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HelpRe: Harlow
in reply to a message by Orla.
It's really hard for me to see this as being a good idea as a first name for a girl, because whenever I see it I immediately remember this old joke:
Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) was a famous British ballerina. She pronounced her first name in the French way, like "Mar-go".
The joke is that Jean Harlow was introduced to Margot Fonteyn at a party one night. She insisted on calling Fonteyn "Mar-got", pronouncing the "t". After Fonteyn had corrected Harlow several times about this and she still persisted, Fonteyn finally said "No dear, the "t" is silent, as in Harlow".
Now that is just a joke -- Fonteyn was 18 years old when Harlow died and though she had been successful as a ballerina in London for two years already at that point, there is no evidence she ever met Jean Harlow. But because of that joke I immediately think of Harlow as meaning "harlot" when I see it and so, like Wordsmith, think the name is too "tawdry" to give to a baby, especially a girl.
Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) was a famous British ballerina. She pronounced her first name in the French way, like "Mar-go".
The joke is that Jean Harlow was introduced to Margot Fonteyn at a party one night. She insisted on calling Fonteyn "Mar-got", pronouncing the "t". After Fonteyn had corrected Harlow several times about this and she still persisted, Fonteyn finally said "No dear, the "t" is silent, as in Harlow".
Now that is just a joke -- Fonteyn was 18 years old when Harlow died and though she had been successful as a ballerina in London for two years already at that point, there is no evidence she ever met Jean Harlow. But because of that joke I immediately think of Harlow as meaning "harlot" when I see it and so, like Wordsmith, think the name is too "tawdry" to give to a baby, especially a girl.
This message was edited 2/17/2021, 11:03 AM
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