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HelpRe: Prudence and Agatha and Dorcas, Harvey, Rosalind and Susie, Hilda and Zelda, Ambrose, Salem, Sabrina
in reply to a message by Perrine
Prudence - not bad at all; better than Patience, for instance. I once knew sisters, Prudence and Susan, who were known as Prue and Sue. Ill-advised.
Agatha - fine in English, helped by Ms Christie! In Afrikaans, the pronunciation changes unpleasantly into ah-XAH-tah, where the X is "like ch in Scottish 'loch'", though in fact it's more guttural.
Dorcas - probably came over in the Mayflower, or was the grandmother of someone who did. I don't enjoy the -or- sound: in my dialect: Audrey, Aubrey, Sean, George, Dawn, Gloria, Maud, Maureen ... no. Just, no.
Harvey - never met one; just another lnfn I suppose
Rosalind - I prefer Rosalind to Roz, but it's not one of my favourite Ros- names, though I do quite like Linda.
Susie - only a nn, but an excellent one that almost makes dreary Susan worth using or even having. So much better than Sue!
Hilda - I've been told that in gay slang, certainly in Cape Town, South Africa, female names are/were used as synonyms for, usually, adjectives. If something was said to be Hilda, that meant Horrible. The police were known as Priscilla, and if they were patrolling with dogs, that was Priscilla and her Hush Puppies! Can anyone confirm this, and did it happen elsewhere as well?
Zelda - better than Grizelda, but still not good
Ambrose - not a favourite. Sounds and looks more female than male; probably I'm seeing Amber + Rose
Salem - meow rather than purr
Sabrina - lovely river name; elegant and gentle but perhaps a tad pretentious?
Agatha - fine in English, helped by Ms Christie! In Afrikaans, the pronunciation changes unpleasantly into ah-XAH-tah, where the X is "like ch in Scottish 'loch'", though in fact it's more guttural.
Dorcas - probably came over in the Mayflower, or was the grandmother of someone who did. I don't enjoy the -or- sound: in my dialect: Audrey, Aubrey, Sean, George, Dawn, Gloria, Maud, Maureen ... no. Just, no.
Harvey - never met one; just another lnfn I suppose
Rosalind - I prefer Rosalind to Roz, but it's not one of my favourite Ros- names, though I do quite like Linda.
Susie - only a nn, but an excellent one that almost makes dreary Susan worth using or even having. So much better than Sue!
Hilda - I've been told that in gay slang, certainly in Cape Town, South Africa, female names are/were used as synonyms for, usually, adjectives. If something was said to be Hilda, that meant Horrible. The police were known as Priscilla, and if they were patrolling with dogs, that was Priscilla and her Hush Puppies! Can anyone confirm this, and did it happen elsewhere as well?
Zelda - better than Grizelda, but still not good
Ambrose - not a favourite. Sounds and looks more female than male; probably I'm seeing Amber + Rose
Salem - meow rather than purr
Sabrina - lovely river name; elegant and gentle but perhaps a tad pretentious?
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