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[Opinions] Pipsan
Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen and his wife, weaver Loja Saarinen, had a daughter named Pipsan who became an interior designer. For those who are looking for a full name for the nn Pippa, and are reluctant to use Philippa because of the Middleton fame conundrum, could Pipsan work instead? Style-wise, it fits right in with all the names ending in "n", such as Tamsin. I have no idea where the Saarinen's got the name--whether it was traditional or whether they, as artists, created it. For those who want to dig further, Pipsan married a man named Robert Swanson.What do you think?

This message was edited 4/12/2012, 5:33 AM

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It may sound fine in Finland, but to my American ears it sounds like a stomach remedy.
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Reminds me of Pepcid AC.
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Piss panthat's what I immediately misread it as. Pipsan is OKish but the threat of "piss pan" turns me off of it. Also, if one is worried about "Middleton fame conundrum" I'd think they'd opt for a completely different name all together. I mean, "Pippa" is probably going to bring to mind Ms. Middleton before "Philippa" does
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lolnice.
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I agree with Malin, I think it's a Swedish nickname. I'm pretty sure Eliel (who whole name was Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen, wow) was Swedish-speaking Finn. Although I don't know how Eva-Lisa became Pipsan, but then nicknames don't have to make sense. Pipsan definitely isn't common here.I think Pipsan is very youthful - I imagine a very lively 5-year-old little girl wearing yellow dress. :) I can't really see it as a full name. What about Phillipa? It's still very close to Philippa, but different spelling at least.
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I know a Pipsa here in Finland, but haven't come across Pipsan. I prefer Pipsa, though I love Tamsin.
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it sounds like medicine or soda pop to me...Like Pepcid with a Pepsi flavor.
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Sounds like a cutesy Swedish nickname, I'm guessing that's what it is too (as Swedish is a minority language in Finland). An English "translation" could be "Peepsy", "Cheepsy" or something like that. Not very full-namey to me. ;)
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According to the website for Eero, her name was actually Eva-Lisa. It is cute! - sounds vaguely Japanese with the -san ending. No idea if it's a common Finnish nn, hopefully Saana will be able to help with that :)
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I gleaned the info from the November 2009 World of Interiors article about Saarinen's house in Michigan.
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