I’m working on a story set in a circus during post World War II [name]England[/name] and having trouble creating the resident fortuneteller…She’s (probably) Cockney, the other circus performers don’t know much about her but she does tarot readings and the like for the audience members on the side. It’s been suggested she’s really Death in disguise but it’s never more than suggested (or proven). I haven’t decided if she’s very blunt about giving them bad news, mystical and solemn, cheeky or what she’s really like yet. Having a name for her would be a start.
Names I’ve considered:
Medulla-[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Ophelia[/name]-[name]Marie[/name]
[name]Lola[/name]
[name]Penny[/name] (either to be short for either [name]Persephone[/name] or Pentacle)
the current favorite, [name]Sybil[/name] [name]Fortune[/name] (to be pronounced, “for-TUNE” but are Sybil and Basil too similar? Basil is the name of another character).
Medulla is an anatomical term meaning a structure in the center of (the adrenal medulla, the medulla oblongata, etc)
None of these scream Cockney to me, except [name]Penny[/name]. And anything with the word ‘[name]Fortune[/name]’ attached (unless it’s supposed to be her stage name) is cheesy; [name]Sybil[/name] & [name]Cassandra[/name] are a bit hokey too (and [name]Sybil[/name] has already been staked out by [name]Harry[/name] [name]Potter[/name]).
I like your idea of an innocuous, plausible Cockney nn which really stands for something ancient, ominous and related to death/justice. If you look up the mythological personae, you’ll see what I mean.
Ha, I was actually thinking that too! When I read Medulla the first thing I thought about was the medulla oblongata. I think it’d be best to not use that one. I have a special sweet spot for the name [name]Ophelia[/name], and I think [name]Ophelia[/name]-[name]Marie[/name] sounds great. I don’t think [name]Lola[/name] would give off the vibe you’re probably wanting to relay though. I do like [name]Penny[/name] short for [name]Persephone[/name]. Mostly because I enjoy the story behind the name.
I’m well aware of the connotations behind Medulla…it’s a long running joke between friends here. I like the thought of it as a character’s name because it sounded high-class, like [name]Miranda[/name] or Medusa but really was something ridiculous. But perhaps too ridiculous?
And [name]Blade[/name], yes, it’s supposed to be her stage name, hence the also ridiculous [name]Sybil[/name] [name]Fortune[/name] suggestion.
I’m still fond of [name]Ophelia[/name]-[name]Marie[/name] (especially since it means “help”) and [name]Sybil[/name] but I [name]LOVE[/name] the suggestion of [name]Morrie[/name] ([name]Morrigan[/name]). [name]Themis[/name]/Miss T is also an interesting choice.