[name_u]Ever[/name_u] since fiammetta posted a link to Gothic Victorian names, I can’t get [name_m]Bartleby[/name_m] out of my head!
He’s antique, yet spunky and SO fun to say out loud!
I don’t know if this is love, or just a crush… I guess time will tell.
What do you all think? Am I alone in my affection?
Can anyone suggest similar names I may not have considered before? I’m enjoying everything [name_f]Victoriana[/name_f] at the moment.
I would smile if I met a little boy named [name_m]Bartleby[/name_m]. That is mostly because it is a very literary name. [name_m]Herman[/name_m] [name_m]Melville[/name_m] wrote a very popular short story titled,"[name_m]Bartleby[/name_m] the Scrivener."
I would recommend reading “[name_m]Bartleby[/name_m], the Scrivener” first, if you haven’t already. I wouldn’t like that character as a namesake. On one level I can understand the appeal of [name_m]Bartleby[/name_m], but if I would assume the parents were referencing the short story and then wonder if they’d actually read it. It’s just very tied to the story. I couldn’t read your title without finishing it with “the Scrivener” in my head. It feels a little bit “trying too hard to be literary” to me. I much prefer [name_m]Barnaby[/name_m]. [name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m] (Tolly is a cute nickname for this) or Bartimaeus are nice as well, and I think that [name_m]Balthasar[/name_m] / [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m] is lovely and very underused.
I saw on the nameberry entry for [name_m]Bartleby[/name_m] that the name is used in [name_m]Bartleby[/name_m] the Scrivener. (I’ve since discovered there is also a movie of the story).
I had not heard of the story before discovering the name. Though I do enjoy reading, I am not the most literary of people.
I guess I shouldn’t use the name as it is so strongly tied to a story I have never read (and not the greatest namesake by the sound of things). But I just love the way it sounds so much!
[name_m]Barnaby[/name_m] is a good name, but I hate that people would shorten it to [name_m]Barney[/name_m] (making me think of the purple dinosaur and/or the slobbish [name_m]Simpson[/name_m]'s character).
[name_m]Bartholomew[/name_m] I like. And though there is also a [name_m]Simpson[/name_m]'s reference there I happen to like his character a lot. I still prefer [name_m]Bartleby[/name_m] though!
Bartimaeus looks too archaic to me and [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m] instantly makes me think of the Biblical wise man. (I’m not religious).
Thanks kindly for the input/suggestions!
To me, it’s singularly tied to the story. Although it’s a good story, it’s very sad. I read it years ago and it still haunts me, so I wouldn’t use it.