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Help[Opinions] Re: Magnolia Corvina Betancourt Jordan: seeking feedback on this name.
in reply to a message by Messalyle
Magnolia Lilith screams "demonic Southerner" if that's what you're going for...sometimes obvious names work fine for characters (I'm thinking of Scarlett O'Hara, Remus Lupin, Morticia Addams), but sometimes it's distracting; it depends on the story.
I wouldn't be shocked if there were a few real life young people named Magnolia Lilith, but I'd expect them to be about 10 and not goth, though their parents might have been goth.
I wouldn't be shocked if there were a few real life young people named Magnolia Lilith, but I'd expect them to be about 10 and not goth, though their parents might have been goth.
This message was edited 11/1/2024, 11:29 AM
Replies
Lol!
After discussing this both here and in another community, I'm coming to the conclusion that Magnolia Lilith might be a little much for an older Millennial woman to have been given at birth. I was looking for something that would reflect her Goth interests--she would have been more explicitly Goth as a teenager in the nineties, but would still carry the Goth spirit on some level--but still be believable for her Boomer parents to have given her. Both Magnolia and Lilith would have been in use well before her time, so I thought at first that that was enough to make it believable. Especially if I made her parents proto-Goths of sorts--fans of Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley and the Bronte sisters.
At this point I'm leaning more toward Magnolia Gwen, Magnolia Claire, or Magnolia Rose (especially since her mother is an ethnobotanist). Maybe even Magnolia Lee. If her parents liked Edgar Allen Poe, they would have seen the latter as a good reference to Annabelle Lee, the poem. And in present day, she would get a kick out of just happening to have the same middle name as Amy Lee's last name--yet that would still be a believable coincidence.
Anyway, the reason I was laughing was because I feel like she would appreciate being called a "demonic Southerner" regardless of what middle name I pick for her. She's just eccentric enough to turn away the stereotype of Southerners that are overly worried about what the neighbors would think, and she's proud of it.
After discussing this both here and in another community, I'm coming to the conclusion that Magnolia Lilith might be a little much for an older Millennial woman to have been given at birth. I was looking for something that would reflect her Goth interests--she would have been more explicitly Goth as a teenager in the nineties, but would still carry the Goth spirit on some level--but still be believable for her Boomer parents to have given her. Both Magnolia and Lilith would have been in use well before her time, so I thought at first that that was enough to make it believable. Especially if I made her parents proto-Goths of sorts--fans of Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley and the Bronte sisters.
At this point I'm leaning more toward Magnolia Gwen, Magnolia Claire, or Magnolia Rose (especially since her mother is an ethnobotanist). Maybe even Magnolia Lee. If her parents liked Edgar Allen Poe, they would have seen the latter as a good reference to Annabelle Lee, the poem. And in present day, she would get a kick out of just happening to have the same middle name as Amy Lee's last name--yet that would still be a believable coincidence.
Anyway, the reason I was laughing was because I feel like she would appreciate being called a "demonic Southerner" regardless of what middle name I pick for her. She's just eccentric enough to turn away the stereotype of Southerners that are overly worried about what the neighbors would think, and she's proud of it.
I like Claire and Gwen as MNs.
Lee is so common in the South as a MN that if someone claimed they were named it after Annabel Lee, I wouldn't believe them. Annabel - that spelling - sure maybe that'd be after the poem.
How about Ulalume or Lenore as a Poe reference (Lenore being more likely, Ulalume being more eccentric).
Magnolia was in use but would have been old-fashioned in the 80s. I've wondered before if it had a negative connotation during the Civil Rights era, since it's iconic Old South (I think of the song "Strange Fruit" which mentions magnolias). It probably wouldn't matter to readers now (mostly seems like a popular name for babies - clunky but I don't dislike it) and works if you want a slightly dark and less common flower name but still, idk. fyi. Another rare flower option could be Gardenia maybe; I know a millennial who was named that, and it also happened to be semi-popular in Brazil so is kinda multicultural.
Lee is so common in the South as a MN that if someone claimed they were named it after Annabel Lee, I wouldn't believe them. Annabel - that spelling - sure maybe that'd be after the poem.
How about Ulalume or Lenore as a Poe reference (Lenore being more likely, Ulalume being more eccentric).
Magnolia was in use but would have been old-fashioned in the 80s. I've wondered before if it had a negative connotation during the Civil Rights era, since it's iconic Old South (I think of the song "Strange Fruit" which mentions magnolias). It probably wouldn't matter to readers now (mostly seems like a popular name for babies - clunky but I don't dislike it) and works if you want a slightly dark and less common flower name but still, idk. fyi. Another rare flower option could be Gardenia maybe; I know a millennial who was named that, and it also happened to be semi-popular in Brazil so is kinda multicultural.
This message was edited 11/1/2024, 5:30 PM
Thanks for that feedback.
Your point about the middle name Lee is definitely worthy of consideration. Maybe I'll just stick with Rose, Claire, or Gwen. I don't think the name needs a Poe reference that badly, and people in the other community have been pointing out that part of the reason why they found the name "too much" and like a fan-fiction stereotype was the combination of a long, unusual first name and a long, unusual middle name. So I feel like it would be better to keep the middle name shorter and more common. I feel like I've got enough "darkness" for a non-self-chosen name for a Millennial as it is.
You also make a good point about the connotation Magnolia could have potentially had during the civil rights era. Magnolia is a multi-racial character. I don't know if possibly her parents would feel like they were "reclaiming" such an Old South name--like "It's our South too, dammit!" Gardenia does sound like it would be a good substitute should I decide to not go with Magnolia after all. Or, I just thought about Calla, as in the flower calla lily--but the thing about Calla is that it's been done. It's already been used in the novella I Lock My Door Upon Myself.
It doesn't surprise me that Magnolia has become popular for babies nowadays. A lot of previously old-fashioned names seem to be coming back. There's a little girl at my church named Magnolia. And when I've typed it in Facebook comments, a whole string of Magnolias pop up.
Your point about the middle name Lee is definitely worthy of consideration. Maybe I'll just stick with Rose, Claire, or Gwen. I don't think the name needs a Poe reference that badly, and people in the other community have been pointing out that part of the reason why they found the name "too much" and like a fan-fiction stereotype was the combination of a long, unusual first name and a long, unusual middle name. So I feel like it would be better to keep the middle name shorter and more common. I feel like I've got enough "darkness" for a non-self-chosen name for a Millennial as it is.
You also make a good point about the connotation Magnolia could have potentially had during the civil rights era. Magnolia is a multi-racial character. I don't know if possibly her parents would feel like they were "reclaiming" such an Old South name--like "It's our South too, dammit!" Gardenia does sound like it would be a good substitute should I decide to not go with Magnolia after all. Or, I just thought about Calla, as in the flower calla lily--but the thing about Calla is that it's been done. It's already been used in the novella I Lock My Door Upon Myself.
It doesn't surprise me that Magnolia has become popular for babies nowadays. A lot of previously old-fashioned names seem to be coming back. There's a little girl at my church named Magnolia. And when I've typed it in Facebook comments, a whole string of Magnolias pop up.