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ArchivesMallory as a masculine family name
My husbands family has a history of using the name Mallory as a first name for male children. It was used for 4 generations that I know of, beginning in the late 1800's. Does anyone else have this tradition in their family? When did it start? Are any of your male relatives named Mallory today?
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I have no Mallories in my family, either male or female. But Mallory was originally masculine: it's derived from the French word malheureux "unfortunate".
Unlike English, French words often have "male" and "female" forms, depending on who you're referring to. Thus, if you were referring to a man who was unfortunate, you would say "malheureux"; but if you were referring to a woman, you would say "malheureuse".
Note that I used Babel Fish for my translations, and it's not the most reliable translators in the world (to say the least, lol). But the point is that Mallory comes from the male form of "unfortunate", not the female.
Miranda
"Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of diseased mind" -- Terry Pratchett
!!!!!!!!!! ← Maud, John, Alice, Peter, Emma, Edith, Lewis, Henry, Isabel, and Joseph
Unlike English, French words often have "male" and "female" forms, depending on who you're referring to. Thus, if you were referring to a man who was unfortunate, you would say "malheureux"; but if you were referring to a woman, you would say "malheureuse".
Note that I used Babel Fish for my translations, and it's not the most reliable translators in the world (to say the least, lol). But the point is that Mallory comes from the male form of "unfortunate", not the female.
"Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of diseased mind" -- Terry Pratchett
!!!!!!!!!! ← Maud, John, Alice, Peter, Emma, Edith, Lewis, Henry, Isabel, and Joseph
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