Old fashioned names new again....

[Elaina]

My name is Elaina Leaha (yes I know it's mispelled) now my last name is Flessas. Look at it and see why I quit using my middle name.

Now, my Mother named me Elaina after meeting Tolkien and hearing a story of Elennya (pronounced the same) and then saw a greek mythology story of Elaina and figured the spelling was the same. So I'm technically named after an elf, so much so that when I met Christopher Tolkien when I was 20 I was asked if my mother was my mom and told of a letter she wrote before I was born telling his estate what an impact he made, and detailing a meeting she had with him when she was a young girl and she wanted to honor him by naming me my name.

The letter of the correct spelling arrived on April 5, 1975. I was due on the 22, and born on the 2nd. My father filled my birth certificate out on the 4th and so I got the normal spelling of my first name. My father can't spell (hart for heart, luv for love, although he's super smart) and swears that Leaha is an old dutch spelling of Leah. My middle name derives from the biblical story of Rachel and Leah, since one of my older sisters is Rachel.

So...I've gone through life being named after an ELF! Can you imagine?

Elaina

 

[Archie Goodwin]

I just read this whole thread. My parents named me Andrew Graham after a cousin who died in France in WW1. Note, my parents were born at the end of WW2, but they are southerners, and family history borders on a religion around here. We have a tradition in my family of using the same intials (AG) from father to son, without using the same names. Cuts down on the juniors, seconds, and thirds. My wife agreed to this, so we named our son Alexander Graham. That was the easy one. She is pregnant again, and if it turns out to be another son I think we may have a war. She still wants to go with the AG concept, but she sweas that this time she gets to pick the G name, and I am very much afraid of what she will choose. She has threatened to use my first name (Andrew) and combine it with her university (Florida) mascot to come up with Andy Gator, which is a barley wine made by a local brewery here in Louisiana.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

I think I have the least meaningful name out of anybody. My name is Zachary Michael Mann. The Zachary is because my parents liked the name Zachary. It was between that or Nicholas (I would have prefered the latter).

My middle name is kind of named after my uncle, but that's problematic because my Uncle's name is Barry. Michael was HIS middle name and he hated his first name so much he took on Michael instead. He was named after an uncle of HIS that nobody actually knew.

My last name is problematic because my family name is really Mankovsky. My grandfather changed it to Mann years ago for various reasons that I don't know. So I get the question Are you German? often -- every time I have to explain. This really bugged me when I lived in Russia and I don't like the way it severs a lot of my family history.

I like my initials though: zmmann. I think if I wrote a novel, I would use that as my penname. Z.M.Mann. Sounds almost respectable.

And still somewhere in the back of my head there is a voice that says, "Name your first son Rocket!" Besides it being a great song, and Rocky being a great movie, wouldn't it just rock to have a son name Rocket Mann? Okay, maybe not. It is still better than my original idea: Radioactive.

As for my favorite male name, vintage style or not -- Otis. After Redding and the elevators.

My grandparents' names on the Mann side were great, too -- Hyman and Roma. What do you think? Otis Hyman Mann? No? How about Otis Hyman Rocket Mann. Sold!

And for the girls, I always liked the name Morgan.

 

[Barbigirl]

I absolutely love that this thread did die! Thanks everyone for your interesting responses.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

My name is Elaina Leaha (yes I know it's mispelled) now my last name is Flessas. Look at it and see why I quit using my middle name.

Now, my Mother named me Elaina after meeting Tolkien and hearing a story of Elennya (pronounced the same) and then saw a greek mythology story of Elaina and figured the spelling was the same. So I'm technically named after an elf, so much so that when I met Christopher Tolkien when I was 20 I was asked if my mother was my mom and told of a letter she wrote before I was born telling his estate what an impact he made, and detailing a meeting she had with him when she was a young girl and she wanted to honor him by naming me my name.

The letter of the correct spelling arrived on April 5, 1975. I was due on the 22, and born on the 2nd. My father filled my birth certificate out on the 4th and so I got the normal spelling of my first name. My father can't spell (hart for heart, luv for love, although he's super smart) and swears that Leaha is an old dutch spelling of Leah. My middle name derives from the biblical story of Rachel and Leah, since one of my older sisters is Rachel.

So...I've gone through life being named after an ELF! Can you imagine?

Elaina

I think that is an endearing story, and wonderful that your mom made such an impact on Tolkein, that he remembered her and you. I have two names, an American name and a Hebrew name. My middle hebrew name is Leah, just like you named from the Rachel and Leah story. My Granny's name is Rachel, and I have always loved that name too.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Oh my Daisy that is awful! What were your grandparents thinking! I once took a deposition of a little girl named "Tannen Baum"-- I thought that was pretty bad.

I love the old fashioned names... my daughter is Olivia Beatrice, my son's a bit trendy tho..Hayden Nathaniel.

Honey Doll

Yeah, my poor dad. And he's such a great guy, not deserving of a name like that. I have asked my grandparent's on several occasions what they were thinking. I never really got a straight answer from them. I know when he was a tot, they called him Dickey, I guess this was a popular name in the mid fourties. Nobody call's him that anymore, thank goodness! But still, it's been joked about alot.

 

[Nashoba]

My english name is one of those ridiculous 70's names that everyone was naming their daughters at the time. I hate it. But my mother's name is Laurel and she hated that because it was so uncommon so she named me the most common thing she could think of and incidently after my great grandmother. Her name in hungarian was Janka but her English name was Jenny which is funny because everyone called her Anya which is hungarian for mother. My middle name was after my paternal grandmother Madeline. My mother REFUSED to name me Madeline so I ended up with the middle name of Lynn. Jennifer Lynn. Thanks mom. My hebrew name is Yona Leia. Not much better. One of my Indian names (I have a few that have been given to me over the years) is Nashoba which is Choctaw for Wolf. There's a story behind it, but it's both private and WAY off topic.
When I finally have children (tapping my foot here...) I have two girls' names picked out but we can't settle on a boy's name yet
The first girl will be

Leia Elizabeth - Not because my husband is a Star Wars geek even though he is, but because it's a family name. Elizabeth is for one of my great grandmothers

Aurora Anya - Because one of my other indian names is Daughter of the Dawn and that's just too long. Anya again for Janka

Boy's names though i havn't a clue. My husband's middle name is Matthew and I've always liked that but we'll see. I have to get pregnant first! lol

 

[BJonas]

Kinda off topic fftopic: , but won't it be weird to have Grandma Tanyas and Grandpa Ashtons?

 

[Polka Dot]

(Hope it's okay if I bump up an old thread.)

I have an old, very unusual name (named after an ancestor born in the 1750s), but to many people it sounds fabricated. When I do meet someone who has met another person with the name, she is usually a. a dog, b. a bank teller, or c. a nun who taught at a parochial school in the 50s.

The unusual name thing has it's drawbacks, for one thing, I'm always, always explaining where it comes from or what it means. I have a couple of standard responses: "It's German," "The name has been in my family for centuries," "No, I have no idea what it means." If I ever order anything and am asked for a name, I'll usually give my middle name, which is marginally less unusual. Also, even though it's pronounced just like it's spelled, substitute teachers have butchered it all my life.

There are a several older names that I'm fond of: Josephine, Rose, Theodore, Francis, Matilda, and Louise.

So, do any newer members have opinions about old names, or care to share names from their families?

 

[Miss Sis]

I am Simone Marie. The Simone is pronounced Si-mon, like Simone De Bouvier NOT Si-moan like Nina Simone. I really hate it being mis-pronouced and English people wilfully say it wrong, even when they have been told how to pronouce it. I don't mind it once and then they get it right but when they know and STILL say it wrong....Grrrrrrrr.

My mother got a bit of a shock when I was born as she was CONVINCED I was going to be a boy. She was all ready to call me Matthew. Once they found out I was a girl they had a bit of thinking to do. They came up with Rachael/Rachel (not sure which spelling) which incidently I rather like and were all set to name me that when someone remembered that our dog at the time was called - Rachael! So that got scrapped. Then my Dad thought about naming me after one of my Grandmothers - He is Dutch and they love to name people after other people. My Nana, Grace, said no, I've hated it all my life so do not name that poor child Grace. So that was out. Then he suggested his mother's name Harmina Aukje (Yikes!) or Minnie for short. My Mother firmly put her foot down which is just as well as I am quite tall so it would have been a really bad name for me, quite apart from the associations with Minnie Mouse!

Don't really know where Mum got Simone from. It is not at all common, so I guess she heard it through old movie stars like Simone Simon. She 'just liked it'. Marie is partly for my Great-Great Grandmother Mary and partly as I also have an unsual surname - Knol, so my Mother figured I needed something not too complicated in the middle.

I got teased a bit as a child but now I like it. It doesn't really date me like alot of names but I think it is quite feminine and unusal enough to stand out a bit.

My brothers are Nigel and Brent, which aren't that common round our way either. My Mother also likes to name pets unusal names too. We had one canary called Christopher after Christopher Columbus and another called William after William of Orange of the Dutch Royal House (he was orange, of course), a dog called Max, short for Maximillian Alexander Xavier (geddit?), a poodle called Miro after Caesar Romiro the actor and a cat called Candileia (???)

I'm not going to reveal my favourite names here, just say that my general rules for naming a child would be:

For boys, a 'solid', respectable name. Nothing outlandish.

For girls, something slightly unusual but not trendy or old fashioned and possibly biblical but not dateable. I'm afraid Norma and Myrna don't cut it for me!

Like my Mother, I won't go for naming a child a first name after someone else. They deserve their own name.

 

[fleur]

Im a classic Lisa Marie child of the 70s Although I hate it when people hyphonate it because its not

Simone its quite funny - my mother was convinced I was going to be a boy too and was going to call me Matthew!!! Bizarre.

My daughter is Phoebe Keren - I got stuck with the name Phoebe when I was pregnant and nothing to do with the Friends boom that was going on when I was pregnant and Keren is one of my grandmother's names (she is Audrey Olive Keren). However my pet name for her is Angel.

My husband is Kenneth Ansell William - he did hate it for a little while but feels its unusual for someone his age to be called Kenneth (although its usually Ken unless hes been naughty). Ansell is Welsh and is his grandfathers name and William is the name of his other grandfather.

If I was ever to have another daughter (and that is medically not going to happen) then she would be called Neva in remembrance of my great grandmother who died under mysterious circumstances (she was found drowned in a canal). Apparently she was very beautiful and a great talent with a mezzo soprano voice. I will have to raid my grandmothers tin of photographs of the very few that she has surviving and scan them in.

 

[Brian Sheridan]

We are about to have a baby boy Feb 14th.

The biggest problem has been coming up with a name.

We are thinking about Bennett - after Tony Bennett. My wife and I went to his concert on a early date. I also interviewed him and found him to be a total gentleman.

Middle names have been tougher. We can't use my Dad's or her Dad's names in any combination. Mine is Ray; her's is Lee - Ray Lee or Lee Ray...sounds to "Dukes of Hazzard."

I'm like Bennett Cole or Bennett Truman - though Bennett Chandler Sheridan has a nice ring.

Any thoughts?

BRS

 

[Fletch]

We are thinking about Bennett - after Tony Bennett

How about Tony? Tony Sheridan sounds snappy and gives an open round sound. Even Anthony Sheridan isn't bad, tho maybe a bit overtly British.

I'm a classic Lisa Marie child of the 70s

I just do NOT get the hate for Lisa. Lisa is one of the prettiest names ever. Probably because the years are past when there were 6 Lisas in every school class.

I wish Marie were more often a first name, instead of a default last name. I must have dated 5 (blank) Maries over the years (one a Lisa), but only one actual Marie (and she was 12 years older).

Kinda off topic fftopic: , but won't it be weird to have Grandma Tanyas and Grandpa Ashtons?

Not so weird. Every 4th Russian gramma is probably named Tanya.

 

[Amelie]

I might sound strange, but... how do american/english names work??
I am from Canada, not from the english part, and not from an english family, so all these first, last, middle name, last name as a real name, etc sound like chinese to me [huh]

traditionnally here, people get their actual name, plus their godfather or godmother's one, sometimes one from their grandparent, and even more traditionnally Joseph if they're boys, and Marie if they're girls... But my mom when I was born thought nobody was doing it anymore so I only got Am?©lie, plus my last name [huh]

 

[Miss Sis]

If I was ever to have another daughter then she would be called Neva

Whoah! Much as I didn't want to give it away - Neva is my favourite name for a girl, Fleur! How spooky

 

[scotrace]

We are about to have a baby boy Feb 14th.

Congratulations! You're coming into the home stretch...

I'm like Bennett Cole or Bennett Truman - though Bennett Chandler Sheridan has a nice ring.

Any thoughts?

BRS

Bennett Cole Sheridan is my vote. "Cole" as a middle name has mystery and charm.

 

[Grnidwitch]

Two sons:
Scott Robert -age 14 – after my Father and brother.
Bill Michael – age 10 - (Not William) after my Uncle.

I like single syllable first names for a boy.

By-the-way, my avatar is a pic of my Dad and Uncle Bill and their Indian motorcycles taken about 1949.

I'd give my right arm to have either one of those bikes. (heavy sigh)

 

[RedPop4]

I might sound strange, but... how do american/english names work??
I am from Canada, not from the english part, and not from an english family, so all these first, last, middle name, last name as a real name, etc sound like chinese to me [huh]

traditionnally here, people get their actual name, plus their godfather or godmother's one, sometimes one from their grandparent, and even more traditionnally Joseph if they're boys, and Marie if they're girls... But my mom when I was born thought nobody was doing it anymore so I only got Am?©lie, plus my last name [huh]

There is no rhyme or reason, or spelled-out "rules" here. It's whatever you wish to piece together. My mother's side of the family is Sicilian. My great-grandfather was Francesco, so all of his oldest grandsons were named Frank (Something.) My Mom's brother was Frank Joseph (after my grandfather Joseph,) and she had cousins Frank, Frank Peter and Frank Jerry.

I'm a fourth, and we didn't want to have a fifth, so my oldest son got the names reversed. He's Benton Thomas.

 

[Fletch]

I'm not currently planning a next generation, but if I had a son he would be Robert Mother's-Maiden-Name, after my dad. I was Paul, after his dad. (Still am.) With a multisyllabic German surname, one has to keep it simple.

Girls' names are a tougher choice. I like a lot of old school girls' names: Alice, Laura, Helen, Janet. Maybe a short name not intending the full name, like Jan. (Jan would be ok for a boy too, I think.)

Maybe I know too many New Yorkers, but everybody I know my age is giving their kids fussy eccentric names like Oliver, Charlotte, and I kid you not, Tallulah.

 

[TopHatCat]

Maybe I know too many New Yorkers, but everybody I know my age is giving their kids fussy eccentric names like Oliver, Charlotte, and I kid you not, Tallulah.

Interestingly enough both Oliver and Charlotte started rising in popularity in the 1980's according to the Baby Name Wizard and have been climbing since. Oliver peaked in the 1880's and then dropped till about the 60's, Charlotte was popular in the 1940's and then dropped till about the 60's as well.