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I have three very positive associations with the name Harlow. The first is with Old Hollywood actress Jean Harlow, the original blonde bombshell / platinum blonde. She made it sexy long before Marilyn Monroe. Her roles were always scrappy, (almost annoyingly) blunt working girls. But in real life she was as sweet and opposite to that as can be. Everyone loved her and felt sorry that her domineering mother made her life miserable. And then she died at 26 from renal failure. So sad. I never thought she got enough recognition.

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Secondly, one of my favorite bone china patterns (and I'm a huge china fanatic) is Harlow by Royal Doulton. It looks like a band of Tudor rose motif. It's very un-frilly.

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And finally, I love feminine names ending in an "o" sound like Consuelo, Margot, Isabeau, Meadow, Rosario, etc.

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So I'm predisposed to love, or at least like, Harlow. But I have to balance all of this out with two big negatives: other people's surnames as fns and trendy celebrity names. Occasionally I've been known to look the other way with other people's surnames as fns, but usually it's because they honor someone very distinguished, like authors Flannery O'Connor or Sidonie Colette.

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On balance, I have to say no to Harlow, unless it's a family surname for you. And even then I prefer it in the mn position. Could I interest you in Harmony instead?

This message was edited 2/1/2013, 12:27 PM