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[Opinions] Names from Film Class- characters of early cinema
I am taking a film class this summer and right now we are still exploring early cinema from its conception in the late 19th century up into the early 1940s with Citizen Kane. Not all of the characters had names during the silent film era portion but here is a list of names I have compiled so far from films we have seen so far in whole or in part. Let me know what you think. Alan, Arlette, Austen, Barbara, Benjamin, Bertha, Billy, Cesare, Charles, Cosmo, Diane, Duke, Elsie, Emily, Ezra, Flora, Francis, Jeffery, George, Georgia, Gobin, Grigory, Gus, Guy, Hank, Harold, Harry, Herbert, Horace, Hugh, Jack, Jane, Jedidiah, Jerry, Jim, Jimmy, John, Johnny, Justine, Kitty, Laura, Leo, Loti, Lydia, Mabel, Mamie, Margaret, Mary, Matilda, Masha, Nan, Natacha, Oliver, Phillip, Phoebe, Pierre, Randolph, Raymond, Ruth, Sammy, Sara, Sergius, Silas, Simone, Susan, Tom, Wade, Walter, William, Valentine (F)Please rate my "Names I would Use" list & "Backup Favorites" list. Feel free to rate some of my other lists too if you have the time.
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/223226/138473

This message was edited 7/2/2022, 10:15 PM

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Dislike:
Alan
Arlette
Austen
Barbara,
Bertha
Cesare
Charles (but I enjoy Charlie)
Cosmo
Duke
Flora
Francis
Jeffery
George (despite it being a family name)
Gobin (goblin? lol)
Guy (just so boring)
Hank (also family name)
Harold
Harry
Herbert
Horace
Hugh
Jerry
Jim
Justine
Kitty (cute nn for a child with the name of Katherine)
Laura (yawn)
Loti
Mabel
Mamie
Margaret
Masha
Nan
Natacha (maybe Natasha)
Pierre
Randolph
Raymond
Ruth
Sergius: Not fun to say. Sounds like a disease.
Simone: Slippery.
Susan: Whiny and controlling.
Wade
Walter
Valentine (LOVE Valentina though)Like:
Benjamin
Billy (nn for William, also a fond family name)
Diane (family name, but I prefer Diana by a lot)

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These caught my attention:Arlette: this does feel remarkably early Hollywood. Curly hair, 1920s dress, singing in a café? Arletta would actually be very pretty.
Bertha: one of these undeniably ugly names it's very hard to see the appeal of. It makes me think of Rochester's first wife in Jane Eyre.
Cesare: makes me think of Cesare Borgia. It's lively, but scheming.
Grigory: this, in turn, makes me think of Rasputin. Scheming, but in a cantankerous way.
Sergius: cold, stern, all of its forms feel very Russian. I once met Polish siblings named Sergiusz and Natasza - I wonder if they had any Russian heritage. Both are Polish names, but with an undeniably Russian feel.
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