Message: "Algernon?" - Behind the Name

[Opinions] Algernon?

by Anthroponomastics

6/16/2009, 5:51 PM

WDYT? Anybody here like it? Not that I'd use it, but I really like it.
You know, it wasn't just used by the nobility...it was also the name of one of the really nice nerds in the video game Bully.
I normally pronounce it Al-jer-NON, although I sometimes pronounce it "Al-jer-nun" or "-nin." Which pr...1st, 2nd, or 3rd?
Any combos?

#Algernon

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- Clockwork

6/17/2009, 10:08 AM

Algernon is a wonderful name, I pronounce it AL-jer-non. It reminds me of Charles Algernon Swinburne, the controversial English poet. I can't think of any good combos right now, perhaps Algernon Edgar or Algernon Eustace?

Algernon is in great danger of getting "Al" as a nn. And that's dreadful.

- Aileena

6/17/2009, 12:10 AM

1st pr, and it is a wonderful name.

I would use it in my PNL, except that it's already the name of my large stuffed animal squid (I like him better than a teddy bear).

- Wordsmith

6/16/2009, 8:50 PM

I love Algernon!

- Mildred (Mildred.)

6/16/2009, 7:18 PM

I would use it!

I love it and it is completely usable imo. I think Algie is sweet. I pronounce it AL-jur-non.

- Alda

6/16/2009, 6:56 PM

It makes me think of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. :) I pronounce it AL-jer-non.

- Guinevere (vomiting)

6/16/2009, 6:43 PM

I love it!

Everything about this name makes me smile.

- Avis

6/16/2009, 6:18 PM

I don't particularly like it. I'd pronounce it Al-ger-NON; I've never heard it a different way.

All it reminds me of is the book "Flowers for Algernon" and because of that I couldn't use it.

- Violet Serene (heron) +5

6/16/2009, 6:04 PM

I think it's fantastic, but it's not my style at all. I LOVE the meaning. I've used it on a story character (who had a moustache of walrus proportions).
I say AL-jer-non. I suppose your 1st one would be more correct given the name's French origins.

- Anthroponomastics +4

6/16/2009, 6:07 PM

That's cool that you've used it on a guy with a forest for a moustache. Makes sense. Was he some weird Civil War veteran?

- Violet Serene (heron) +3

6/16/2009, 6:07 PM

Actually no, he was a primary school teacher! lol.

- Anthroponomastics +2

6/16/2009, 6:11 PM

Whoa. Did his students make fun of him?
No, I just thought he'd be a civil war vet because the generals and other rich men had pretty huge moustaches then. So, my initial thought was, is Algernon's middle name Ulysses? As in Ulysses S. Grant?

- Violet Serene (heron) +1

6/16/2009, 6:49 PM

Lol no they didn't actually, he wasn't really a main character. He was the teacher of my main character (a girl called Justine) whose brother went missing. A psychic contacted Justine's family claiming to know about the missing kid, and Algernon (Mr Inglefinger - I actually collected that LN from a real person!) debunked the whole idea of psychics for Justine. He was a cool character, the sort of teacher who talks to their students like equals. Justine thought he was awesome and loved his name (she always said 'Algernon' in her head when she said Mr Inglefinger).

Ulysses would be an awesome mn though...maybe I can edit the story to put that in!

- Anthroponomastics

6/18/2009, 4:15 AM

Algernon Inglefinger...sounds like a character Charles Dickens created...

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