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ArchivesRe: Disgruntled about poor quality baby name books
in reply to a message by Melina
this gets me too. Bruce Lanksy was the first example that came to mind when I read the title of your post, before I'd even read the rest.
I think he tries to 'sweeten' the meaning of names. If a name doesn't have a very 'nice' meaning, he changes it. The first one I think of is Charlotte. Feminine form of Charles, meaning manly, right? According to B.L. it means 'little and womanly.'
I think he tries to 'sweeten' the meaning of names. If a name doesn't have a very 'nice' meaning, he changes it. The first one I think of is Charlotte. Feminine form of Charles, meaning manly, right? According to B.L. it means 'little and womanly.'
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Never heard of the gent - but in his defence you can derive Little and Womanly from it quite comfortably - Charlot being a (m) diminutive of Charles (and what Charlie Chaplin was known as in France), and the doubled consonant plus -e making it fem; so if the female form of Man is Woman, then QED.
Of course, it'd be more scholarly to say Female Form Of Charles with a cross-reference. But then you might lose more readers than you'd gain; people are odd about accuracy, and about doing research for themselves. They prefer the baby bird approach: keep the beak wide open, and swallow all the worms without looking ...
Of course, it'd be more scholarly to say Female Form Of Charles with a cross-reference. But then you might lose more readers than you'd gain; people are odd about accuracy, and about doing research for themselves. They prefer the baby bird approach: keep the beak wide open, and swallow all the worms without looking ...
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That's exactly what I mean! I believe he also puts som Mac- names in the girl section changing them to 'daughter of _____'. Really really irks my chicken...
-Mina
-Mina
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