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HelpRe: Summyrrh & Myrrh
in reply to a message by LMS
Well, of course, the existence of the word "myrrh" is where the parents got the idea that Summyrrh could be a respelling of Summer. This is an example of where it's wrong to automatically call respellings one doesn't like "illiterate". The problem these parents had is that they were a little too literate in the sense of knowing too many different ways that one can spell the sound "mer" in English. :)
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I agree . . .
I'd say it's probably a fairly immature way to create a name, but not illiterate.
When I was 13 I was very interested in names (of course) and in linguistics, and I was fascinated with the ways different letters could be arranged to make the same sounds. By using sounds that I knew would work, I created a new name for a character: Cherhys. Basically a combination of Cherie and Rhys, pronounced much like Sharise. I can remember trying to get my mother to guess how it was pronounced! Summyrrh as a bizarre combination name reminds me of my invention of Cherhys.
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
I'd say it's probably a fairly immature way to create a name, but not illiterate.
When I was 13 I was very interested in names (of course) and in linguistics, and I was fascinated with the ways different letters could be arranged to make the same sounds. By using sounds that I knew would work, I created a new name for a character: Cherhys. Basically a combination of Cherie and Rhys, pronounced much like Sharise. I can remember trying to get my mother to guess how it was pronounced! Summyrrh as a bizarre combination name reminds me of my invention of Cherhys.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
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I'm not optimistic about the likelihood that Summyrrh's parents actually know anything about myrrh.
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I don't see . . .
. . . that there's much one *needs* to know about Myrrh to be considered sufficiently informed to use it in a child's name. I'm sure they know that it's incense, that it was used in Biblical times for annointment, and that it's pronounced MER. I think anyone who's been exposed to the word in context would know that.
When you get down to it, most people know about that much, or even less, about the word names that they give their children.
How many parents of girls named Violet know how many petals a violet has, or what its Latin name is? How many kids named Drake have parents who are experts on ducks? How much, for that matter, do your parents know about the chemical composition of stars?
I don't see any need to get all elitist about their level of knowledge with so little evidence available.
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
. . . that there's much one *needs* to know about Myrrh to be considered sufficiently informed to use it in a child's name. I'm sure they know that it's incense, that it was used in Biblical times for annointment, and that it's pronounced MER. I think anyone who's been exposed to the word in context would know that.
When you get down to it, most people know about that much, or even less, about the word names that they give their children.
How many parents of girls named Violet know how many petals a violet has, or what its Latin name is? How many kids named Drake have parents who are experts on ducks? How much, for that matter, do your parents know about the chemical composition of stars?
I don't see any need to get all elitist about their level of knowledge with so little evidence available.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
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I was not suggesting they should know all the ins and outs of myrrh and what it's used for. I am saying that I bet if you asked them "Oh, like myrrh?" they'd look at you blankly and wonder what you were talking about.
I say this because I've heard or read often about parents with a little girl named say, Matisse, and somebody asks them "Is she named after the painter?" and they don't have the first notion what painter they're being asked about. Same with Monet.
I say this because I've heard or read often about parents with a little girl named say, Matisse, and somebody asks them "Is she named after the painter?" and they don't have the first notion what painter they're being asked about. Same with Monet.
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Matisse and Monet have been used as names for a while now, so it's not surprising that they've spread to people who've never heard of the painters. They will have heard it on someone else's child, or on TV, or something.
However, Myrrh is definitely *not* a word that's in common use as a name. While it's possible that people would be first exposed to Monet and Matisse as childrens' names, I think it's highly unlikely that anyone's first exposure to Myrrh would be anything other than the Nativity story. They would have that association for life, regardless of whether or not they later heard it as a name.
And since they spelled it correctly, they must have seen it written down, either in a dictionary, or in context (even if that context is as simple as a Christmas carol), both of which will impart the meaning.
♦ Chrisell ♦
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
However, Myrrh is definitely *not* a word that's in common use as a name. While it's possible that people would be first exposed to Monet and Matisse as childrens' names, I think it's highly unlikely that anyone's first exposure to Myrrh would be anything other than the Nativity story. They would have that association for life, regardless of whether or not they later heard it as a name.
And since they spelled it correctly, they must have seen it written down, either in a dictionary, or in context (even if that context is as simple as a Christmas carol), both of which will impart the meaning.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.
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I guess I wasn't very clear s to what I meatn...
I was operating on the assumption that Summyrrh is somebody's idea of a creative spelling of Summer, and that myrrh didn't have anyting to do with why they spelled the ending like they did.
I was operating on the assumption that Summyrrh is somebody's idea of a creative spelling of Summer, and that myrrh didn't have anyting to do with why they spelled the ending like they did.
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