View Message

One of my favorite books is "The Witch of Blackbird Pond", by Elizabeth George Speare. In the book, the main character, Kit, works as a schoolteacher for a while and entertains her students by composing little rhymes about them. One of the girls was named Charity, and this is what Kit writes:

---

Charity Hughes
Has new, red shoes

---

Ever since I first read that, that little rhyme gets stuck in my head every time I hear the name Charity. I think it's adorable.

This message was edited 8/18/2011, 2:31 PM

I like Charity. It is sweet & old fashioned and would fir in perfectly with little Emma, Sophia, and Lily. I would be happy to see it. I don't know why Grace is so popular, and even Faith & Hope get used fairly often, but poor Charity is left behind.

I think it's kind of tacky and I don't like the look or sound of it. I don't think I would like to meet a little Charity to be honest. It's uncommon but there are a lot of names that are uncommon that I would much rather see than Charity.

If it wasn't for the spoiled brat my brother's age in 4H; I might have liked this name, but she is a royal pain and has ruined the name for me.

I love its meaning and it is kinda of cute

Charity is an admirable virtue, but I don't like it much as a name. I feel there are negative associations tied to "charity cases," soliciting donations, and even a whole "hooker with a heart of gold" vibe from Sweet Charity.

---

I wouldn't be especially happy to run into a little Charity. I prefer the similarly underappreciated Mercy. I'd flip over meeting a Mercy.

I quite like it in a GP way. In a modern context, it's too tied to constantly being pestered in the streets by idiots with clipboards, demanding money.

I don't mind Charity but I do find it a bit pious-sounding. I know a sibset of Charity and Christian, which I think go well together but sounds very religious (which they're not)! I would like to see a little Charity though :)

I think "Charity? Charity case more like it". I don't like the sound, I think it's a bit tacky even by virtue name standards, and it has miles and miles of teasing and bullying material.

---

It does make a change from Lily, Sophia etc, but I'd much rather meet a little... I don't know... Hermione, Vivienne, Cordelia, Iris, Ivy, Genevieve etc etc... than any of them. Charity is more unusual than Lily or Sophia, but it isn't any "better". The only real thing it has going for it is that it's unusual and slightly quirky, but I find it far from charming. If Sophia was as uncommon as Charity, I'd choose the former any day, and Sophia is difficult to have strong feelings about as a name, and insanely common, so it's hardly interesting to me. Eh. I'm not sure how clear my point is but I hope clear enough?

---

So I don't really like Charity - I find it a bit twee and tacky and it has room to be terribly, horribly ironic if little Charity grows up to be mean spirited and tight-fisted. However, I guess I don't hate it. Meh. Each to their own, I guess.