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Perpetua
I'm expecting most people will malign Perpetua, but I'm currently obsessed with it, so I thought I'd post about it. Does anyone else appreciate its Latinate gravitas and unwieldy beauty? I like Peri / Perry, Peppy, and Petsy as nicknames.Here are some combos:Perpetua Agnes
Perpetua Alice
Perpetua Cecile
Perpetua Claire / Clare
Perpetua Cleo / Clio
Perpetua Daphne
Perpetua Edith
Perpetua Enid
Perpetua Eve
Perpetua Inez
Perpetua Ingrid
Perpetua Iris
Perpetua Lucy
Perpetua Margaret
Perpetua Phoebe
Perpetua Sophie
Perpetua Susan
Perpetua Sylvie
Perpetua Thais
Perpetua Therese
Perpetua Thisbe
Perpetua Violet
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I like it a lot, but I’d never use it in real life. Maybe on a character.
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It's unwieldy all right. But only a nun would actually use it.
Perp would be the natural nickname. And only a nun would be immune from getting called Perp, at least to her face; if she was a teaching nun and not well-liked, her students might call her Perp behind her back.
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Unfortunately, it sounds a bit too "strict Irish nun at an institution for unwed mothers" to me.
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My first thought was the perpetual motion machine xD Perpetua sounds cute but I'm unsure how well it'll fit in the kid's peer group and if they would have any trouble with itPerhaps middlename it?

This message was edited 11/11/2019, 3:39 AM

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I think it's much safer as a mn. Yes, it does have Latin gravitas and this is a good thing, but (a) the meaning is a bit ambitious, especially for the kind of baby that cries all night, and they all do sometimes. (b) is worse: it shortens to Perp as in the person who commits a crime, the perpetrator.Luckily, all your suggested names would work well as fns with Perpetua as the mn.
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I also like Perpetua, especially the 'tua' part, and I appreciate how conspicuous it's meaning is.
Perry is the only acceptable nn in my eyes though, or perhaps I can get away with Turi?It reminds me of a some other favorites: Porpentina, Proserpina and Poinsette.
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Not sure how well it would work on a real person nowadays, but I do love it - it's very elegant and professorial, the sort of name you'd expect an intrepid Victorian lady-scholar to have.Of your combos, I like:
Perpetua Alice
Perpetua Claire
Perpetua Eve
Perpetua Inez (makes me think of Inez Milholland, so double the old-timey role model vibe)
Perpetua Iris
Perpetua Margaret
Perpetua Sophie
Perpetua Therese
Perpetua Violet
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Like the name, hate the nicknames. "Latinate gravitas and unwieldy beauty" is a good description of its appeal.
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