View Message

[Opinions] Feist?
what does everyone think of Feist, as a middle name for a boy.
I know most peoples stance on surnames as names, but for the life of me can't agree with them. I love surnames as first/middle names.so take it at face value, not "ehh its too surnamey" try to pass up the fact that it is a last name. and see it as a personal name.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

I certainly think "surname" when I see Feist, because I am familiar with the work of the American novelist Raymond Feist:http://www.raymondfeistbooks.com/However, I personally would be reluctant to use it as a name unless I was related to a Feist family, because unlike some others, I do not see the connotations of the word "feisty" as being positive. :)
vote up1
If it's not his first name, and it's a family surname, I don't see the slightest problem with it.If it were a first name I'd have a laundry list for you -- but let's just say it's unattractive enough as a sound that I would not want it as my personal name, and I'd be less than comfy addressing someone as Feist.
vote up1
First, I don't even THINK surname when I see itI think of Feisty, or a word. It's just not a name to me at all. It has no redeeming qualities to me. Just: Yuck.
vote up1
Exactly this.
vote up1
This is a German surname. It means "fat" or "thick", like a chubby kid would be. This surname was actually in my husband's family and they took the opportunity to change it when they immigrated to the US!
vote up1
It seems more like a word name than a surname-name to me, because it reminds me of "feisty". I don't care for the sound or the connotations.
vote up1
feist...Is an old, but still used, term for a mongrel/mutt dog, in the south.Aside from that I think it's just plain ugly. Calls to mind fists and farts and foisting.
vote up1
I like it. It reminds me of the word "feisty". It sounds like a strong name to me.
vote up1
Re:It reminds me of a lot of things that I don't think of as names, like:-heist
-fist
-feisty
-fest
-geist (in German, but reminiscent of zeitgeist, which is a concept whose name is also used in English)
Haha, feist's etymology isn't exactly flattering, either: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/feist. I guess it's your business if you want to use a reference to a gassy dog as a kid's name, but I wouldn't go for it.

This message was edited 11/11/2007, 1:28 PM

vote up1
I like a lot of surnames as names, but it seems a little strange to use them if you don't have a family connection with the names. However there is a small kind of squirrel-hunting dog called a Feist and that kind of turns me away from it as a name. Plus it sounds like heist and looks like feast.
vote up1
Feist the singer. That's all I can think of -- it's not even a last name to me, since I wasn't aware that her name was actually Leslie Feist until it was pointed out. I'm sure if other people have heard of her, they'll think the same.. too pop-culture, even if you didn't intend it to be.
vote up1
Ditto
vote up1
1, 2, 3, 4 tell me that you love me more
vote up1
I think of Leslie Feist as well...she's not mainstream though so there's plenty of people who haven't heard of her.It's still a surname and I don't care for it.
vote up1
I've heard of her, but no, wasn't intending it to be after her. though now people may think of that, some people anyway, I doubt in a few years, or ten or fifteen years, anyone will.
vote up1