Comments on: Name of the Day: Holland

By: Lindsley

Lindsley — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:09:06 +0000

My 2 year old daughter is Holland Ray. She’s darling and the name fits her so well. I have no intention of calling her Holly. My older daughter nicknamed her ‘Lulu’ when I was pregnant (as she couldn’t say Holland). I think it is beautifully feminine and unique!

By: Holly

Holly — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:20:20 +0000

My first name is actually Holland! I’m not sure if it was to honor family or if they just thought they were being creative and original but I’ve always gone by Holly. I’ve never met another person with Holland as a first name, but a friend of mine has a younger sister named Hollyn. It was always very confusing whenever I was over at their house.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:47:55 +0000

LOL, Another I live about 30 minutes from Annapolis, and my youngest sister acquired her blue tick hound while we were on vacation in Charleston! (And had to fly him back to LA, where he was really quite the unusual breed.) She intended to call him Charleston, but it never did stick.

By: Another

Another — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:50:46 +0000

Hey, I said “etc.” I wasn’t forgetting the rest, just didn’t feel like taking up the entire page with a list of Whedon characters.
By the way, I popularized the name Brooklyn nearly 8 years ago when I bought a cocker spaniel puppy and named her Brooklyn, after my hometown. I was living in Charleston at the time, and had fond feelings about home and thought it was a GREAT name – for a dog. Every time people ask about Brooklyn, or worse: Brooklynn, I tell the tale (tail? haha) of purchasing a puppy and naming her Brooklyn. My other dog is Annapolis. We LOVE place names – FOR PETS.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:18:01 +0000

Another, let’s not forget Cordelia, Harmony, Anya, Malcolm, Inara, River (for a girl) and Shepherd (though that’s a title, not a first name). There’s little doubt that Joss Whedon and company are among the most interesting namers on television. I’d always heard the rule was that one of your characters could have a “stand out” name, but the rest had to blend in.

I have a couple of posts planned about names used on new TV series. Rumor has it there’s a new Joss Whedon show headed our way, and he’s calling the lead character Echo. Interesting! Assuming this actually debuts, you’re right – there’s a rich post there.

Lola, I love Clare for Clarence. Clare is a family name for us, and I’d suggested using it as a middle name if our second child was a boy. My husband wasn’t too keen on that. And I love Maggie for Magnus – wasn’t that a minor character’s nickname in the Will Smith movie Hitch?

DirtyHippy, my fave places names are Georgia and India, so I suppose I’m with you on the feminine sounding choices. Brooklyn’s a fabulous place to live, but I can’t imagine choosing the name for a child. Someone on a forum recently claimed that they were naming their daughter Breukelen, like the Dutch town that inspired the borough’s name. I really, really hope that was more flight of fancy than actual plan.

By: !!!DirtyHippy!!!

!!!DirtyHippy!!! — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:38:32 +0000

Holland is not for me. I see HolLAND and think, well, that’s the name of some land not a person. Now, if it were HolGIRL . . . just kidding.

I really do like some place names but usually it’s the ones that are tied to people (Virginia, Helena, Augusta) and have a more feminine feel. But I will wholeheartedly agree with AM that Holland beats the pants off of Brooklyn or Madison any day.

By: Another

Another — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:28:34 +0000

Here’s a masculine usage:
Sam Anderson, otherwise known as Principal DeWitt on Growing Pains, played the evil Holland Manners on Angel in several guest spots. Until then, I had only known of the feminine usage (Holland Taylor) and was surprised to see it as a guy’s name. Of course, Joss Whedon gives people surprising names: On Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel there was Lindsey (boy), Willow, Buffy, Xander, Angel, Drusilla, etc. Plenty of oddities. you might do an article on the names of Joss Whedon’s universe…if you were so inclined.

By: Lola

Lola — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:39:53 +0000

Holland’s not my cup of tea, personally but I don’t mind it. I know one, actually. Her Chinese parents thought they were being worldly giving her the moniker. She laughs at them, they cannot say her name (she’s Horand to them!) Makes me giggle too. Horry as a nickname. Drives her mad.
But I do like it’s crisp, handsome sound. Based on sound alone, I’d classify this boy. Holly makes me think girl. Either way, it’s an attractive sound, interesting look. I’m just glad my parents didn’t choose it! unisex names are so not for me. I like folks knowing up front what’s expected. At best, you’ll find a girly nickname on one of my boys. Maggie (for Magnus), Cass (for Casimir, Cassius & Caspar) and Clare (for Clarence) are all on my list for another boy this time around.