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[Opinions] Re: Persephone
I’ve loved Persephone for a long while now. It’s light and lyrical and slightly exotic, and I love ancient mythology names so this has been a favorite for a long time. I think the "to destroy/murder" meaning isn’t exactly true - the more likely meaning is probably "female thresher of grain", from Proto-Greek "perso-" ("sheaf of grain") and Proto-Indo-European "*-gʷn-t-ih" ("to strike"). Considering that Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, I think this makes more sense than the meaning most people believe.
I don’t really think I would use the name anyway, though, as it’s pretty long and might be difficult for others to spell/pronounce.I could definitely see it rising in popularity as Penelope and Stephanie’s successor - which means the "phony" sound doesn’t bother people at all (including me).I don’t really care for Perseus or Percival. Percy wouldn’t be too bad of a nickname for those, though I prefer Seph and Sephie for Persephone.Persephone beats Penelope any day of the week. While Penelope is sweet, it’s gotten overused and feels kiddish now.
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Persephone developed separately from Demeter, and the connection as her daughter was a later myth that would have happened after her name had been etymologically formed.In myth she is referred to with fearsome epithets. She’s a scary goddess - not a grainy one.
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