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Help[Opinions] Re: Ophelia
in reply to a message by lola77
I love your kids' names, especially Malcolm. Both Scarlett and Malcolm are warm, approachable, and have just the right touch of the dramatic. They're just lovely, lovely names.
I'll be upfront and admit that I hate Ophelia with a special passion. I think it's hideous, and everything about the name bothers me.
- It reminds me of "oaf" and "offal."
- The "I feel ya" thing and the "necrophilia" thing...whether you pronounce it with 3 or 4 syllables, there's a vile play on words just waiting to be discovered.
- The character from Hamlet, a crap association. Even if it doesn't bother you, it's one pretty much everybody is aware of. Which brings me to the biggest reason I hate it...
- Because the character from Hamlet is so wedded to the name, Ophelia is used over and over again by people and organizations working with "girls in crisis." Ophelia Project? Relational Aggression Disorder in girls. Ophelia's Place? Eating disorders. Reviving Ophelia? The impact on adolescent girls of consumerism and the media pressure to conform to unrealistic body images. It's a name often picked by people who want to evoke some kind of tragic imagery: A quick Google search pulls up a bajillion tear-filled blogs with Ophelia in the title, yet another Ophelia Project (this one about famous female authors and poets who have committed suicide), and even a California radio DJ named "Ophelia Necro" who plays "murder ballads and suicide dirges." Ick.
I can't think of any other name so well loved by namenerds that is so steeped in bad juju.
Obviously, I'm not going to like Ophelia in any sibset, but I especially don't like it with Scarlett and Malcolm. Adding tragic, drowned Ophelia to the mix seems to change the feel of the whole sibset, making it darker and colder. Suddenly, I see the "scar" in Scarlett and the "mal" in Malcolm in a way that I just don't usually notice them.
I'll be upfront and admit that I hate Ophelia with a special passion. I think it's hideous, and everything about the name bothers me.
- It reminds me of "oaf" and "offal."
- The "I feel ya" thing and the "necrophilia" thing...whether you pronounce it with 3 or 4 syllables, there's a vile play on words just waiting to be discovered.
- The character from Hamlet, a crap association. Even if it doesn't bother you, it's one pretty much everybody is aware of. Which brings me to the biggest reason I hate it...
- Because the character from Hamlet is so wedded to the name, Ophelia is used over and over again by people and organizations working with "girls in crisis." Ophelia Project? Relational Aggression Disorder in girls. Ophelia's Place? Eating disorders. Reviving Ophelia? The impact on adolescent girls of consumerism and the media pressure to conform to unrealistic body images. It's a name often picked by people who want to evoke some kind of tragic imagery: A quick Google search pulls up a bajillion tear-filled blogs with Ophelia in the title, yet another Ophelia Project (this one about famous female authors and poets who have committed suicide), and even a California radio DJ named "Ophelia Necro" who plays "murder ballads and suicide dirges." Ick.
I can't think of any other name so well loved by namenerds that is so steeped in bad juju.
Obviously, I'm not going to like Ophelia in any sibset, but I especially don't like it with Scarlett and Malcolm. Adding tragic, drowned Ophelia to the mix seems to change the feel of the whole sibset, making it darker and colder. Suddenly, I see the "scar" in Scarlett and the "mal" in Malcolm in a way that I just don't usually notice them.
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Thank you so much for such a detailed response...I've read it over a few times and it's been VERY helpful! It's funny because as much as I love the name, I am feeling that it does 'darken' the set and that's definitely not what I'm going for. It's such a shame because I really do love the sound.
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