Hello Nameberries and a [name]Happy[/name] [name]Autumn[/name] to you all!
I was recently discussing names with my mother and she told me that my older sister was almost named Cabrini after the FEMALE St. [name]Frances[/name] [name]Xavier[/name] Cabrini (the first US citizen to be canonized as a saint). Cabrini is an Italian surname pronounced “kuh-[name]BREE[/name]-nee”. Cabrini would have been quite a bold choice in the 1950’s but my mother chose to name her eldest daughter after her own mother. Of course, giving children saints names is quite common especially in Catholic countries but choosing the surnames of saints is not as widespread. However, I have heard of the another unusual name Majella (English: muh-JELL-uh; Italian: mai-ehl-uh) being used in [name]Ireland[/name] for girls in honour of St. [name]Gerard[/name] Majella ([name]Gerardo[/name] Maiella), patron saint of expectant mothers. Cabrini and Majella would make a quirky duo for twins.
What do my fellow Nameberries think of these names? Are they pretty? [name]Do[/name] you think they’re too strange? Too cutesy? Too nicknamey? [name]Do[/name] you like one more than the other? I’d like some opinions/thoughts on them. Thanks.
Cabrini seems masculine to me, I’m not sure why. I think, however, it is a more usable option than Majella. Majella would be a pronunciation nightmare, [name]IMO[/name], and I try to avoid names that are difficult to pronounce.
I like both of them, but then again, I’m Catholic and know how to pronounce them. Cabrini is probably more usable, since Majella would have lots of pronunciation issues. Cabrini is actually really cute-sounding to me.
Cabrini makes me think of Cabrini College and also Cabrini-[name]Green[/name].
Majella is interesting. I wouldn’t use it, but I think it’s the more wearable of the two. I think of [name]Nigella[/name] and magenta, for some reason, as if it were a cross between the two. Also [name]Ferdinand[/name] Magellan. I think there’s a kind of GPS out right now called a Magellan as well.
I love saints names! I think Cabrini is adorable. I would have never thought about it but now I am totally in love :). I like the Majella connection a lot but all I can here is " my jelly" so that kills its fn potential for me.
Erm, I hate to be negative, but I couldn’t really see these as actual first names. My boyfriend is Italian and I’ve always loves Italian names, but I wouldnt choose an italian surname for a my kid. Cabrini is almost TOO Italian sounding to be a first name. Cabrini [name]Smith[/name] looks too strange, you know? And if you used it with an Italian last name, it would look like a law firm. Majella just make me think of jello… Maybe it because I’m on my lunch break and I’m hungry, but i dont Majella is very pretty.
I’m not crazy about either of them. Cabrini sounds like a brand of wine or pasta sauce. I cannot see Majella working with that spelling, but as suggested above Maiella is pretty or even [name]Mayella[/name].
I actually know a Cabrini in real life. She is in her early 30s and is a doctor. Everyone-- and I do mean everyone-- immediately thinks of the apocalytpic hellhole of a housing project, Cabrini [name]Green[/name], that was already linked to, even in the very Catholic and quirky place where she practices.
Majella sounds fictitious, sorry. I appreciate its roots very much, but I think a little girl called Majella would spend a lot of time educating everyone around her that her name is not a truncated misspelling of Magellan. It’s not that it’s not wearable, it’s that it sounds very ‘downmarket.’
Thanks to everyone for replying! I love the spunkiness of Cabrini but I do worry about the housing project association. Majella doesn’t seem to get much love. Oh well, another one for the guilty pleasure list!
