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Italian word name: Agrifoglio (Holly)
Hi !!!In Italy word-names are really unusual, except for Margherita, Perla, Stella, Leone, Rosa an Few others...This time I'd like to talk about: agrifoglio.This name that could seem complex is pronounced a-gree-FOH-llo. The 'glio' part is pronounced like the Spanish 'll'. Many people in Italy pronounce that part simply -lyo as well. And this name means ... holly!Yes, that's the Italian for holly but is not used as given name at all. Nobody in Italy is named Agrifoglio.What a pity! I personally love Holly and its meaning. I admit that Agrifoglio is more complex than it but I'm surprised that a so common name in the English-speaking world has not the same usage in my own language.WDYTO Agrifoglio?
WDYTO Holly?If you are not an English-speaker, is the word for 'holly' used as given name in your country?Personal Name Lists https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/125456
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I'm an English-speaking South African, and although holly does not grow in my country, we still use it as a Christmas decoration, usually complete with fake snow! Holly is used as a name here; I have a step-niece with an Afrikaans father and an originally English mother, all now resident in the UK, named Holly. Her parents are both deaf, her father profoundly so, and when naming their children they looked for names that he could say. Holly's brother is Fraser, a family name which their father can also manage. Other people use Holly because they like it, but it's never really been common or popular.
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Hi Felie, it doesn't work for me at all. It sounds very technical. Like a fertilizer or something or like "portfolio". I do like Holly though. No, Holly would be Stechpalme that doesn't work at all.
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Agrifoglio sounds like a mouthful to me, though admittedly I'm coming from an Italian-American rather than Italian-Italian background here haha
As I consider it, I'm actually quite liking it as a surname -- It's got a kind of Sicilian flavor to it. (And, a quick google tells me it is actually used as such around there !)Never been too fond of Holly; I think it sounds to 'Christmas'-y. I prefer it as 'Hollis' on a boy.
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Hi !!!Yeah, Agrifoglio is a very nice surname! It's perfect for a fictional character!Hollis is great too! I agree with you that it seems masculine despite both names are virtually unisex.

This message was edited 3/25/2021, 7:18 AM

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I like it and to my non-Italian ear it sounds like a.name. I like Holly too.
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