[Opinions] Re: Rosemary
in reply to a message by Pickles
In real life I think I'd think it was nice enough. Probably in need of a nickname (one that isn't Romy please... row me bully boys, row).
I like Rosemarie and Rosemarine /-a as middle names. I would like Rosemary more if not for it being "Rose plus Mary" - if it were distinctly the herb name. I like plain Rose much more than Rosemary.
I think it's a little unappealing to me because of the *way* it seems fashionable, in my view.
It seems old fashioned in a bland straitlaced way, like Dolores or Margaret or Virginia.
But there's no influence of a famous old lady Rosemary to make it real, nor a Hollywood star to glamorize it (like Audrey or Shirley) - just Rosemary Clooney, who isn't really a household name... and Rosemary's Baby. So I think it just seems like a new-again "plant name," and a cuter/younger form of Rose (everyone seems to like Rose, but not so many people would dare to use it as a first name) ... with a hipster nick ("Romy") and "sweet" sepia-toned "traditional" aesthetic. The kind of name that is used to name sofas and skirts in the catalogues of trendy shops pretending to be boutique-like. That doesn't make it bad, of course - but it is able to seem a little saccharine and cloying. Rosalind seems more interesting, and just Rose or just Mary would seem more striking and gutsy than Rosemary.
- mirfak
I like Rosemarie and Rosemarine /-a as middle names. I would like Rosemary more if not for it being "Rose plus Mary" - if it were distinctly the herb name. I like plain Rose much more than Rosemary.
I think it's a little unappealing to me because of the *way* it seems fashionable, in my view.
It seems old fashioned in a bland straitlaced way, like Dolores or Margaret or Virginia.
But there's no influence of a famous old lady Rosemary to make it real, nor a Hollywood star to glamorize it (like Audrey or Shirley) - just Rosemary Clooney, who isn't really a household name... and Rosemary's Baby. So I think it just seems like a new-again "plant name," and a cuter/younger form of Rose (everyone seems to like Rose, but not so many people would dare to use it as a first name) ... with a hipster nick ("Romy") and "sweet" sepia-toned "traditional" aesthetic. The kind of name that is used to name sofas and skirts in the catalogues of trendy shops pretending to be boutique-like. That doesn't make it bad, of course - but it is able to seem a little saccharine and cloying. Rosalind seems more interesting, and just Rose or just Mary would seem more striking and gutsy than Rosemary.
- mirfak