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Edna
It seems that Edith & Esther have their followers, but no one seems to like Edna. I'm curious as to why - I love the name and would use it in a heartbeat. It has a neat history, lots of good namesakes and the sound is cute. Why is Edna denied love?
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That was my grandma's name and I agree it's nifty. I would have used her name if only it had been Edith. To me it's just aesthetic - the way the D and N come together isn't comfy for me. A click in my nose, or something.
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Edna Lee was the name of my ggm. It has always sounded very awkward to me, just clunky and graceless. While I don't love Edith or Esther, I can understand their appeal (especially Esther).
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It immediately reminds me of Edna St. Vincent Millay, the poet, but that is a very good association. :) I think it feels very warm, but alas, grandmotherly as well. It still seems more dated to me than Edith. Esther still feels grandmotherly to me too though.
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I like Edna as well. It was my great-grandmother's name.
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I don't know it seems a bit unfinished to me - like I expect more after the Ed-. Maybe this is why I like Edina. I like Enid too. I think Edna sounds funny in my accent too, like I can't say Ethna/Eithne properly.
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Edna was my German great-grandmother's name. She went senile near the end, and yelled at the TV a lot while pissing herself, so it's just not a happy name to me. All I can think of is the decay of life. :/
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I like Edna as well. Maybe the Enda-lovers just tend to keep quiet about it.
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I don't specifically dislike it, but I don't find the "ed" sound to be an attractive beginning for a feminine name.ETA: Actually I just searched other ed- names, and I do like Edurne and Edwige. I guess it must also have to do with what follows Ed-! In Edna's case, I think maybe it's that the Ed is the feature of the name. -Na isn't particularly exciting.

This message was edited 2/9/2011, 2:30 PM

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Ed. I think the masculine nn isn't well liked even for a man, let alone a woman. That's my theory anyway.I like Edna well enough. I just prefer Eithne, (which my mother's dialect pronounces as "ET-nuh,") better. It's similar to a favorite of mine, Edme. I love the heaviness of Edme, compared to light-as-air Esme. So the Ed part of Edna doesn't bother me. We used to have regular on here that would use Edna for a dd some day, in honor of Edna St. Vincent Millay. :-) If I met a little Edna it would make my day. I love seeing almost any "old lady" name being reused. Where others see/hear "old lady" I see/hear "old soul."
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I don't know why ET-nuh sounds so much nicer than ED-nuh, but it does. It's probably the idea of anything with Ed in it for a girl (I don't like Edwina either).
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I like Eithne too - though my ex-employer's mother was and is a horrible woman called Eithne which spoiled the name for me a little. ET-nah is the usual prn through-out Ireland. The En-ya prn is very much a minority - it annoys me a little that it has gotten so well known :p
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Thank you.Now I don't feel so alone in the way I pronounce Eithne ("ET-nah"). I always felt I was swimming against the stream. Now I'll suggest it more. :-)
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Yes. It's actually the other way. The Enya prn is the minority. I knew an Eithne from Donegal who said it Ethna so I don't know how common the Enya way is in Donegal even. Enya, spelled this way, is rising in popularity in Ireland by the way.
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