I guess because I am TTC I am noticing names even more lately. These are some I noticed in an antique mall last weekend. Some of them were the authors of old books and cookbooks, some just written inside books and painted on pottery and in random places. Thought I might share these since they are new to me. Mixed genders:
Anetka
Olietta
[name]Arla[/name] - this is interesting to me b/c my first name (I’ve never gone by it) is [name]Marla[/name]. I’ve always hated it. But [name]Arla[/name] is maybe cool?
Demilune - saw this in an old Southern Living magazine in an article about creating a demilune garden. It means half circle, or more literally “half moon.” I think if [name]Altalune[/name] is usable, so is Demilune. It has a sweet southern-yet-French feel, and cute nicknames [name]Demi[/name] or [name]Luna[/name].
Darland
Purdue
Engel - [name]German[/name] for “angel”
[name]Otho[/name] - wasn’t this the big weird decorator in Beetlejuice?
[name]Smith[/name] - never saw it as first name but I kind of love it
Anetka: Slavic? Never seen it before!
Olietta: I kind of like this one. Sounds a bit rusty though, if you know what I mean.
[name]Arla[/name]: Interesting. Could it be a girl variation of [name]Arlo[/name]?
Demilune: I like, but would probably only ever use it as a mn.
Darland: Darling garland.
Purdue: I actually have heard of this one! The university.
Engel: I wouldn’t use it, but I like the idea of it and the meaning.
[name]Otho[/name]: I do believe you’re right. I remember that guy. He was weird.
[name]Smith[/name]: Would definitely be an unexpected fn. But when it’s written in the [ln, fn] form, would it look weird?
Of you list, I had only heard/seen [name]Arla[/name], [name]Otho[/name], and [name]Smith[/name]. The [name]Smith[/name] was a woman, and her last name was equally short with a “th” ending.
[name]Arla[/name] - according to my danish baby name book it means “eagle” and “mistress” - as in female ruler. (Also the name of the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia)
I used to read these Dear [name]America[/name] books when I was a little girl, Anetka Kaminska was one of them, her story was so sad/romantic. I’m unfamiliar with most of the others as first/middle names though.
Anetka is a Slavic diminutive of [name]Anne[/name] (like ‘dear little [name]Annie[/name]’)
Olietta sounds like a turn-of-the20th-c smoosh name, a genre which was extremely popular
[name]Arla[/name] is a legitimate Scandinavian name; it’s both hipstery and twangy in vibe to me
Demilune: best left to tables and gardens
Darland: see Olietta
Purdue: as in the Boilermakers? or someone’s surname?
[name]Engelbert[/name], Lorengel, etc use this-- it doesn’t necessarily mean angel, but rather Angle- as in the marauding tribe of people who eventually invaded and gave their name to [name]England[/name]
[name]Otho[/name]-- super old-school Germanic name, that came from Latin. [name]Othello[/name] probably shares the same roots.
Anetka - read this in a book when I was younger and I love it.
Olietta - very interesting and unique, I think it’s pretty and usable.
[name]Arla[/name] - eh, way better than [name]Arlo[/name] that I’ve seen floating around, but still not a fav.
Demilune - no.
Darland - no, I don’t like Dar- and I don’t think names ending in -land feels feminine.
Purdue - brand of chicken
Engel - not appealing, just use [name]Angel[/name], or even better, a variation - [name]Angelica[/name], [name]Angelia[/name], [name]Angeline[/name] / [name]Angelina[/name]…
[name]Otho[/name] - sounds wholly masculine
[name]Smith[/name] - Ugh…more surnames shoved up front, I hate it, sorry, I find it incredibly unattractive and it’s SUCH a common surname, it would be confusing and quite awkward.
And here is why I like [name]Smith[/name] as a first name for a boy. This is one of my fave writers, GK Chesterton, on the name [name]Smith[/name]:
But, if we look at the plain word itself, we suddenly behold a poem. It is the name of a great rugged and primeval craft, a trade that is in the bones of every great epic of antiquity, a trade on which the “arma virumque” have everlastingly depended, and which they have repeatedly acclaimed. It is a craft so poetical that even the babies of village yokels stand and stare into the cavern of its creative violence, with a dim sense that the dancing sparks and the deafening blows are in some way wonderful, as the shops of the village cobbler and the village baker are not wonderful. The mystery of flame, the mystery of metals, the fight between the hardest of earthly things and the weirdest of earthly elements, the defeat of the unconquerable iron by its only conqueror, the brute calm of Nature, the passionate cunning of man, the origin of a thousand sciences and arts, the ploughing of fields, the hewing of wood, the arraying of armies, and the whole beginning of arms, these things are written with brevity indeed, but with perfect clearness, on the visiting card of Mr. [name]Smith[/name]. The Smiths are a house of arrogant antiquity, of prehistoric simplicity. It would not be at all remarkable if a certain contemptuous carriage of the head, a certain curl of the lip, marked people whose name was [name]Smith[/name]. Yet novelists, when they wish to describe a hero as strong and romantic, persistently call him [name]Vernon[/name] [name]Aylmer[/name], which means nothing, or [name]Bertrand[/name] Vallance, which means nothing; while all the time it is in their power to give him the sacred name of [name]Smith[/name], this name made of iron and fire. From the very beginnings of history and fable this clan was gone forth to battle; their trophies are in every hand, their name is everywhere; they are older than the nations, and their sign is the Hammer of [name]Thor[/name].
After reading that I can’t help but like it. I am normally not a big fan of surname names but… There are exceptions.
Wow, what a find missusaytch. Chesterton was a genius. I’ll be sending that to all the Smiths I know. I like it as a first name, but it would take a special last name to be able to pull it off.
I’ve not heard Darland ever. I haven’t heard Demilune as a name but I think it’s doable. I like [name]Smith[/name]. We hear it as a fn on a boy or girl every once in a while here in the South US, where we’ve always loved our surnames. Good luck TTC
I am normally not a big fan of surname names but… There are exceptions.