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Help[Opinions] Penelope
I am on a "Penelope" kick right now - enjoying the gentle fricative consonance of the letter "p" which shapes the sonorities of the long & short "e" vowels which follow it. Is this not the most beautiful of names? I guess I began to think of this quite a few week back; I think when a poster opened a query concerning vowels or consonants.
Thoughts???
Thoughts???
This message was edited 8/14/2016, 3:56 AM
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Replies
I love Penelope as well. I think it's pretty and sounds really nice.
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I love this name and I agree that it is beautiful. Penelope is one of my favorite characters from Greek mythology. Unfortunately, I could never use it because of a bad association with a person who has this name.
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I love diminutives, which, though actually as much a root as any other syllable, seem distant to the full formality. She might spell this pet name as Knell (like the ominous bell), or further distance it with Bell / Belle.
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It's lovely on paper, but I think hearing/saying it every day it would start to sound doofy because it's so rhythmic. Also it has a sort of ... passive quality, in my mind. A name for a hapless moonfaced character. My mother said she was almost named Penelope, and felt she dodged a bullet.
I like Penny though.
I like Penny though.
This message was edited 8/14/2016, 9:31 PM
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I love Penelope. It's very musical to me. I had never thought about the "pee" thing others have brought up. It just doesn't stand out to me, so I'm not bothered by it. I like the sound and I like the Classical reference. I regret that it's now quite popular.
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I like to think that Homer would be OK with the sudden fad of popularity; I honestly did not even know of it...
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Penelope is one of those names I just can't get into. It feels way too sweet and saccharine, almost sickly, like a stuck up princess. And the sound isn't appealing at all to me, I don't know why, since I like Calliope, but I can't make myself like it. I know a lot of others adore it too, but it's one of the few names I can't stand right now, sorry.
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I like it, sounds nice and I like Penelope in the Odyssey.
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I really only like the tiny "nel" part of the name, and if I wanted a Nell, I'd opt for Elinor/Eleanor or Helen.
It's firmly in my "nice enough for other people, but not for me" category.
It's firmly in my "nice enough for other people, but not for me" category.
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I'm with you on this one: it is very lovely with a longer history than most names and yet it was used in English as far back as, I think, the 16th century and has never been either too popular or ignored. Given enough daughters, which one never is, I'd certainly use it. I suggested it when our second daughter was born, as she looked very like her father's cousin Penelope (known as Penny), with long red hair; but I was outvoted. The possibility of Nell as an alternative nn is also attractive.
My only reservation is strictly personal: I knew a girl at uni whose name was Yvonne but, because she squeaked a lot as a baby, she became known as Penny Squeaker (it's OK, I don't fully understand it either!) and was always and only known as Penny from then on. Her other nn at uni was Lopes, as in Penny lopes ...
I'm amazed that people still stress about the rather ordinary syllable 'pee'! Surely that wouldn't be an issue after the age of about 8, if it ever was? Not one single Penelope that I've known, and I've known plenty, ever encountered it as a problem; but they were all known as Penny and not by the full form. Perhaps that matters?
My only reservation is strictly personal: I knew a girl at uni whose name was Yvonne but, because she squeaked a lot as a baby, she became known as Penny Squeaker (it's OK, I don't fully understand it either!) and was always and only known as Penny from then on. Her other nn at uni was Lopes, as in Penny lopes ...
I'm amazed that people still stress about the rather ordinary syllable 'pee'! Surely that wouldn't be an issue after the age of about 8, if it ever was? Not one single Penelope that I've known, and I've known plenty, ever encountered it as a problem; but they were all known as Penny and not by the full form. Perhaps that matters?
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You know, my niece is sometimes called lil'P, and I never thought "pee" when I heard it. She is Penelope.
On the other hand, I probably will now...
On the other hand, I probably will now...
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That may not be so, hopefully...
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It's not that I think the "pee" syllable would be a problem or invite any teasing. It's just that I don't like it because it means, well, pee.
Actually that's just a part of it. "Piss" means the same thing so I started to imagine a name that has that sound as the last syllable and to be honest that wouldn't bother me as much. I guess mostly it is just a sound I don't like, and since it's at the end of the name, it's very noticeable.
Actually that's just a part of it. "Piss" means the same thing so I started to imagine a name that has that sound as the last syllable and to be honest that wouldn't bother me as much. I guess mostly it is just a sound I don't like, and since it's at the end of the name, it's very noticeable.
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Penelopiss
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Much better!
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I want to love Penelope but I can't. I enjoy the way it looks but I hate the "nelop" part of the name and how it sounds.
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I love it, but I hate the fact that it's gotten trendy.
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Is this not the most beautiful of names?
No, it isn't, and that's because of the "pee" sound at the end. It's a sound I don't like. Is this because "pee" is a colloquial synonym for "urinate"? Yes, yes it is. A lot of people here speak of sounds and syllables that they don't like and the fact that "pee" is a synonym for "urinate" (and a particularly childish one at that) is as good a reason as any to dislike a syllable.
I do, however, like the nickname Penny.
No, it isn't, and that's because of the "pee" sound at the end. It's a sound I don't like. Is this because "pee" is a colloquial synonym for "urinate"? Yes, yes it is. A lot of people here speak of sounds and syllables that they don't like and the fact that "pee" is a synonym for "urinate" (and a particularly childish one at that) is as good a reason as any to dislike a syllable.
I do, however, like the nickname Penny.
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"no, it isn't" is hysterical
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No, it's one of the most ridiculous, Muppet-like names around.
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I don't like Penelope. My inner child wants to taunt it with "pee pee, Penelope!" Its a geeky name for a girl, much like Preston, Spencer, and Howard on boys. I think it really only became popular after one of the Kardashians started using it, otherwise I can't imagine it becoming popular on its own except among the hipster set.
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I disagree with the popularity thing. Though the Kardashians certainly helped it along, it was gaining some traction among my generation at least.
There were enough cartoons and nostalgic references to Penelope and Penny in the 80s to make it a secret love for many.
My sister used it two years before the Kardashians and was appalled when there were the other girls with the name in preschool.
There were enough cartoons and nostalgic references to Penelope and Penny in the 80s to make it a secret love for many.
My sister used it two years before the Kardashians and was appalled when there were the other girls with the name in preschool.
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The name is Homeric; yet for all that - I understand the taunt, and previously feared that the other possible taunt involving the root might haunt the bearer. Thank you for letting me know of the geeky nature, as this would be something I would not even realize. Were you the one who posted that vowels or consonants query a few weeks or months prior? If so, I thank you - as I still think of that variable when I consider names.
I've never seen the Kardshians, though I admit that I've heard or seen reference to them on tabloids while in line at a cash register, yet I've never known the Kardashian reference to Penelope. I still think though that her heritage perpetuates the name far beyond the lifespan of the Kardashians, through the regular, ephemeral peaks and valleys of popularity.
I've never seen the Kardshians, though I admit that I've heard or seen reference to them on tabloids while in line at a cash register, yet I've never known the Kardashian reference to Penelope. I still think though that her heritage perpetuates the name far beyond the lifespan of the Kardashians, through the regular, ephemeral peaks and valleys of popularity.
This message was edited 8/14/2016, 5:41 AM
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