Comments on: Name of the Day: Clarence

By: Baby Name of the Day: Burl | Appellation Mountain

Baby Name of the Day: Burl | Appellation Mountain — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:03:23 +0000

[...] been early twentieth century name nerds – their other kids were called Audry, Artie, Clarence, Argola, Lillburn, and [...]

By: Baby Name of the Day: Clancy « Appellation Mountain

Baby Name of the Day: Clancy « Appellation Mountain — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:03:46 +0000

[...] stands out as a kelly green Irish heritage pick. He still feels a tiny bit clunky, closer to Clarence than Connor. Still, Nancy tells us that 12 boys were given the name in [...]

By: Lola

Lola — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:58:01 +0000

Adding this now because there’s a kid’s cartoon on Disney XD called “Kick Buttowski” and “Kick” really is a Clarence; a fact the cartoon points out about once an episode. (He’s got a preppy, annoying classmate, a girl named Kendall, who only calls him Clarence).
I *still* dig Clarence and think I’d use him, given the chance. Clarence is awesome!

By: argentandsable

argentandsable — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:21:05 +0000

Feels more like a middle name to me (indeed, it was the middle name of my great-grandfather). Oh, if you happen to be researching Clare/FitzGilbert, the coat of arms and links on http://englishheraldry.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/coat-of-arms-of-de-clare/ might be of help. I’ve seen the river, and it’s certainly pretty clear.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:18:00 +0000

Dana, thanks – some people pray daily, others jog … I wake up in the morning and do this.

Let’s hear it for controversial Clarence! I think Clancy and Cary could both work as nicknames, too. It’s so funny, though – I find Terrence/Terrance less appealing, though I love Henry and Oliver. Some names are easy crowd pleasers and others just split the audience.

If baby #2 were a boy, we seriously considered Clare as a middle name, in honor of my mother, but we never thought of Clarence … possibly because we were too busy debating the first name to move on to the middles.

As for Clarence the Cow … maybe in the UK? Australia? Clarence is apparently the kind of name that is often chosen for cows, but unlike Clarabelle Cow of Disney fame, I couldn’t find an original bovine Clarence. Or maybe I’m just missing him …

And Catherine, I last saw Elvis live with Emmylou Harris about two years ago … easily one of my best nights out in memory! He gets better with every passing year.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:57:58 +0000

AH! You mentioned Elvis! I love his kids’ names (and I’m a superfan cough cough). *reels with delight* Anyways, I wouldn’t use Clarence, but would love to see it used. It sounds very clear to me, like Clara and to a lesser extent Clare. Of course that has to do with the root! I like the Cl- sound. It’s very crisp. I’m really warming to Clarence now. Those Cs are just to die for! I love the 2 Cs in the name, god knows why. Clay, Clare, Ren and Clancy are all good nickname options. I almost feel like Cary could work, but I’m not quite sure if it’s too much of a stretch…

By: 8dana8

8dana8 — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:21:39 +0000

I love Clarence! The idea of naming a son Clarence might need to grow on me, though. I know too many female Claires for the nickname Clare to work for me.

By the way, I love this blog! I found it through a link at another name blog, and I’ve been reading through past posts. It’s great– and I love the fact that you post every day!

By: Unknown

Unknown — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:47:50 +0000

I’m not such a big fan of throwback names. Some, like Ava or Oilver, are lovely, but most of them, like Mabel or Arthur I can’t handle at all. I’m sorry to say that Clarence belongs in that second category. I just can’t picture it on a modern day kid, although I do have a thing for Terrance… Clarence just isn’t for me.

By: !!!DirtyHippy!!!

!!!DirtyHippy!!! — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:13:33 +0000

I’ve let Clarence sit with me for a couple of hours to see if I could get into the swing of things and embrace him, but, uh, no. Every association I have for him is either old and corny (It’s A Wonderful Life) or barnyard related (isn’t there a famous Clarence the Cow?).

It’s interesting, though, that at least around me, Claire is a really popular, universally applauded girls name but most parents wouldn’t touch Clarence with a ten foot pole.

But, if forced with threat of life or limb to name my child Clarence, I think Clancy is a cute nickname for him.

By: Lola

Lola — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:23:27 +0000

As I’m a complete and utter sucker for girly nicknames and girly names, in general, on boys (Kelly on a guy is a secret love of mine) , I would happily name him Clarence and call him Clare, at least until he’s 4. After that, he could go by Ren, should he want.
I find Clarence quite bright, but also a bit stodgy. He feels like rich pudding to me; sweet and heavy, feels good when I say it. That’s a winning feeling for me. And Clarence Darrow has been a personal hero for his teachings since I was a kid (yes, I was a catholic school nightmare child).

All in all, Clarence is my #2 name, just inches behind Cosmo. I think Clarence is aces! And a stray thought: Could Clancy be a Clarence nickname? Clancy’s wicked cool himself!