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[Opinions] Dorothy and Agatha
Doomed to extinction, or beautiful and usable? Or somewhere in between? I like Dorothy nn "Dottie" a lot. I also really like Agatha nn "Aggie" but I fear she'd be lost in a sea of Addies and Abbys.
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I love both of these names. If I had to choose, I'd choose Dorothy. Agatha is beautiful as well Dorothy. Dorothy nn Dottie and Agatha nn Gatty. ----------Audrey, Martha, Sibyl, Phoebe, Veronica, Jaclyn, Victoria, Clara, Apolonia, Laurette, Stephanie, Tracy, AnnetteAnthony, Damien, Alexander, Valentine, Maximilian, Daniel, Vincent, Matthew, Christopher, Russell, Randall, Nicholas----------------Rate my PNL: http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/166097/112886
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I'm surprised so many people think Agatha is less ugly than Dorothy!
Dorothy sounds more like Isidora and Xanthe ... and has no negative sound-associations for me. It's frumpy and antique, Wizard of Oz, but not ugly IMO. Dot sounds hipster. But, D-names are "out."
Agatha is as matronly and slightly more regal (A. Christie) but when I hear the Aga- I expect it to be followed by -ny or -nizing. Apparently this isn't an association everyone makes but for me it ruins the name completely and makes it seem ugly. Even Aggie pings my "agony" neurons. Aggression, agrarian, aggravating... nothing pleasant about it for me. Agh Guh Thuh. It's too bad, because the name Agatha should be appealing, based on its dignified past.
And Aggie also sounds like, you know, the Aggies ... alumni/students of any "ag" university? In particular Texas A&M - but I lived in Austin for a long time, so maybe that's just a regional association. A girl called Aggie in Austin would be assumed to be a reference.
Agata seems neater and younger to me, I'm not noticing the Agg as much in that and it makes me think of agate jewelry.I agree with those who said Dorothy may see a little usage but Agatha not very much.

This message was edited 4/12/2017, 2:40 PM

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I agree. That "Ag" sound is just so ugly. I had a childhood friend whose mother's name was Aggie. (Not sure whether or not it was a nickname, and if so, for what...I just remember Aggie.) I always wondered, even as a child, how she could stand it.
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Dorothy is on the rise here & so is Agnes. Agatha isn't yet, but I can see it happening. I like them both and hope you have one!
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I love Agatha. Dorothy is nice, but not nearly as nice as Agatha, imo.
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I think both are poised for a come-back and that Agnes somehow slide by Agatha in the race for style. I also really lot Dorothy nn Dottie. Aggie is not my style but I like Agatha better than Agnes right now. I would like to add Dolores as a hopefully-soon-appreciated gem. I simply adore Dolores.
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Somewhere in between. Agatha seems more easily mainstreamed, probably because an "Aggie" doesn't seem so out of place with all the Addies and Abbys, as you mentioned. That said, I don't think an Aggie would be lost amongst them, especially as I don't pronounce it quite the same ('a vs ə' on the first vowel).Dorothy is more unfashionable, I think, but it could also be fashionable-because-it's-unfashionable, if you know what I mean. Someone I went to high school with has a 3-year-old named Dorothy, so it's usable, even if it feels a little musty. Dorothea strikes me as a more sparkly alternative, but if the sort of folksy plainness of Dorothy is part of its appeal, Dorothea doesn't really have that.
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I think they're both totally adorable and fit right in with the old-fashioned-cute name trend. I encountered a toddler Dorothy recently, OMG SO ADORABLE. I never would've thought I liked Dorothy before hearing it on a little girl IRL. I do love Agatha though, and Aggie is as cute as they come. I think it sticks out from Addie and Abby, it's different.
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Hi !!!I love both names.
They have a similar vibe imo.But I definetly prefer Agatha. It is a gemstone and it means 'good'..everything I want!Dorothy is charming but I prefer Dorothea.
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Agatha is hideous, old, and harsh sounding like an ugly witch that could take part in Macbeth.Dorthy makes me think of a well-intentioned yet scatter brained domestic servant in the early 1900s.
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I'm fine with Agatha. Yes, it's dated but not terribly IMO. It's loads better than yucky Agnes. Dorothy: Not a fan. The name just sounds so dated and ugly. Just bleque. Not any pretty ring to it. Agatha is dated too but that atleast sounds pretty and soft.
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Dorothy, I think has a slim to fair chance of getting some moderate use. Not Dottie, which dates it more than it already is. I think Dorothy's kind of cute, though I wouldn't really say I liked it all that much.Agatha is just butt-ugly. Aggie is even uglier, if that's even possible. If my name was Agatha, I would pray every night that I was magically transformed into one of those Addies or Abbys.
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Dorothy is not doomed to extinction, I hope! It may not quite be beautiful, but it is friendly, down-to-earth, and so darn lovable. Dottie is adorable, as is Dot. I would also use Doro or Dori. I have no love for Agatha, but I don't think it's fair to let her be lost in the Addy and Abby sea. Aggie is quite different, I think, if not in sound in feel. I say usable.
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Oh, they're definitely not doomed to extinction. I feel like Dorothy is already being revived by fashionable parents, and Agatha could follow suit.I adore Agatha.
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Dorothy might make a comeback. I don't dislike it, though I don't love it either. I prefer Dorothea.I like Agatha (though not Aggie: sounds too much like haggy imo). I'm not sure if it's doomed or not, but I do think Grand Budapest Hotel made it seem a little more current/usable, and it reminds me of Agatha Christie.
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I think Dorothy is already making a comeback. It's gone up quite a bit in the past five years.
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I meant it might go up a bit farther, become more mainstream...right now it's about where it was 17-18 years ago...now trending up instead of down, but still, I would have thought it was weird/dated/rare back then.
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I don't like Dorothy or Dottie (even though my love for Dottie from A League of Their Own knows no bounds). It just sounds so... I don't know, like dingy and gray. Dorothys seem anemic and guilt-ridden in my mind. Agatha I like. Not as much as Agnes but close. I actually prefer it in full. Aggie kinda sounds like the sound you make when you're choking. Strange though, because I like Maggie.

This message was edited 4/11/2017, 5:05 PM

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I love Agatha and really like Dorothy and I think both are usable. I also like the nicknames you mentioned.Agatha is currently my favorite name and it's what I would use if I had a baby girl right now.
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I think Dorothy is coming back, but Agatha is doomed to extinction. I don't think either is beautiful. Dorothy is okay although not beautiful; Agatha is fugly. Dorothy is usable and Agatha isn't.
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Interesting. I would think of the two that Dorothy would be considered the 'fugly' one; it doesn't seem as feminine or as similar to many popular names as Agatha does to me. Thanks for your response.
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I really like Agatha as well as nn Aggie, I have Agnes on my list which is similar. While Dorothy isn't my personal taste, I still think it's a nice name; however, I don't like nn Dottie. Unfortunately, I don't see a near future revival for them.
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