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It's intriguing isn't it? I saw it in my name dictionary, which says it probably comes from an older name with the same element as Richard. I don't really like the sound of it either, honestly. If it were pronounced rish-mul instead of ritch-maul I would like it more. I think it's sort of ugly ... uglier than Gretchen or Mildred (both of which I like, but I think they're widely thought to be ugly) but maybe that's only because those are more familiar to me. Alas. The letters of Richmal look pretty together, anyway.

This message was edited 2/23/2013, 4:56 PM

I don't like it. It doesn't look right to me.

I think it's a MUCH uglier sounding Rachel. Do not like.

My first thought was that it ought to be Richmalt and they should sell it to put in your milk every morning to make a malted milk.

From a name-nerdy perspective, I love it. I think it would be great to have, as a family name. Richmal Crompton of the Just William books was a relatively recent bearer in a long line of related Richmals dating back to at least the 11th century. Not buying the BtN etymology; medieval scholars seem to think it's from an earlier version, Richemay, which may be related to Richard.

This message was edited 2/23/2013, 6:20 AM