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[Opinions] Finola, Désirée and Gangolf - three German name sightings
Today was a beautiful autumn day, so we were out and about - where I overheard these names:Finola was a little girl of about 1 1/2 or two years. When I heard her mother call her name, I first thought it was Fiona (which is not that rare here anymore); then she said her name again, and it clearly was Finola.
Finola is a name I was very fond of several years ago, then forgot all about it... but when I heard it on this little darling today... well, it could grow on me again.Désirée was about 4 years old. To be honest, I'm never really sure how I feel about this name, whether I like it or not. However, as it's not a name I hear all too often anymore, it was rather pleasant to see it used.Gangolf was a man in his late 60s (if I had to guess). The name is quite rare these days, so this was pretty exciting for me ;-)
(In case you are wondering: Gangolf has the same meaning as Wolfgang and is pretty much an inversion of this name.)
Oh, and while we are at it: I just read the name Pleasance. It was a girl's middle name.
So, what do you think of these names?
(By the way, I'm guessing on the spellings)

This message was edited 10/10/2010, 11:41 AM

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Not a fan of Desiree, regardless of the French pronunciation or the spelling it's still desire to me.
Finola is nice, but I find Fiona softer and prettier.
Pleasance is just nmsaa (as are most virtue/Puritan word names).BUT, Gangolf trumps them all! This name is just so gangly and unwieldy and cool! I will HAVE to use this on a character or a pet (can you just imagine it on a huge St. Bernard?).
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I absolutely love Finola, although that's not my favorite spelling. (Definitely the most usable one, though!) How exciting to have seen one!Desiree is nothing special to me. It's not terribly uncommon on those my age, and seems tacky and lower class to me.Gangolf is cool, only because it's so close to Gandolf. I do prefer Wolfgang, though.Pleasance I think is a cool middle name, but I think it would be a bit much as a first name.
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Finola is not bad.
Désirée is the name of a Swedish princess (one of our king's sisters), so it's considered a bit "noble" here. I can't say I like it very much, most Swedish Désirées tend to be called "Diarré" (diarrea).
Wolfgang is nice, because I like Mozart's music, but Gangolf seriously is one of the ugliest names I've ever heard. It makes me think of ganglia and golf playing.
Pleasance, naaah...
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I love Finola, even more than Fiona. Finola has the darling nn Nola built in. It's different, without being "out there." Id love to meet a little Finola one day. Lucky you. :-)I used to dislike Desiree. I always liked the sound and look of it. But I used to think desire = lust. I couldn't understand why a parent would want such a sexual name for their dd. Then someone pointed out that it really means "wanted." The name took on a whole new veneer. I was free to love it as I always wanted to. The nn Desi is to die for. Desideria ("dez-i-DEHR-ee-uh") is gorgeous as well.Gangolf? I never heard that one. I thought it was Gandolf, as in LOTR, until I read your entire post. Hmmm. It's certainly a fun name, as is Wolfgang. Sure, I could get into it. Pleasance as a mn is OK. I prefer Patience.
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