Comments on: Sunday Summary: 7/12/09

By: coolteamblt

coolteamblt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:42:18 +0000

Personally, I think Poppy is really cute, but it’s bordering on too cute. I like it better as a nickname too. It certainly works as a given name, but I know that some people prefer it as a nickname.

By: coolteamblt

coolteamblt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:40:15 +0000

Been there, shown that. She’s a bit of a dip. Thanks thought!

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:47:20 +0000

I do like the name Irina, but would probably use Irena just to avoid pronunciation complications. I also like Irene because of the Greek goddess reference. I like the name of the character I played the best, though – of course! ha! – Natalia (or Natasha, depending on the translation).

I’m betting that by using Irene without any bells and whistles, you’ll actually wind up ahead of the trends.

By: Mookie

Mookie — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:06:53 +0000

I’m biased towards Maria, what with it being my middle name and all. Irina is very nice, but I think I might be your sister, Abby, because I would just use Irene.

As far as Olga goes, I’m afraid it’s been ruined for me by stereotypes of the name when I was younger. I can only picture a buck-toothed, blonde, unibrow-wearing, mole-sporting Slavic woman. I’m quite sure that if I ever met a cute little Olga in real life, though, my opinion would quickly change.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:59:49 +0000

Interesting, Kat. Chekov is far from obscure, so you can’t be the only person with that association. Would you use Irina? I have a grandmother Irene, so I’m often thinking about how to reinvent that one. (Though one of my sisters say that she would just use Irene.)

By: Kat

Kat — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:28:19 +0000

I was in a production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters (*everyone eyerolls* – I know…my references are often theatre-related!) and Olga was the name of the oldest, plainest, spinster sister (qualities that define her character and actions). So I can’t quite get that reference out of my mind. The hard “g” and Russian origin also reminds me of Baba Yaga – a witch in Slavic folk tales.

By: Mookie

Mookie — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:03:52 +0000

I, preferably, would have named the bat Bathilda — it comes with the oh-so-relevant nickname Batty!

I’m not exactly sure what to make of it. The connection, while not necessarily a bad one to my knowledge, might be a bit humiliating if both girls met someone who shouted out, “Oh my God, just like the bat! How cool!” Perhaps the fantasy will stay only that — A fantasy. But as my genes leave me more likely to bear twins, this conversation may come up in the future. Oh well!

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:47:39 +0000

Kolbjorn – wild!

I know of sibs named Ava and Axel. I think they pair nicely.

And truthfully, I’m not a purist. I can love a good smush! Wrenelise has some appeal to me, too. I’m actually quite fond of Anneliese and Hannelore, though I understand that second one is rather dowdy in Germany today. (Then again, so was Ruby until recently … maybe I’m behind the times!)

A neighbor and friend of mine is a Cajun. He’s lovely, and has a son called Ronan, so he’s a good namer, too.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:44:48 +0000

I worked in an indie bookshop in 1992 or so when the book was new. We had Stellaluna books, Stellaluna bats, Stellaluna story hours … you get my drift. But the thing is, what else would you call a fuzzy grey bat heroine of a child’s story – Stella for star and Luna for moon … it just makes sense. And is equally lovely for twin names, except the book is an inevitability.

By: Kat

Kat — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:32:59 +0000

I’m with you – we couldn’t wait to find out the gender…mainly because I was so desperate to start giving my child an identify. All I knew at that point was that it felt like there was a tiny fish inside me. Knowing it was a girl made it easier to start identifying with and “communicating” with her. It also helped our friends and family know what to buy for gifts.

As far as names, well, I don’t enjoy some people’s criticism of the names we like. But I decided not to keep it a secret per se because I’ve been on the other end and been honestly curious about what a parent wanted to name their child and it was this Big Mystery. I didn’t really understand why, and I am sure that 99% of the people who ask me about it wouldn’t understand me making a big deal of it either. So I tell them the names we are considering. We probably won’t make up our own minds about the final name until the day of, so I tell people that too. So they feel included and yet we don’t have to tell them a “final decision”.