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Help[Opinions] Ramona & Beverly
Beverly Cleary, the author of a bunch of books I grew up reading including the Ramona Quimby stories, died yesterday - she was 104!
This makes me think back on the name Ramona: her books were the only place I'd ever seen that name, so Ramona Quimby IS Ramona to me. I think Ramona also influenced my love of "unusual naming" because she loved the names of cars (I remember how she thought "Chevrolet" was the most beautiful name ever) and thought Aston Martin would be a good name for a person.
What do you think of the names Ramona and Beverly? I think Ramona has a good chance of revival, personally. A small one maybe, but still. It's at the bottom of the charts but it's creeping up there! I love how it's beautiful but also very no-nonsense; it has the same energy as Vera, Irene, Eleanor, and Freya to me, and those are all climbing. Beverly is definitely not ripe for re-use yet, I know, but I still love the energy it has, a kind of stern domesticity, highly sensible but still refined. Aprons with pearls. Jeans and modest gold hoop earrings. Magazines on the side table in the den. "Bev" is kinda cute, I think, and "Bevvie" as a nickname is absurdly satisfying for me. In fact, I think I might like Beverly more than Ramona!
This makes me think back on the name Ramona: her books were the only place I'd ever seen that name, so Ramona Quimby IS Ramona to me. I think Ramona also influenced my love of "unusual naming" because she loved the names of cars (I remember how she thought "Chevrolet" was the most beautiful name ever) and thought Aston Martin would be a good name for a person.
What do you think of the names Ramona and Beverly? I think Ramona has a good chance of revival, personally. A small one maybe, but still. It's at the bottom of the charts but it's creeping up there! I love how it's beautiful but also very no-nonsense; it has the same energy as Vera, Irene, Eleanor, and Freya to me, and those are all climbing. Beverly is definitely not ripe for re-use yet, I know, but I still love the energy it has, a kind of stern domesticity, highly sensible but still refined. Aprons with pearls. Jeans and modest gold hoop earrings. Magazines on the side table in the den. "Bev" is kinda cute, I think, and "Bevvie" as a nickname is absurdly satisfying for me. In fact, I think I might like Beverly more than Ramona!
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I like them both. Ramona is very tied to the BC series, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Hey, there are far worse fictional heroines to be named after! I think it's very cute.
I also like Beverly a lot, but it never gets any love on BtN. I think it's bright and enthusiastic and charming.
Anyway, it's odd that Beverly Cleary just died, because I reread the Ramona series a few months ago. I hadn't read them since I was a kid, but they still held up. I love the fact that BC wrote about everyday families with everyday problems, and did it in a funny, engaging way. What a great writer and person. She will be missed.
I also like Beverly a lot, but it never gets any love on BtN. I think it's bright and enthusiastic and charming.
Anyway, it's odd that Beverly Cleary just died, because I reread the Ramona series a few months ago. I hadn't read them since I was a kid, but they still held up. I love the fact that BC wrote about everyday families with everyday problems, and did it in a funny, engaging way. What a great writer and person. She will be missed.
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Ramonas in pop culture ...
I just remembered, and had to look it up in V's copy, but in Ramona Forever, Ramona is irritated by her friend Howie's uncle singing "Ramona, I hear the mission bells" and is tired of having grownups sing that whenever they first meet her.
So evidently, even fictional characters don't escape popular associations. lol
I just remembered, and had to look it up in V's copy, but in Ramona Forever, Ramona is irritated by her friend Howie's uncle singing "Ramona, I hear the mission bells" and is tired of having grownups sing that whenever they first meet her.
So evidently, even fictional characters don't escape popular associations. lol
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I looked up the song, because I'd never heard it - it's quite pretty!
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I never heard that song in my life, so I had no idea what Uncle Hobart was talking about. Now there's a name you don't hear much, anymore.
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I haven't heard the song in forever and had to look up who it's by: Jim Reeves.
Hobart is pretty unusual. But, talking of kid lit, another childhood favorite, Jamie Gilson, had a series of books where the main character was a kid named Hobart "Hobie" Hanson." "Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub" is the first in that series, and it's worth a read.
Hobart is pretty unusual. But, talking of kid lit, another childhood favorite, Jamie Gilson, had a series of books where the main character was a kid named Hobart "Hobie" Hanson." "Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub" is the first in that series, and it's worth a read.
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Ramona Quimby also thought Bendix (after the washing machine) was a good name for her doll, but that doll met a grisly demise when Ramona played Hansel and Gretel with her and put her in the oven, which also ruined Beezus's birthday cake. What a little twerp Ramona could be.
I think Ramona is a very cute name, and suits the character very well. I know a Ramona, she's Filipino and her first name is actually Maria, which is also the first name of her three sisters. She's the only Ramona I've known in real life.
Beverly is okay, your description is actually a pretty good one. It was a few generations ahead of its time in terms of style, and that's probably the only reason it's not more popular now. Kinda like Hillary.
I think Ramona is a very cute name, and suits the character very well. I know a Ramona, she's Filipino and her first name is actually Maria, which is also the first name of her three sisters. She's the only Ramona I've known in real life.
Beverly is okay, your description is actually a pretty good one. It was a few generations ahead of its time in terms of style, and that's probably the only reason it's not more popular now. Kinda like Hillary.
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Hello,
Speaking from a UK perspective here. Beverly the first of all I can’t imagine for a baby as I think of 80s soap star and Bevvie just makes me think of drinks (as in beverage, « who is getting the next round of bevies? »). Ramona I do love though. It is unique and cool, feminine without being girly.
Speaking from a UK perspective here. Beverly the first of all I can’t imagine for a baby as I think of 80s soap star and Bevvie just makes me think of drinks (as in beverage, « who is getting the next round of bevies? »). Ramona I do love though. It is unique and cool, feminine without being girly.
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Haha yes I should have said that the reason Bevvie is so satisfying is because of the "beverage" thing! It makes me think of a well-stocked bar and pool parties in suburbia and day drinking while making cupcakes for the PTA meeting.
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