Is [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] still in the category of forbidden names or can it be warily used now?
I am completely aware of the association with [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] Nabokov’s novel, and the film too (both great, by the way). Sex kitten association aside, [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] is charming, spunky and stylish, so can people look past the young girl or is it still the only thing that comes to mind? I think of [name_f]Lana[/name_f] [name_u]Del[/name_u] [name_u]Rey[/name_u]'s song more than the girl, a song I love, but obviously that connection is only there for people familiar with the song.
And to add to that, [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] now literally means “a sexually precocious young girl” in the dictionary, which doesn’t help!
I am sure the majority will think it’s unusable, maybe I’m just hoping someone tells me it’s usable, but to use it with caution. Then again, I really like the name [name_m]Lucifer[/name_m] and think it’s kinda cool.
Nameberry’s description for [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] says, “Parents are beginning to ignore the adolescent sex kitten associations of the notorious Nabokov novel, seeing this as a charming, offbeat name with a good deal of style for those who defy convention.” I am hoping things are changing, according to the aforementioned quote. Saying that, the SSA has not ranked [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] in the top 1000 most popular female names given since 1973, so obviously if things are beginning to change, it’s going at a slow pace.
Any input on [name_f]Lolita[/name_f]'s usability would be great! Thanks.
Sadly, most people seem to interpret the name as meaning a sexual young girl, as opposed to a book about a girl who is kidnapped and abused sexually and emotionally by her pedophile adoptive step father. [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] from the book had an extremely tragic life, which isn’t really something I’d want to associate with a baby.
It’s got a pretty and a charming sound, but it seems like a heavy name to give to a child. What about [name_f]Lola[/name_f] or [name_f]Lalita[/name_f]?
I’m also a fan of the name [name_m]Lucifer[/name_m], growing up non-religiously, the only association I had with it until secondary school was the cat from [name_f]Cinderella[/name_f] (not a nice cat but not as bad as the devil).
The difference between [name_m]Lucifer[/name_m] and [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] is that one is very tied to a certain religion, it affects many people yet not everyone, in the right community it might even be usable.
The problem with [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] is that most adults automatically associate sex with it (not just in the English speaking world), the connection the the novel is completely lost. The name would be awkward forgrown women but it gets even more problematic when it’s the name of a 2 or 6 year old little girl; people would, most likely, get a very wrong impression of you.
I don’t even think that it is usable in the middle spot as, again, it is so heavily associated with sex.
If you desperately want to use it, I’d say go with [name_f]Lola[/name_f] and use [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] as a nickname (which is all it is -ita/-ito being the Spanish way to create nicknames).
I have to say that it’s (sadly) still in the “unusable” category for me, although I obviously can’t speak for the rest of the world. But I do feel [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] is losing her connotations a bit (not everyone is familiar with the novel), so it might be in the clear in the near future.
[name_f]Lola[/name_f] and [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] are nicknames for the Spanish name [name_f]Dolores[/name_f]. I am not a fan of any of the three possibilities.
Nabokov’s novel aside, my expectation is that [name_f]Lolita[/name_f]/[name_f]Lola[/name_f] has a longer, formal name ([name_f]Dolores[/name_f] or [name_f]Maria[/name_f] [name_f]Dolores[/name_f]), kind of like [name_f]Maggie[/name_f]/[name_f]Peggy[/name_f] is [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] or [name_f]Sue[/name_f]/[name_f]Suzy[/name_f] is [name_f]Susan[/name_f]. My brain just registers [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] as an appropriate name for a little girl (again, Nabokov’s novel aside) and not for a woman.
I have read it is quite common in [name_f]France[/name_f]. There is a well-known song by the singer [name_f]Aliz[/name_f]ée called Moi… [name_f]Lolita[/name_f].
Personally it’s a GP for me. I love the sound of the name but I’d be worried that if I used it people would associate my daughter’s name with paedophilia.
By the way, according to this website there were five babies named [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] in [name_f]England[/name_f] and [name_m]Wales[/name_m] last year. Not a huge number obviously, but it shows that not everyone considers the name unusable.
I don’t like [name_f]Lolita[/name_f]. Because of my youth, I haven’t known of the associations beforehand, but honestly they just make the name sound worse to me. A [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] is also a term in the anime world (I’m such a nerd, right? Lol.). I actually just looked it up and the term is related to the book and it’s character. I’m a big fan of [name_f]Lulita[/name_f] as an alternative, but I couldn’t ever use [name_f]Lolita[/name_f].
The funny thing is I have been religious for most of my life, and as a kid, nobody ever told me that [name_m]Lucifer[/name_m] was a name for the devil (I learned that more recently). I first heard it on the cat from [name_f]Cinderella[/name_f]'s and thought it was a name just for a cat. LOL
I wish the name [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] was usable. It is kind of pretty. I mean, you can use it, but people are probably going to think about that book, still. Sure, it’s an old(Er) book, but it’s still something that will be strongly tied to the name, perhaps forever.
I loved the book because it is so evocative. Still, I wouldn’t name my child [name_f]Lolita[/name_f] because of that. However, I’m wondering how many people have heard of the novel? The only reason I had heard of it was because I majored in English in college. I’d ask people you know (if you’re okay with discussing the baby name before baby arrives) if they’ve even heard of the book. If most haven’t, I’d say go for it. I know someone recently who name their daughter [name_f]Annabel[/name_f] [name_u]Lee[/name_u], and I’m almost positive she’s never connected it to [name_u]Poe[/name_u]'s work (although, if she had, she might have used a different name).
