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[Opinions] Sheridan
I was watching a British comedy series Keeping Up Appearances tonight. One of the unseen but often referred to characters is the son of the female lead and is named Sheridan Bucket (It’s pronounced Bouquet). We also have a female tv actress in the uk called Sheridan Smith.The site says that Sheridan can be Masculine or Feminine but does it sound more Masculine or Feminine to you?

This message was edited 5/27/2021, 3:28 PM

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I think it should be pointed out for those who do not watch the show that it is only the main character, Hyacinth, who insists that her married surname Bucket be pronunced Bouquet. Her husband Richard and other characters on the show do NOT think that's how it should be pronounced. Hyacinth's continually "correcting" the pronunciation is one of the signature jokes about her character, who takes her pretensions to gentility to amazing heights. Her insisting on the "Bouquet" pronunciation is not to be taken seriously, just like her constant references to giving "candlelight suppers" and to her "Royal Doulton china with handpainted periwinkles" are just reminders of her ridiculousness. :)

This message was edited 5/29/2021, 10:35 AM

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My associations are hotels (Sheraton) and the US civil war general which puts it in a category with Sherman, Shiloh, Shenandoah, Paris. As a surname-as-FN, it's like Madison, Sullivan, Shannon, etc.I think it's unisex, but I'd like it a tad more as feminine (would remind me less of Sherman and more of Shannon that way). I guess it also reminds me of Ceridwen.Apart from my associations...genderwise, it sounds similar to how Leland (m) and Hollis (f) would to me.

This message was edited 5/28/2021, 8:19 PM

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Sounds masculine to me. I wouldn't be surprised to meet a female Sheridan but I don't like it. I'm most familiar with it from the old tv show Babylon 5 (the captain or whatever was addressed by his surname Sheridan).Despite the Sher-part it just sounds butch to me, like Brendan is Brenda+n but doesn't seem any less masculine for that.It seems sort of dated to me, because Sheri / Sherry and the sher-sound in general is pretty outdated. It saw some use for girls along with Madison but to me it seems almost seems like a forerunner to Madison, because the Ma- trend was new and the Sher- trend was old.

This message was edited 5/28/2021, 7:45 PM

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Ahh, I love SheridanIt’s very much unisex to me, but I personally would use it on a girl. Ellie doesn’t see the appeal, otherwise I would have it high on my list. I’ll probably use it for a character at some point.
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The first place I came across the name Sheridan was on the daytime soap opera Passions, where it was borne by a woman, so for me I think of a rich woman when I hear it.
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That was also the first time I encountered Sheridan as a personal name! Gosh, what a cheesy show, even by soap opera standards. Passions was definitely something else.
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Meant to go under the original postI think of a woman.I think it is super old fashioned and nerdy on a guy but on a girl it's weirdly fashionable. Think of a newer, cooler Madison.

This message was edited 5/28/2021, 6:42 AM

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"Sheridan Morley was born on Dec. 5, 1941, the day his father opened as Sheridan Whiteside, the grotesquely self-absorbed critic, based on Alexander Woolcott, in the West End production of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s comedy “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” It was this, along with Robert Morley’s admiration for the dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan, that explained his unconventional first name, which Mr. Morley preferred to hear reduced to Sherry." This, from the NY Times; father was Robert Morley and Sheridan wrote biographies of theatre celebs and broadcast on BBC and ITV. So, definitely all male! But, the way the world is going, it wouldn't be excessively odd to meet a woman named Reginald Clive Tobias ...

This message was edited 5/28/2021, 12:07 AM

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I see it as more masculine, but it works well on both.
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I know Sheridan is historically masculine (coming from a surname), but it has always seemed feminine to me. I actually quite like Sheridan, even if she is a little "East Coast boarding school" in the United States, so to speak (no idea what the prevailing image is across the pond).
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Feminine
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It slightly sounds more feminine to me. There was a girl who was a grade above me naned Sheridan. However, I don't mind it on a boy either.
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