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Help[Opinions] Dido
I'm reading The House of Fame by Chaucer, and have come across these lines:
[Dido] in hir chambre wente anoon,
And called on hir suster Anne.
I thought, wow, Dido and Anne! I didn't recall Dido having a sister, so I rushed to Wikipedia, and found out that according to some medieval accounts, Dido had a sister named Anna (or Anne).
I'm not going to ask your opinion on Dido, because I think what I dislike most about it – its similarity to the word dildo – will stand out most to others as well. Unless you like Dido, in which case, I'd love to hear your reasoning! Is it just the story that appeals to you, or do you actually enjoy the sound (DIE-doh is the pronunciation I'm assuming is most widespread in English, the original DEE-DAW doesn't appeal to me either).
~ What do you think of Dido's other name, Elissa?
~ Do you think Anne or Anna goes better with Dido?
~ What would you name a brother and sister to Dido and Anna or Dido and Anne?
It's hard for me to come up with a sibling for Dido and Anna, as they feel diametrically different. With the near cultural universality of Greco-Roman mythology and Anna's ubiquity, I felt I could go with pretty much any origin I pleased. Any siblings had to have similarly classic – or at least classic-feeling – names and be short and simple. Hence: Dido, Anna, Jude, and Rosa. But IDK. Those feel too dull with Dido – what do you think?
masculine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124079
feminine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124080
[Dido] in hir chambre wente anoon,
And called on hir suster Anne.
I thought, wow, Dido and Anne! I didn't recall Dido having a sister, so I rushed to Wikipedia, and found out that according to some medieval accounts, Dido had a sister named Anna (or Anne).
I'm not going to ask your opinion on Dido, because I think what I dislike most about it – its similarity to the word dildo – will stand out most to others as well. Unless you like Dido, in which case, I'd love to hear your reasoning! Is it just the story that appeals to you, or do you actually enjoy the sound (DIE-doh is the pronunciation I'm assuming is most widespread in English, the original DEE-DAW doesn't appeal to me either).
~ What do you think of Dido's other name, Elissa?
~ Do you think Anne or Anna goes better with Dido?
~ What would you name a brother and sister to Dido and Anna or Dido and Anne?
It's hard for me to come up with a sibling for Dido and Anna, as they feel diametrically different. With the near cultural universality of Greco-Roman mythology and Anna's ubiquity, I felt I could go with pretty much any origin I pleased. Any siblings had to have similarly classic – or at least classic-feeling – names and be short and simple. Hence: Dido, Anna, Jude, and Rosa. But IDK. Those feel too dull with Dido – what do you think?
masculine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124079
feminine list: https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/191050/124080
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Replies
I like Dido, but only pronounced dee-daw. It has a nice cosy feeling, much like Anna actually! So I think Dido and Anna go well together, though to be honest I'm getting quite bored with the idea of "sibsets" and that siblings' names should "go well together". Might be sour grapes since my kids' names don't really all go well together!
I don't like Elissa. The double s annoys me. Elisa looks better.
If I had Dido and Anna, I'd name their sister Tove or Vera and brother August.
I don't like Elissa. The double s annoys me. Elisa looks better.
If I had Dido and Anna, I'd name their sister Tove or Vera and brother August.
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I'm getting quite bored with the idea of "sibsets" and that siblings' names should "go well together"
I imagine I'd feel quite different about sibsets if I was naming actual children - as it it, I treat them more like aesthetic exercises in cohesion.
I imagine I'd feel quite different about sibsets if I was naming actual children - as it it, I treat them more like aesthetic exercises in cohesion.
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Dido is pithy and has a tragic mystique.
It seems vaguely like Circe, Nimue, or Deirdre in that way.
My main association with Dido is the singer. When I was a kid and first heard of her, the name only made me think of dodo birds. I think it's pleasantly evocative now but a little too much like Madonna would be.
Elissa seems ordinary - not in a bad way. It's more like Cynthia or Alyssa, Elise, Elsa.
I'd rather see Anna & Dido.
Or, I'd rather see Alanis & Dido.
Anna, Dido, and Vashti
Anna, Dido and Winter
Anna, Dido, and Sybil
Anna, Dido, and Phoebe
Anna, Dido, and Tracy
Anna, Dido, and Rupert
Anna, Dido, and Murphy
Anna, Dido, and Faustus
Anna, Dido, and Felix
Anna, Dido, and Virgil
Alanis, Dido, and Meredith
Alanis, Dido, and Jewel
It seems vaguely like Circe, Nimue, or Deirdre in that way.
My main association with Dido is the singer. When I was a kid and first heard of her, the name only made me think of dodo birds. I think it's pleasantly evocative now but a little too much like Madonna would be.
Elissa seems ordinary - not in a bad way. It's more like Cynthia or Alyssa, Elise, Elsa.
I'd rather see Anna & Dido.
Or, I'd rather see Alanis & Dido.
Anna, Dido, and Vashti
Anna, Dido and Winter
Anna, Dido, and Sybil
Anna, Dido, and Phoebe
Anna, Dido, and Tracy
Anna, Dido, and Rupert
Anna, Dido, and Murphy
Anna, Dido, and Faustus
Anna, Dido, and Felix
Anna, Dido, and Virgil
Alanis, Dido, and Meredith
Alanis, Dido, and Jewel
This message was edited 10/11/2022, 8:39 PM
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Vashti works great with that set!
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If Dido is originally a Phoenician name, Semitic in other words, then Anne or Anna would be perfectly convincing for her sister. And it seems likely that Chaucer would have sounded the -e at the end of Anne, so it would sound the same as Anna. Of course, their brother Pygmalion has a Greek (or Greek-like) name, which might or might not matter.
I prefer Anne to Anna; I prefer Dinah to Dido; I prefer Elise to Elissa; and Pygmalion is unsuitable as a name in modern times, when male pigs are not universally admired.
I prefer Anne to Anna; I prefer Dinah to Dido; I prefer Elise to Elissa; and Pygmalion is unsuitable as a name in modern times, when male pigs are not universally admired.
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Dido also sounds like didy, a rather cutesy old word for a diaper.
Elissa is much better, though I much prefer Alyssa.
Elissa is much better, though I much prefer Alyssa.
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The association with the word doesn't bother me, rather, the first thing that comes to my mind is the British singer Dido - she has a unique voice! (fun fact, her first name is Florian).
Although the gloomy history of the character kind of irks me. It sounds masculine, too. I only use the DEE-daw pronunciation, by the way.
Overall, it's not bad, but there are better names out there.
I vastly prefer Elissa over Dido, it's more usable, underrated and doesn't bring to my mind Dido's history. It's a quotidian name.
Dido and Anna / Anne don't go well together; I prefer Elissa and Anne. Dido, compared to Anna, Rose, Lucy, Maria, etc. doesn't feel like an actual name.
I'd go with Dido, Anna, Candace and Enoch.
And Elissa, Anne, Hester and Saul.
Although the gloomy history of the character kind of irks me. It sounds masculine, too. I only use the DEE-daw pronunciation, by the way.
Overall, it's not bad, but there are better names out there.
I vastly prefer Elissa over Dido, it's more usable, underrated and doesn't bring to my mind Dido's history. It's a quotidian name.
Dido and Anna / Anne don't go well together; I prefer Elissa and Anne. Dido, compared to Anna, Rose, Lucy, Maria, etc. doesn't feel like an actual name.
I'd go with Dido, Anna, Candace and Enoch.
And Elissa, Anne, Hester and Saul.
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I like Elissa, Anna, Anne, Jude and Rosa
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