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Help[Opinions] If you had to name a daughter one of the "Quadfecta" of stereotypical girl virtue names, which would you pick?
I was watching a movie about a girl named Hope this weekend, and it made me want to revisit the concept of stereotypical virtue names. If you had to choose one of the "Quadfecta" of traditional girl virtue names—Joy, Hope, Faith, or Grace—which would you pick?
When I was a teenager, I wrote a short story about a group of four sisters named after these virtues. It was meant to be an alternate reality version of Little Women, with my own twist on Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy. The sisters in my story were Catherine Joy, Helena Faith, (something) Hope, and Louisa Grace. But they mostly went by their virtue names: Joy, Faith, Hope, and Grace. To this day, I still think of those names as “sister” names.
Not too long ago, I wrote about running into twin girls named Faith and Hope, and that got me thinking again about which of these names I might use in real life. Theoretically, I think I still like Faith the most, but as I distance myself from my more fundamentalist religious background, the name now feels too tied to religious trauma. It no longer holds the same secular or general sense of perseverance that I once thought it did.
In practical terms, I might lean more toward Hope today—not just because of the character in the movie I watched, but because Hope can be a meaningful sentiment for anyone, regardless of background. It feels universally applicable and positive.
Grace is a beautiful name, but it feels a bit more weighted with nuance, for better or for worse. There are many interpretations of it, and some of them can be more complex or even burdened with expectations. Joy is also lovely, but I’d worry about the pressure to constantly embody happiness. It's a bit like the name Patience—there’s a societal expectation that goes along with it, and that might place more emphasis on public perception than on individual experience, compared to names like Hope, Faith, or Grace.
So, in the end, I think Hope feels the most fitting for me now—sweet, gentle and inclusive. Which would you pick?
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
When I was a teenager, I wrote a short story about a group of four sisters named after these virtues. It was meant to be an alternate reality version of Little Women, with my own twist on Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy. The sisters in my story were Catherine Joy, Helena Faith, (something) Hope, and Louisa Grace. But they mostly went by their virtue names: Joy, Faith, Hope, and Grace. To this day, I still think of those names as “sister” names.
Not too long ago, I wrote about running into twin girls named Faith and Hope, and that got me thinking again about which of these names I might use in real life. Theoretically, I think I still like Faith the most, but as I distance myself from my more fundamentalist religious background, the name now feels too tied to religious trauma. It no longer holds the same secular or general sense of perseverance that I once thought it did.
In practical terms, I might lean more toward Hope today—not just because of the character in the movie I watched, but because Hope can be a meaningful sentiment for anyone, regardless of background. It feels universally applicable and positive.
Grace is a beautiful name, but it feels a bit more weighted with nuance, for better or for worse. There are many interpretations of it, and some of them can be more complex or even burdened with expectations. Joy is also lovely, but I’d worry about the pressure to constantly embody happiness. It's a bit like the name Patience—there’s a societal expectation that goes along with it, and that might place more emphasis on public perception than on individual experience, compared to names like Hope, Faith, or Grace.
So, in the end, I think Hope feels the most fitting for me now—sweet, gentle and inclusive. Which would you pick?
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 11/17/2024, 8:27 AM
