My Husband and I have thought of another name for our Daughter to be born soon. [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]
My husband loves the name but since doing some research on the name I am a bit concerned by the name meaning in other languages.
Both my husband and I are Australian and in Australia these is no negative meaning implied to the name. We also don’t really have any close friends/family that would probably associate the negative meanings to the name.
Should I just go with the name because to me it’s a cute spunky name for my daughter?
We are thinking [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
Hey, there were people at my American high school named [name_u]Randy[/name_u] and [name_f]Fanny[/name_f]–clearly their parents didn’t know about what those names mean in other English speaking countries! I say go for it. [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]'s a totally fine English name, and if it really bothers you you could make [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] the legal name.
[name_f]Pippa[/name_f] sounds cute, but a little bit too childish [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] imagine an old lady with the name [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]. Also, I kind of associated it with Peppa (the pig) at first when I saw this name. Maybe you can give your child a more “formal” name, like [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] or something else, and call her [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] as a nickname.
I knew a girl in primary school, and she was just [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]. I personally [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] nn [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]. I also think that [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] flows better than just [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f]. With that said however [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is gorgeous and can definitely work as a stand alone name! What you be interested in middle name suggestions?
My cat is named [name_f]Zuzu[/name_f], and I found out it means “urine” in Luganda. Well. I don’t live near anyone who speaks Luganda, and for me she’s named after [name_f]Zuzu[/name_f] [name_u]Bailey[/name_u] in “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
I say go with it. It’s good to be aware of negative meanings, but if there’s a low chance that negative meaning will personally affect your child-- then don’t worry about it.
I think [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is perfectly fine. I’ve seen it on adults a few times, and I don’t think it is childish at all. But I am also Australian, so I might be missing something too. shrug
I think [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]'s fine- I don’t know any negative associations with it. I’m from the US and live in the UK, and I haven’t heard any bad things about the name in either place.
I love [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] as a nickname for [name_f]Philippa[/name_f], & agree w/the previous poster who said [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] is lovely.
I’m unaware of any of the negative meanings or associations with [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] and it’s a common enough name and nickname in English speaking countries that it probably won’t be a problem. As others said you can use [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] if you’re concerned, or [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], but [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is fine on it’s own as well!
I had strongly considered [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] nn [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] myself and we only passed it up after a close friend named their daughter [name_u]Pepper[/name_u]. (Which now that I think about it, is also cute and spunky and could be an alternative for you if you’re really worried about [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]!)
Although [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] does have some unfortunate meanings in some other languages, I think when used as a given name on a native English-speaking/Australian child, it is perfectly fine. People from [name_u]Sweden[/name_u] or [name_f]Italy[/name_f], knowing that [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is a given name, in my mind and opinion, would be pretty immature and nasty folks to pick fun at her for such a thing. That said, Swedes and Italians might mention it gently just to let her know of the connotation of the word in their own country as a bit of a heads up were she in the country for a while.
Thats said, (in today’s travel/online world especially) [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] might meet and potentially befriend, date or marry a person from one of these cultures, which may cause some confusion and/or embarrassment, so it may be worth considering an alternative? (If your anything like me though, you don’t like [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] as mentioned many times in this thread at all though, even with your love for [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]).
The name works perfectly fine as you say in Australia, and likely many other countries, and I think if you really love [name_f]Pippa[/name_f], you should use it. Afterall, it works well enough for [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] Middleton, who still goes exclusively by [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] rather than [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] as she was born.
[name_f]Pippa[/name_f] [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] makes for a nice combo. I do like the alliteration, however, if your surname starts or contains a prominent P too, that may be a bit much, though it depends on the surname too, of course.
I have some Italian/Greek ancestry and for those who are unaware “pippa” is slang for a certain… sexual activity. And in Swedish it literally means “having sex with”
I actually met a [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] a few months ago and to be honest my only thought was “This lady’s name means blowjob”. To me- it’s like naming someone “Netflix & Chill” or something lol.
I’d honestly just go with [name_f]Philippa[/name_f]. You’ve said you don’t like it but I’m telling you- just go with [name_f]Philipa[/name_f] and call her “pippa” as a nickname. At least by doing that the kid will have her full name to fall back on in case she ever travels because you seriously don’t expect her to stay in Australia her entire life do you?