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[Opinions] a 'typical' English name?
I'm going to Germany in January to teach English to primary-aged children (age 5-11 approx.). I'll be taking a puppet with me as one of my major 'props,' and my lecturer has suggested I give it a 'typical' English name, which will sound unusual to the German children, but still be pronounceable for them. Any suggestions? Girl or boy would be great!
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Edward
Thomas
Robert
George
Michael
Peter
Matthew
JonathanElizabeth
Hannah
Emily
Catherine
Jennifer
Rebecca
Rachel
Emma
Helen
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Elizabeth
Victoria
Georgia
Alice
Ann / Anne
Catherine / KatherineHenry
William
Charles
Albert
George
John
ThomasFor the longer names, you could even use a NN. Thomas could be Tom, Katherine could be Kathy, Kate, or Katie, John could be Johnny, etc.
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Ethan? has TH that the children will learn to pornounced and the name could helpMilo?simple John? Johnny?Ian maybe? or Sean?
girls:FreyaRubyGrace
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Gillian (soft G) is typically English, since it evolved in England as a form of Juliana and was exported to the USA relatively late. Although not much used for babies at the moment it has a quintessential English feel.
I also suggest Tamsin (the s is pronounced like a z). Like the overused Jennifer it originated in Cornwall (Tamsin is a form of Thomasina) and spread to the rest of England.
A boy's Cornish name is Denzil.
Marmaduke is a Yorkshire name (but for some curious reason is not very popular!!!).

This message was edited 12/3/2008, 12:35 AM

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You can always name it Harry. The Harry Potter connection can't hurt and it's very typical in my opinion.
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I'd look at the most common names given children born in England and Wales in 2003 and choose one of them that fits your other criteria:http://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_boys.asphttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/specials/babiesnames_girls.asp
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George
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LOL, I'm German and our English teacher did exactly the same. I don't even remember what the puppet looked like anymore, but I do remember that his name was Alf. I have no idea why, it's not even a typical English name. I also know that she used the same puppet in other classes, and it was called Nancy in one of them. I do think that's a name that we would consider pretty English, as it's not one of those names that has really crossed over (like Jennifer, Jessica, Mandy, Cindy, etc.).
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