even if it's a left-wing Democratic male politician.
Then there's "harpy." Ugh.
Then there's "harpy." Ugh.
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There are plenty of ‘hag’ descriptions for men:
Geezer
fogy
Codger
Coot
Gaffer
Old fart - used by old men to criticize other old men as sticks in the mud.
Crank - I’ve only heard this used to describe men.
I’ve heard Democrat’s refer to old conservatives as fossils, which seems very ageist.
Geezer
fogy
Codger
Coot
Gaffer
Old fart - used by old men to criticize other old men as sticks in the mud.
Crank - I’ve only heard this used to describe men.
I’ve heard Democrat’s refer to old conservatives as fossils, which seems very ageist.
This message was edited 1/20/2019, 7:49 AM
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If this post looked screwy to you, read it again. I fixed it
Of the terms listed by molly, I have also seen "crone", "harridan", and "shrew" (very frequently) used by right-wingers to describe Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, in addition to "hag" and "harpy."
This has interested me, so I took the time to look up the dictionary definitions of every term we've discussed:
Hag: An ugly, slatternly, or evil-looking old woman
Harpy: A shrewish woman
Termagant: An overbearing or nagging woman
Virago: A loud, overbearing woman
Crone: A cruel or ugly old woman
Harridan: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Fishwife: A vulgar, abusive woman
Shrew: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Geezer: A queer, odd, or eccentric person: used especially of elderly men
Fogy: A person with old-fashioned ideas
Codger: An often mildly eccentric and usually elderly fellow
Coot: A harmless, simple person
Gaffer: An old man
Crank: An annoyingly eccentric person. Also: A bad-tempered person
Fossil: A person whose views are outmoded.
You see two things here. Every definition in the first set specifies the word applies only to a woman. Only one in the second set specifies that the word applies only to a man, and another says it "especially" does. **** ETA:**** Another says "fellow" so this point is shaky lol.
The other thing is that the definitions in the first set are far more negative. "Cruel", "ugly", "evil-looking", "vulgar", "abusive", "overbearing" as opposed to "queer", "odd", "old-fashioned" "mildly eccentric", "harmless", "simple". Only the definition of "crank" contains the words "bad-tempered" and that's one of two definitions.
Also, notice how many of the definitions in the first set put a negative meaning on a woman's spoken word. "Overbearing or nagging", "scolding", "abusive", "loud". Also notice "ugly" twice and "slatternly".
The negative terms for females and males aren't really comparable. And when the words in the first set are used against female politicians, they are used to imply that when a woman seeks and/or gains power by speaking, she is making herself into something loathsome, and by implying also that she is "ugly" and "slatternly" it promotes the idea that a woman is worth only what she looks like, or more often, what men think of her appearance.
Of the terms listed by molly, I have also seen "crone", "harridan", and "shrew" (very frequently) used by right-wingers to describe Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, in addition to "hag" and "harpy."
This has interested me, so I took the time to look up the dictionary definitions of every term we've discussed:
Hag: An ugly, slatternly, or evil-looking old woman
Harpy: A shrewish woman
Termagant: An overbearing or nagging woman
Virago: A loud, overbearing woman
Crone: A cruel or ugly old woman
Harridan: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Fishwife: A vulgar, abusive woman
Shrew: An ill-tempered, scolding woman
Geezer: A queer, odd, or eccentric person: used especially of elderly men
Fogy: A person with old-fashioned ideas
Codger: An often mildly eccentric and usually elderly fellow
Coot: A harmless, simple person
Gaffer: An old man
Crank: An annoyingly eccentric person. Also: A bad-tempered person
Fossil: A person whose views are outmoded.
You see two things here. Every definition in the first set specifies the word applies only to a woman. Only one in the second set specifies that the word applies only to a man, and another says it "especially" does. **** ETA:**** Another says "fellow" so this point is shaky lol.
The other thing is that the definitions in the first set are far more negative. "Cruel", "ugly", "evil-looking", "vulgar", "abusive", "overbearing" as opposed to "queer", "odd", "old-fashioned" "mildly eccentric", "harmless", "simple". Only the definition of "crank" contains the words "bad-tempered" and that's one of two definitions.
Also, notice how many of the definitions in the first set put a negative meaning on a woman's spoken word. "Overbearing or nagging", "scolding", "abusive", "loud". Also notice "ugly" twice and "slatternly".
The negative terms for females and males aren't really comparable. And when the words in the first set are used against female politicians, they are used to imply that when a woman seeks and/or gains power by speaking, she is making herself into something loathsome, and by implying also that she is "ugly" and "slatternly" it promotes the idea that a woman is worth only what she looks like, or more often, what men think of her appearance.
This message was edited 1/20/2019, 9:09 AM
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Don't forget termagant, virago, crone, harridan, shrew, fishwife... ;) There are countless insulting names for women. I don't mind the idea of being a termagant, though.
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Termagant is definitely a compliment.
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I really like Ursula. It is something I might consider as a middle name, but I would love it as a first name on someone else. It is strong, feminine and kind of exotic sounding.
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I adore it!
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I'd consider using it. It ticks a lot of boxes for me and doesn't seem too much of anything.
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I don't see what people dislike of it. The name is very classic and the meaning is pretty enough, I would love to see the name Ursula make a comeback today.
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Ursula is a cool name. I've loved it since I was a kid, and saw The Little Mermaid for the first time. I actually liked the villain's name better than the heroine's.
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You’ve got me there. I always wondered why the heroine was named after that thing on the roof that spins around to get better TV reception.
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I like it, always have. I wouldn't use it though.
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I'm beginning to like it. It's definitely not cute, but then do female names have to be cute and pretty? The meaning is great. I would use Ulla as nickname, if one was needed.
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It sounds like the hospital asked you for the baby’s name for a form. At that very moment you were punched in the gut, and the resulting sound is what they wrote down.
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I love Ursula, but this is spot on.
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I almost choked on my coffee when I read this. That is the most apt description of this name I've heard. Thank you for the laugh.
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Have you not heard that it is CHILD ABUSE? 
It's not a favorite but I don't hate it. I think we're far enough removed from The Little Mermaid that it's usable (though that's not actually why it fell off the charts; its fall coincides with a murder of a young girl named Ursula whose surname I'm blanking on right now). And Bear related names are totally in.
It's not a favorite but I don't hate it. I think we're far enough removed from The Little Mermaid that it's usable (though that's not actually why it fell off the charts; its fall coincides with a murder of a young girl named Ursula whose surname I'm blanking on right now). And Bear related names are totally in.
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I grew up in the era of Little Mermaid and all I can think of is the witch. It's unfortunate, because there are lots of cool Ursulas out there.
:-/
:-/
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It's ok with nn Ula.
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I don't understand the appeal of it at all. Usually I dislike names that start with a U-, and this is no exception.
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I like it. I'm too old for the Little Mermaid connection.
I think of Ursula Andress, who was a Bond girl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_Andress.
I mostly think of her in the original Clash of the Titans where she played Aphrodite.
There's a woman on the Canadian version of Storage Wars named Ursula.
I like the meaning and connection to the stars.
I think of Ursula Andress, who was a Bond girl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_Andress.
I mostly think of her in the original Clash of the Titans where she played Aphrodite.
There's a woman on the Canadian version of Storage Wars named Ursula.
I like the meaning and connection to the stars.
This message was edited 1/17/2019, 10:00 PM
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I used to think it was ugly because of the "ur" sound and The Little Mermaid, but every Ursula I've heard of since then has been either a good association or neutral. Now I like it, although I think it's a little too mature for a kid so I'd only use it as a middle name IRL or as a first name for an adult character. To me this name kind of represents or embodies a certain kind of femininity that is important and not very popular in pop culture/media, but I just can't picture it on a baby or a kid.
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