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Help[Opinions] Smilla
Do you like Smilla?
This is the meaning, taken from this site:
This name was invented by Danish author Peter Høeg (for the heroine of his 1992 novel 'Smilla's Sense of Snow'), who based it on Danish smil "smile" and the Greenlandic name Miillaaraq "humming (of an insect)".
This is the meaning, taken from this site:
This name was invented by Danish author Peter Høeg (for the heroine of his 1992 novel 'Smilla's Sense of Snow'), who based it on Danish smil "smile" and the Greenlandic name Miillaaraq "humming (of an insect)".
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Replies
It sounds pretty, but a bit girly and not very mature to me. And it is invented and based on a word, which makes me not like it that much.
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Well, *I* thought of Smelly Smilla, lol. No, I don't like it, and I would never want it to be MY name. Eek.
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Also liked the book but don't like the name much. The original Greenlandic name is pretty cool though.
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That's what I thought of, the book.I didn't know it was an invented name.
I'm not fond of the name, it always seems to me that it should be Similla.
I did like the book, though!
I'm not fond of the name, it always seems to me that it should be Similla.
I did like the book, though!
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Nms, but I think it's kinda cool in sort of the same way I think Filippa is kinda cool: the meaning is animal related, and I am weirdly reminded of mouths.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 9:11 AM
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Meh, awfully close to Smella, which makes me think "smelly".
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I’m not a fan of it at all. It comes off as made-up, childish, and insubstantial to me.
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I like the meanings! It reminds me of Bismillah too which isn’t strictly positive or negative, but because of that Smilla seams kind of incomplete to me. It’d be cool to encounter one though!
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I think “Smelly Smilla” would be a pretty easy taunt for would-be bullies. Maybe it would work in Denmark, but I don’t think it would work in any predominantly English-speaking culture.
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Because being called “smelly” is the worst thing that could happen to a kid
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Well it’s certainly not pleasant? Would you have liked your childhood nickname to be smelly?
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It’s better than a lot of things people are called at school.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 1:57 PM
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I actually can't think of anything I'd less want to be called than "smelly". I'd rather be called a b---ch, a slut, a whore, garbage, a moron, a dolt, a hypocrite, a Trumpanzee, a libtard, a particularly awful accusatory name that was once used here on this site, than "smelly". I'm not really knowledgeable on what kids call each other, but any kid version of those, I'd rather be called.
There is something uniquely humiliating about being told one smells bad. It's never happened to me, but I cringe in sympathy when I hear of it happening to others. There was a young woman at my former workplace about whom complaints were made on that front (I never noticed it myself) and my boss had to speak to her about it. Just hearing about it, I felt my face start to turn red in empathetic sympathy. I told my boss (we had a personal as well as professional relationship at that time) that if that were me, I would have gone home and cried.
So yeah Smilla not good IMO lol.
There is something uniquely humiliating about being told one smells bad. It's never happened to me, but I cringe in sympathy when I hear of it happening to others. There was a young woman at my former workplace about whom complaints were made on that front (I never noticed it myself) and my boss had to speak to her about it. Just hearing about it, I felt my face start to turn red in empathetic sympathy. I told my boss (we had a personal as well as professional relationship at that time) that if that were me, I would have gone home and cried.
So yeah Smilla not good IMO lol.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 2:02 PM
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My mother actually used to call me Smelly Melly LN-ends in -elli
I am glad she has switched to calling me Missapelli which is what I caled myself before I could say my whole name.
Luckily no one at school every caught on to Smelly and Melissa being able to be an insult because I was bullied enough.
I am glad she has switched to calling me Missapelli which is what I caled myself before I could say my whole name.
Luckily no one at school every caught on to Smelly and Melissa being able to be an insult because I was bullied enough.
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Agreed! I’d absolutely hate to be called smelly.
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Smelly is a pretty lighthearted word and I’ve personally been called worse things. I’ve known smelly and stinky be used affectionately. Pretty sure I’ve even called my so stinky. Smellies can also mean toiletries and perfumes here.
And besides, smelly here was suggested a potential alliterative nickname, not an actual descriptor. Being called smelly because it’s similar-ish to your name is different to being called it because you actually smell bad.
And besides, smelly here was suggested a potential alliterative nickname, not an actual descriptor. Being called smelly because it’s similar-ish to your name is different to being called it because you actually smell bad.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 2:08 PM
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Exactly. Also, honestly, if children want to find something to tease about, they will. Nearly every girl I knew called Ellie (and there were lots at my school) was called Smelly or Smells. A Melissa was called Smelissa. They got very creative with my name, Laurel, which they turned into 'loo roll' (toilet paper to you non British).
If you're going worry about that kind of thing, then you're going to have a very small pool of names to choose from
If you're going worry about that kind of thing, then you're going to have a very small pool of names to choose from
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I can't think of a context in the US where 'smelly' is positive. It's synonymous with stinky. You're disagreeing with a bunch of Americans, so it makes sense they're not seeing your side here.
If an adult said something was smelly, it does seem light-hearted but for young kids, it's about as insulting as you can get before getting into "bad words" territory (and by bad words, I mean child bad words. Like when I was 5 or 6 I said something was "stupid" and a classmate gasped in horror).
Not for kids, I don't think.
If an adult said something was smelly, it does seem light-hearted but for young kids, it's about as insulting as you can get before getting into "bad words" territory (and by bad words, I mean child bad words. Like when I was 5 or 6 I said something was "stupid" and a classmate gasped in horror).
Not for kids, I don't think.
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Smelly and stinky were only ever funny words to me as a kid. I don’t ever remember being called smelly and taking it personally enough that I did remember it. I have definitely called my SO stinky/smelly and other supposedly negative things in an affectionate way and have definitely been called supposedly negative things in an affectionate way. Maybe it’s an English thing.
But anyway. Names are not a bully’s first port of call as something to make fun of, and if you grew up or went to school with someone called Smilla you probably wouldn’t think anything of it, because it’s just their name. You don’t know what’s unusual as a kid, and by the time you do you’re kind of past the point of silly name calling like that, for better or worse. In retrospect I grew up with some kids with ridiculous names but I never thought anything of it because those were just their names.
But anyway. Names are not a bully’s first port of call as something to make fun of, and if you grew up or went to school with someone called Smilla you probably wouldn’t think anything of it, because it’s just their name. You don’t know what’s unusual as a kid, and by the time you do you’re kind of past the point of silly name calling like that, for better or worse. In retrospect I grew up with some kids with ridiculous names but I never thought anything of it because those were just their names.
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All insults can be said affectionately. Doesn't mean they never sting in the times when they're not said affectionately...or even when they are.
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Kids do get teased for their names, though. I can remember a boy in elementary school named Christopher being called Christopher Columbus and getting really mad about it. Another whose last name was Caspar was often called Caspar the Friendly Ghost. My grandson Abraham was teased on the playground for having the same name as Lincoln. I've read comments by women with my name, Janice, stating that they were called Jan-ASS, though that never happened to me. My sister's friend Leslie was called Lesbie.
In fact, the website on which I read the Jan-ASS comments asks people if they were ever teased for their names during childhood, and for pretty much every name, some people say yes.
These are ordinary names, so I think it would be even more likely with an unusual name like Smilla.
I'm just saying....you seem really invested in denying that kids are teased for their names, but they are.
In fact, the website on which I read the Jan-ASS comments asks people if they were ever teased for their names during childhood, and for pretty much every name, some people say yes.
These are ordinary names, so I think it would be even more likely with an unusual name like Smilla.
I'm just saying....you seem really invested in denying that kids are teased for their names, but they are.
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Teasing and bullying are completely different things, though. You might get teased for a name but not really bullied, or not often, and as I said, a name isn’t the first port of call for a bully. I’ve had people make puns out of my name, but calling it teasing would be a stretch, let alone calling it bullying.
I still think it’s a cop out of an answer and it’s thrown at anything that’s remotely unusual or foreign. And like I said before, I think it’s an attempt to play on a potential parent’s emotions.
Also, I read through my posts and I haven’t said that it doesn’t happen, ever. Just that it doesn’t “really” i.e. much.
Anyway, I have clearly had different experiences, being in an entirely different country and all.
I still think it’s a cop out of an answer and it’s thrown at anything that’s remotely unusual or foreign. And like I said before, I think it’s an attempt to play on a potential parent’s emotions.
Also, I read through my posts and I haven’t said that it doesn’t happen, ever. Just that it doesn’t “really” i.e. much.
Anyway, I have clearly had different experiences, being in an entirely different country and all.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 4:26 PM
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"it’s thrown at anything that’s remotely unusual or foreign" - nah, it's thrown at anything that sounds remotely like a word with negative associations to the hearer.
Also I think the assertion that teasing and bullying are COMPLETELY different things is a little off.
Idk, I'm just thinking "out loud" here I guess. To my ears and eyes Smilla seems really close to Smelly, and, like queenv, there are few things I'd rather be called than smelly. Eek. Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable! And the more I think about it the more I can totally see kids latching onto that and using it as a taunt. And I would probably bring that up if a friend asked me about using the name Smilla! Not to "play on their emotions" but...because they asked me for an opinion. And that is my opinion!
Also I think the assertion that teasing and bullying are COMPLETELY different things is a little off.
Idk, I'm just thinking "out loud" here I guess. To my ears and eyes Smilla seems really close to Smelly, and, like queenv, there are few things I'd rather be called than smelly. Eek. Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable! And the more I think about it the more I can totally see kids latching onto that and using it as a taunt. And I would probably bring that up if a friend asked me about using the name Smilla! Not to "play on their emotions" but...because they asked me for an opinion. And that is my opinion!
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And it’s thrown at foreign and unusual names. This board always has issues with foreign names in particular, to the point it’s not even worth bothering asking about them.
I disagree. Bullying is much more serious.
Smilla did not make me think of smelly. Smelly is a really infantile insult and I can’t believe it bothers people so much. Are people really saying that smelly is worse than bitch? I had to report someone for behaving aggressively towards me last month and it absolutely would not have been half as much of an issue if he was calling me smelly and not bitch.
Again, I have had a different experience and it’s completely valid that I share that without being told I’m wrong.
ETA: I feel like if a more established poster had said any of what I said there wouldn’t have been any issue at all, but this seems to happen to me a lot and people are always so ready to pile on (and defend the more established person if applicable).
I disagree. Bullying is much more serious.
Smilla did not make me think of smelly. Smelly is a really infantile insult and I can’t believe it bothers people so much. Are people really saying that smelly is worse than bitch? I had to report someone for behaving aggressively towards me last month and it absolutely would not have been half as much of an issue if he was calling me smelly and not bitch.
Again, I have had a different experience and it’s completely valid that I share that without being told I’m wrong.
ETA: I feel like if a more established poster had said any of what I said there wouldn’t have been any issue at all, but this seems to happen to me a lot and people are always so ready to pile on (and defend the more established person if applicable).
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 4:53 PM
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Smilla doesn't make me think of smelly at all, either...my most immediate word associations with it were: smile, smirky, smurf, smear...and smile seemed like the most obvious one, so the others didn't seem like that big of a deal, even though I don't like them.
But yeah, I would rather be called a bitch than smelly. If someone calls me a bitch in a malicious way, I assume they're immature or have anger issues. If someone called me smelly, I'd be embarrassed...unless it was a situation in which I'd be expected to smell, like if I'd just been exercising or something...
But yeah, I would rather be called a bitch than smelly. If someone calls me a bitch in a malicious way, I assume they're immature or have anger issues. If someone called me smelly, I'd be embarrassed...unless it was a situation in which I'd be expected to smell, like if I'd just been exercising or something...
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 6:51 PM
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Oh, I think of you as pretty established! I know you're new under this username, but I remember you from when you were here before.
I don't mean to pile on you. You're making some claims that several people disagree with, so we're voicing our disagreement.
I don't disagree that bullying is more serious, but I think what some kids think of as harmless teasing can have a really negative impact and I think what starts out as teasing can lead to bullying. I also notice that kids who get teased a lot seem to also be the targets of bullies. I didn't say they were the same or that one wasn't worse; I just said I don't think they're completely different.
I really would be more deeply offended if someone called me smelly than if someone called me a bitch. Someone calling me a bitch reveals something to me about that person. Someone calling me smelly tells me that I smell bad, which I would find incredibly embarrassing. I've been called a bitch before, btw, and it didn't really personally affect me that much because the use of the word signaled to me that I could write the person off.
I don't mean to pile on you. You're making some claims that several people disagree with, so we're voicing our disagreement.
I don't disagree that bullying is more serious, but I think what some kids think of as harmless teasing can have a really negative impact and I think what starts out as teasing can lead to bullying. I also notice that kids who get teased a lot seem to also be the targets of bullies. I didn't say they were the same or that one wasn't worse; I just said I don't think they're completely different.
I really would be more deeply offended if someone called me smelly than if someone called me a bitch. Someone calling me a bitch reveals something to me about that person. Someone calling me smelly tells me that I smell bad, which I would find incredibly embarrassing. I've been called a bitch before, btw, and it didn't really personally affect me that much because the use of the word signaled to me that I could write the person off.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 5:20 PM
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as a fellow Brit...
I think this might be a cultural thing, because I'd agree that 'smelly' is a playground kind of insult here and not something I'd take at all seriously - and yup, friends and family might say 'Oi Smelly!' in an affectionate way.
I think this might be a cultural thing, because I'd agree that 'smelly' is a playground kind of insult here and not something I'd take at all seriously - and yup, friends and family might say 'Oi Smelly!' in an affectionate way.
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Thanks for backing me up!
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agree
Call somebody a bitch, and they might or might not actually be one. It's a matter of opinion, up for debate.
But smelly is smelly; the vast majority of people agree that certain odors are unpleasant or disgusting, and aside from very little kids who might just say things like smelly or stupid or fat or ugly because they are general insults and not necessarily true, calling somebody smelly means exactly that, that they smell bad.
And being called smelly is especially insulting because it calls into question that person's hygiene and possibly their good sense. Like implying that they haven't got the sense to wash regularly or use deodorant, or that their home is unclean as well.
Remember "Harriet the Spy?" After the other kids got hold of her notebook and read all the nasty-but-true things she'd written about them, they started picking on her, and one of the things they did was pass a note (which Harriet intercepted, probably as they thought she would) that said she smelled. This bothered her so much that she actually got excused to go to the bathroom, where she sniffed herself all over and even washed her feet.
People do not want to be smelly, never mind get called smelly.
Call somebody a bitch, and they might or might not actually be one. It's a matter of opinion, up for debate.
But smelly is smelly; the vast majority of people agree that certain odors are unpleasant or disgusting, and aside from very little kids who might just say things like smelly or stupid or fat or ugly because they are general insults and not necessarily true, calling somebody smelly means exactly that, that they smell bad.
And being called smelly is especially insulting because it calls into question that person's hygiene and possibly their good sense. Like implying that they haven't got the sense to wash regularly or use deodorant, or that their home is unclean as well.
Remember "Harriet the Spy?" After the other kids got hold of her notebook and read all the nasty-but-true things she'd written about them, they started picking on her, and one of the things they did was pass a note (which Harriet intercepted, probably as they thought she would) that said she smelled. This bothered her so much that she actually got excused to go to the bathroom, where she sniffed herself all over and even washed her feet.
People do not want to be smelly, never mind get called smelly.
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I don't think this has anything to do with how established you are. People keep disagreeing and you keep going "no no no", making the thread longer, drawing attention to it, so more people are coming in (or "piling on" as you say) and more are disagreeing with you. (I always read the long stair-steppy threads personally). The more replies you make the more chance of response. What else are you expecting to happen? Agree to disagree and move on, or accept that more people are going to say something.
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I agree. I almost said that kids won't make the distinction before deciding to let it go, but I agree.
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Wow, I truly was not expecting this post to blow up with controversy. Really?
If I have spinach in my teeth, I’d want somebody to tell me. If I have toilet paper stuck to my shoe, I’d want to know. If a lifelong decision I might make for another human being could potentially line them up for easy bullying, I’d hope somebody might mention it.
I will continue to point out the associations I make with certain names, and the original poster can choose to consider or ignore them. People are here for opinions.
If I have spinach in my teeth, I’d want somebody to tell me. If I have toilet paper stuck to my shoe, I’d want to know. If a lifelong decision I might make for another human being could potentially line them up for easy bullying, I’d hope somebody might mention it.
I will continue to point out the associations I make with certain names, and the original poster can choose to consider or ignore them. People are here for opinions.
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also, why does it matter if there are worse things? Eating a live grenade would be “worse” than eating expired pork, but I still don’t want to eat expired pork.
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Dude. I just don’t think smelly is that big of an insult or that name based bullying is that common.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 3:05 PM
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Not really seeing any controversy here, but okay.
Like Olwen said, it’s an opinions board and opinions on opinions are allowed.
Like Olwen said, it’s an opinions board and opinions on opinions are allowed.
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Vaguely related: I used to know someone whose last name was Smillie, pronounced smiley. I made some comment along the lines of 'what a nice cheerful name' and he told me that his grandfather had changed it from Smellie - apparently at one point a fairly common Scottish surname!
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I’ve definitely met a few Smilies in my time - I wonder how many originated from Smellie!
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My parents knew a couple of Edgecombes who had originally been Sidebottoms...
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LOL, I didn't read this before I made my response.
Actually, for me, it's not the childhood bullies. It's that once Smilla is an adult, a lot of adults would probably think it without saying it to her face, but they'd say it behind her back. Not in as mean a way as child or teen bullies, more like a comment, but still.
Actually, for me, it's not the childhood bullies. It's that once Smilla is an adult, a lot of adults would probably think it without saying it to her face, but they'd say it behind her back. Not in as mean a way as child or teen bullies, more like a comment, but still.
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I just think it’s such a non-issue and kind of a cop-out as an answer, honestly. “Oh, there’s an alliterative nickname or pun you can make with this name, best not use it!” I’d hardly call “smelly” a taunt, and in all my years at school and all my encounters with bullies, no one has ever used someone’s name to bully them.
Also, smelly didn’t even occur to me. Like I said, I thought of Bismillah.
Also, smelly didn’t even occur to me. Like I said, I thought of Bismillah.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 9:19 AM
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When my initial response to a name is, "Ooh, childhood bullies will instantly think of this punny taunt, so I wouldn't use it," what I usually mean upon further reflection is, "My brain instantly associates the name with this punny taunt, so I wouldn't use it." Maybe one is a cop-out and one is more honest, but they both bring me to the same conclusion: this name is not something I would use!
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 1:37 PM
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Honestly, I would rather read “it makes me think of smelly” than “they will be called smelly at school and therefore you shouldn’t use it.” I almost think the threat of your child being bullied is a way of unwittingly playing on a parent’s fears in order to talk them out of a name, just because the person who says it doesn’t like it. But I’m psychoanalysing here.
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I could easily see Smilla being called "smelly" happening when I went to school. *shrug*
I tend to agree with you that most times when someone brings up bullying I think it's a stretch, but with Smilla I did automatically think "smelly" too.
I tend to agree with you that most times when someone brings up bullying I think it's a stretch, but with Smilla I did automatically think "smelly" too.
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But we can't start telling other people the reasons they shouldn't dislike a name. I've always felt that "It's dated" is a cop-out, but when I was put on the spot recently and asked if I thought it isn't a valid reason, I had to admit that it is.
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I think it’s fair to say that something is a cop out. Obviously you can’t make someone like a name but this is an opinion board after all, opinions ON opinions count too... and, for example, I used to use “oh it’s sooo trendy” as a reason to dislike a name, then I realized that was kind of silly, and I don’t have that reflexive “it’s trendy/modern so it’s bad!” reaction anymore.
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Oh, sure, but I still don’t think it’s a very good answer, especially because name bullying doesn’t really happen but people still give it as a reason not to use the name.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 4:22 PM
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When we give "name bullying" as a reason not to use a name, it's kinda like weasel words admitting that we ourselves would sneer at the name because we associate a word.
It's why I'd never remotely consider using Smilla, or renaming myself Smilla. No way! Would you?
It reminds me of the spoonerism "fart young smella"
It's why I'd never remotely consider using Smilla, or renaming myself Smilla. No way! Would you?
It reminds me of the spoonerism "fart young smella"
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 12:12 PM
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Well I’m not Scandinavian, but if I was, sure, I’d consider it. There are a lot of Scandi names I like but wouldn’t use because I don’t live there.
Can you please explain spoonerism and fart young smella? I think I’m missing something.
Can you please explain spoonerism and fart young smella? I think I’m missing something.
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A spoonerism when you take a phrase and switch the beginning letters around. “Fart young smella” is a spoonerism for “smart young fella.”
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Ah! Clearly I’ve been studying too hard because I was trying to unscramble it and just couldn’t!
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It sounds kind of rushed or incomplete to me if it rhymes with Willa.
This message was edited 5/3/2018, 6:45 AM
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I don't care for it. I see Simulac when I see it, which is a brand of formula.
I like Mila ok which has similar elements.
I like Mila ok which has similar elements.
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I liked the book, but hated the movie. I think Smilla is cute on a dog or cat, but I don't like it for a child.
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Oh it would be great for a cat!
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No, I don't. It's not unheard of or anything, but I don't like it. Milla is a very childish nickname, so Smilla has the same feeling for me and I don't really like the Sm- beginning.
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I don't like it - I don't like any names with 'sm' in them; it's a very unattractive sound to me. I loved the book though and I had no idea he invented the name for it
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