I was thinking about words and place names that would make really cool names the other day. What do you berries think of [name]Caledonia[/name] (for a girl), Swansea (girl) and Dubrovnik (boy)? [name]Do[/name] you think they’re usable? The only combo I love so far is Swansea [name]Ceridwen[/name] [name]Isis[/name].
For those who don’t know:
[name]Caledonia[/name] is a historical, romantic or poetic name for [name]Scotland[/name], dating from [name]Roman[/name] times, now used only in songs and poetry. I love this song [name]Caledonia[/name]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaawQCCenGo.
Dubrovnik is a city in Croatia, and Swansea a city in [name]Wales[/name].
I am not Scottish, Welsh or Croatian and have never been to any of these places (though I’d love to). I just think the names sound great!
(Won’t be pregnant for a long time, so this is all hypothetical!)
[name]Caledonia[/name]/[name]Caldonia[/name] has long been used as a name in the US and is a standard blues song so you may get the “cal-dohn-ya” pronunciation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnnN8Ycsk_Y
Not crazy about the pronunciation of Swansea. I mostly hear it said as “shwan-zee”
Yeah, it’s not pronounced as Swan + sea. It’s SWONZ-ee. It doesn’t even mean swan sea, it comes from the name Sveinn and the word Ey, Sveinn’s island.
Swansea is not a bad place, but as a [name]Brit[/name], I wouldn’t use it. I wouldn’t use it if I lived on the other side of the world. Dubrovnik is a beautiful city, it’s incredibly romantic with the walls and the ocean. I don’t love the name, but I don’t hate it either. [name]Caledonia[/name] is fine.
I think the only one I would consider as a name is [name]Caledonia[/name]. I can’t see Swansea as a name, to me it’d be like calling your child Manchester or Leeds. Dubrovnik, I don’t hate it as a name, I just feel that unless it had some significance to you personally, it is a bit of an odd choice.
Tried to reply before but it wouldn’t let me, lol. I know some Welsh people who aren’t the biggest fans of Swansea (pronounced just like [name]Ottilie[/name] said) there’s no way I could ever see it as a name. It’s Welsh name is Abertawe (aba-TOWW-ie) which basically means ‘mouth of the river Tawe’
I grew up near a town in NY called [name]Caledonia[/name] so it gives me a very different view on it - this town is very small and people there tend to be very…“country” (not my thing at all). In short, it reminds me of hicks and tractor pulls. >_<
On an objective note, I can see why it would be appealing and it does have a pleasant sound.
Well, I’ve been to all three places, and think the only one remotely usable is [name]Caledonia[/name] (or the more trim [name]Caledon[/name]). It’s a very pretty word. I was saving it in case I ever got a Scottish Deerhound, and personally I think it’s more suited for the canine set.
There are some absolutely ravishing Welsh place names, but I wouldn’t count Swansea as one of them. It has nothing to do with swans or the sea, as ottilie pointed out, and it would be misheard as “Swonzy-rhymes-with-[name]Fonzi[/name].”
And while Dubrovnik is one of the more beautiful cities on earth-- and it’s very fun to roll that Slavic R-- I definitely think it’s far, far outside the realm of usability for a English-speaking boy.
