Message: "Hella" - Behind the Name

[Opinions] Hella

by Wordsmith

5/3/2015, 4:53 PM

I recently finished reading Giovanni's Room, the protagonist of which has a fiancee named Hella. Having encountered the name multiple times in the book, I am officially smitten with it, even though its homonymous connection to "hella" (a slang variant of "very" or "really," e.g. "hella cool") probably renders it unusable in the United States. Does anyone else share my affection for this name? I love that it fuses the heartiness of Helga with the airiness of Ella -- I think it's a perfect medium!

Here are some combinations I've crafted:

Hella Antigone
Hella Audrey
Hella Beatrice / Beatrix
Hella Bernadine
Hella Bertille
Hella Bryony
Hella Catherine
Hella Dagny
Hella Dorothy
Hella Edith
Hella Eugenie
Hella Frances
Hella Francine
Hella Georgine
Hella Harriet
Hella Inez
Hella Ingrid
Hella Iseult
Hella Jeannine
Hella Josephine
Hella Judith
Hella Margery / Marjorie
Hella Marguerite
Hella Marianne
Hella Marigold
Hella Mathilde
Hella Maxine
Hella Miriam
Hella Phoebe
Hella Regine
Hella Rosalind
Hella Rosamund
Hella Rosemary
Hella Roxane
Hella Ruth
Hella Signy
Hella Sigrid
Hella Susanne
Hella Therese
Hella Vivien
Hella Winifred
Hella Xanthe
Hella Zoe

#Hella

This message was edited 5/3/2015, 4:54 PM

Replies

- Caprice

5/4/2015, 11:26 AM

I had a childhood friend called Helle, which is common in Denmark but also used to some degree here. Hella works fine here in Sweden (although I've only seen it once, I think), but I don't think it would work in an English-speaking country.

Hella Lotta Love, now that name would rock! ;)

- New_Chloe

5/4/2015, 11:24 AM

One of the main reasons I love the Helen family of names is because I love the nickname Hel. I think it's better than Viv, in terms of strength and sass. And Viv is pretty darn good. So needless to say, I like Hella.

These are great:

Hella Antigone - revenge personified!
Hella Dagny - a gun moll for sure
Hella Francine - tough as nails bottle blonde with a heart a' gold
Hella Inez
Hella Margery / Marjorie
Hella Maxine - ohh she'll take you OUT
Hella Roxane
Hella Vivien - the ultimate sass name. Hella Vivienne pleases me too - that extra ruffle really gives it an edge.
Hella Zoe

Great, great combos

- Joiya

5/4/2015, 11:19 AM

I want to love it, because it just looks so great and sounds lovely.

However, all I hear is Taylor Swift sayin:
"And to the fella over there with the hella good hair. Won't you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake!"

And, now Taylor Swift is stuck in my head.

- jennifer

5/4/2015, 4:04 AM

It could be a nn for Helena, also. It would be perfect for Queen Helena on The Royals (a new prime time soap on cable), but I'd probably still refer to her as Hel(l). I think that being close to Hell makes it more unusable than a slang term for an adverb. It's also one letter off of hello.

- 2angelgoats

5/4/2015, 3:43 AM

I've always loved Helle, but have never heard Hella before. Still, I really like it (though I still prefer Helle). I love your combos, too, especially Hella Susanne, Hella Francine, Hella Iseult, Hella Therese, and Hella Roxanne.

Other combos I like:

Hella Renee
Hella Marie
Hella Morwenna
Hella Sarian
Hella Jess
Hella Calypso
Hella Tamsin
Hella Soleil
Hella Briony
Hella Cassandra
Hella May
Hella Louise
Hella Furaha

- Julia (JuliaF) +1

5/3/2015, 6:25 PM

Well, I live in Northern California, heart of the "hella" epidemic, so it gets a NO WAY from me. Even if I'd never heard of hella being used as slang, it's just way too close to hell.

- queenv (guest)

5/4/2015, 3:19 AM

Yes, that's what I was going to say, that aside from "hella", it's too close to "hell".

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