Comments on: Name of the Day: Chelsea

By: Bewildertrix

Bewildertrix — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:56:05 +0000

I love the Moz!

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:01:23 +0000

Bewildertrix, that’s what I’ve heard Photoquilty say about Brooklyn! (Great place to be from, but a baby name? Really?)

As for Sloane, she’s a guilty pleasure of mine. But I was in London all of once, for 36 hours. So when I hear Sloane Square I think of Morrissey’s “Hairdresser on Fire.” Not exactly inspiration for a child’s name, but I’m a sucker for Morrissey’s voice.

Sarah, I’m not sure if I’ve heard Chelsea Dagger. I grabbed a bunch of Fratellis stuff off iTunes a while back, though … I’ll have to dig around and give it a listen.

There’s a fabulous – and very cool – Chelsea who works in Clio’s child center. So that ups the name for me, but not enough to use it. But I do find myself wondering if it would be cool to spend a night in the Chelsea Hotel … or if I’d feel tragically uncool the whole time …

By: Bewildertrix

Bewildertrix — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:53:13 +0000

It doesn’t have a good rep here in NZ. I’ve heard the same thing from people in the UK and have seen it called ‘chavvy’ many times. I know that Prince Harry’s on/off again girlfriend, Chelsy Davy has been given a ribbing about her name in the press before but perhaps that’s more the spelling?

I find it a bit of an aspirational place name that is, I doubt anyone living in the affluent Chelsea area of London would give their daughter the name. Well, I’d hope not. It ranks #176 for England. Of course there’s lots of spelling variations, Chelsey being quite popular and plenty of hyphenated versions for 2008 too.

I’m still seeing it pop up in Aussie BAs weekly.

I too find it sugary sweet and that’s more to do with this http://www.chelsea.co.nz/ It’s the only sugar I use. I’m sure that’s the same for many Kiwis.

As for Sloane. I find it the most grimy and unpleasant name I’ve ever heard. Well, on par with Ancient Greek mythological Gorgo and Spermo really. Stats say there were two little Sloanes born in England for 2008. I ask why?

By: jillian

jillian — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:21:52 +0000

Sloane is dyamite! Just remembered I once wrote a poem about/entitled Murray Hill. Haha. Alas, I am no Joni Mitchell, and Murray will probably never be cool.

By: Sebastiane

Sebastiane — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:33:15 +0000

I have never liked Chelsea. It sounds scratchy and cutsey to my ears. I cannot really see it on an old woman. It feels forever youthful.

By: JNE

JNE — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:43:19 +0000

I’m not inspired by Chelsea. It seems very 90s due to Ms. Clinton and otherwise seems like it’s a “trying too hard” moniker. Sloane does too (and that one even has a negative sounding connotation for me – saying someone is ‘sloaney’ is not a compliment, as I’ve heard it). I’ve known a few Chelseas (all younger than me) and the name wears just fine, but it’s definitely not one I’d pick for my kid.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:58:57 +0000

Never been especially fond of this name, but I do rather like the sound of it. For some odd reason I keep thinking of a cocker spaniel when I say the name. Ah well!

By: rockingfetal

rockingfetal — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:58:47 +0000

I kind of hate it. I think it sounds unattractive, fluffy, dated and has a kreatyv sound. A few cool Chelseas haven’t helped me to like this name.

By: SarahinJune

SarahinJune — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:22:31 +0000

I was never overly fond of Chelsea (It only reminded me of Bill Clinton’s daughter) until I heard The Fratellis song ‘Chelsea Dagger’. Now I’m very fond of it.

By: photoquilty

photoquilty — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:04:06 +0000

My first experience with Chelsea was on my dad’s cousin’s wife’s daughter-from-her-first-marriage in the 1980s, so I guess she was born around 1976 or ’75. I loved it! But I’e always wondered how this place name found its way onto girls. I was curious about the connection with Kelsey (like Grammer, he of Frasier fame) which would seem to have come before the feminine Chelsea. Was there an earlier Kelsey for males, or were Grammer’s parents terribly avant garde? If there was an earlier Kelsey boy name, it would be a moot point now, since the girls have it these days (like everything else).

I still find Chelsea attractive. Maybe it’s the New Yorker in me, maybe it’s because of the girl I knew as a child, who was older and more intriguing than the other kids I knew, maybe it’s just the way the name sounds. Regardless, I’m not in the habit of using place names on people, so it’s not going to happen. (Okay, Sabrina is kind of a place name, but not really – and I haven’t used it…yet).

Thanks for posting, Abby!