Coins of Cunobelenus; Image via Wikipedia
He’s a literary king with a pretty, pretty name.
Thanks to Lucy for suggesting Cymbeline as our Baby Name of the Day.
Like many of Shakespeare’s stories, Cymbeline was based on historical accounts and traditional tales.
Sophia says
July 28, 2011 at 10:11 PMI LOVE this name! To me it sounds completely feminine and one could definitely get away with giving a daughter this name. I also love Clementine 🙂
Dearest says
June 26, 2011 at 8:38 AMYou haven’t mentioned the Pink Floyd song ‘Cymbaline’. I’m guessing it’s becausee of the spelling difference? I have no idea why Pink Floyd would alter the spelling, but I guess it was for a good reason, perhaps only to make it more musical with the cymbal connection 🙂
I love Cymbeline and Cymbaline, depending on whether I want to reference Shakespeare or Pink Floyd. I would say I have a more personal relationship to the latter, but we’ll see 🙂
I would use it for a girl, it’s just to feminine for a boy. I would also nickname her Bell 🙂
appellationmountain says
June 26, 2011 at 2:30 PMI have a giant blind spot as far as Pink Floyd is concerned. Really. It’s one of the ongoing debates in my marriage. That and the thermostat setting. HIM: “How can you NOT think Pink Floyd is genius?” ME, shrugging: “I dunno. I like Zeppelin better.” HIM, eyes bulging: “Zeppelin is great, but Floyd? Floyd is visionary. And hey, did you turn the thermostat up again?”
It’s a good addition – despite my ignorance of all things Floyd! – thank you!
Dearest says
July 3, 2011 at 6:51 AMMy mother intoduced me to Pink Floyd when I was younger, but I’ve always wanted to get into Zeppelin as well. I feel like I need a guide to tell me where to begin though, and no one has jumped at the chance yet 🙂
[email protected] de Noms says
June 22, 2011 at 2:39 AMYay Cymbeline! I think I am more and more gravatating towards her in the first name spot, she’s just too darn fun to say, plus I can get the nickname Luna out of her, so happy days all ’round.
Catherine says
June 22, 2011 at 2:11 AMI love Cymbeline! It’s literary, it’s quirky and it sounds fresh and spunky.
liz says
June 21, 2011 at 11:33 PM10x better than Crew. I’ll leave it at that. Maybe 1000x.
Lady Gwyn says
June 21, 2011 at 9:42 PMI agree that it sounds a lot more feminine at this point in time. I also agree with the other posters who thought that Cymbeline would make a great, unexpected middle name. It isn’t my cup of tea, but I could see it appealing to some people with off-beat tastes.
Julie says
June 21, 2011 at 1:02 PMI wouldn’t name a son Vivian or Joscelin and I wouldn’t use Cymbeline. To me the -line suffix reads 100% female. Cinbelin seems more “usable” for a male, but then you lose the connection to the play. As a girl’s name I can see the appeal, but it feels like a smoosh a la Kimberlynn and Amberlie.
It’s a quirk of mine, it would drive me nuts to meet a female Cymbeline, just like it drives me nuts that my husband’s colleague has a daughter named Regan. In my head I just keep thinking “Regan was the evil daughter, why didn’t they name her Cordelia.”
Isadora Vega says
June 21, 2011 at 10:13 AMThe trouble with Cymbeline is that it’s also the name of a famous bridal gown designer (or maybe it’s just the company’s name, I’m not sure). What if little Cymbeline wants to go into wedding fashion? Will he/she have to change her name then?
Lola says
June 21, 2011 at 7:24 AMCymbeline is very pretty! I know I prefer it on a girl. I think I suggested Anna Cymbeline on Nameberry. 🙂 I really like it in the middle, but wouldn’t be surprised to see it as a first name, since Cy is one of those nicknames that seems to slide girly on occasion. I could never call a girl Cy, which is why it’s such a stellar middle for me but I can definitely see it for someone else as a first. Cymbeline is fabulous!
Angela says
June 21, 2011 at 2:47 AMI have always heard Cymbeline pronounced “SIM-buh-LEEN”, with emphasis on the first and third syllables (it definitely scans that way in the iambic pentameter).
The ending sounds more like the “leen” of Kathleen than the “lin/len” of Madeleine or the “line” of Caroline and Clementine.