# What First Names Suggest...er... Qualities Other Than Physical Beauty? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578 "2008-08-19T18:33:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/61 "2008-08-20T05:22:03Z")
My Grandfather was **Douglas** ( **Doug** ), and his siblings were **Sydney** ( **Syd** ), **Robert** ( **Bob** ), **David** ( **Dave** ), **Dorothy** ( **Dorrie** ), **Hector** (died as an infant but presumably would have been **Hec** like the uncle he was named for), **Jean** , **Joyce** and **Marjorie** ( **Marj** ). Auntie Jean has told me on several occasions how grateful she is to her parents for giving all of them such lovely names. There are clearly generational differences at work here. I suppose there’s nothing _wrong_ with most of their names, but you don’t hear them (particularly the girl’s names) and think “Sex Kitten”. I also have to nominate **Ralph**. I used to date a Ralph (pronounced “Ralf” as in Wiggum, not “Rafe” as in Fiennes). Unsexiest name ever. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/62 "2008-08-20T06:00:50Z")
This is an interesting thread. As far as I can see, there are certain different cultural connotations to many names: being unattractive, being plain, being old, being nebbish or nerdy… It certainly goes well beyond the simple “being unattractive” of the OP. I wonder if other cultures’/languages’ names have connotations like these? Some of the posts have already touched on it lightly, but any non-Western dopers care to add more? ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/63 "2008-08-20T08:05:16Z")
For women: Ethel, Myrtle, Beryl, Mildred, Agatha, and Agnes. For men: Hubert, Humphrey (Humphrey Bogart notwithstanding), Sheldon, Norbert, and Melvin. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/64 "2008-08-20T11:34:04Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] _Dorcas?_ [/QUOTE] I know a Dorcas Beaver. She’s married to Harold who, understandably, prefers that to Harry. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/65 "2008-08-20T11:45:59Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Elliot > > Obligatory quote from The Sure Thing: > Quote: > Elliot? You’re gonna name the kid Elliot? No, you can’t name the kid Elliot. Elliot is a fat kid with glasses who eats paste. You’re not gonna name the kid Elliot. You gotta give him a real name. Give him a name. Like Nick. > Alison Bradbury: Nick? > Walter (Gib) Gibson: Yeah, Nick. Nick’s a real name. Nick’s your buddy. Nick’s the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car, Nick. Did you dad think of it when he was shaving? John has to be the least sexy name any man could have. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/66 "2008-08-20T11:53:26Z")
[QUOTE=DJ Motorbike] Julia [/QUOTE] :eek: Hey! No one’s nominated my grandma’s name yet, but it belongs here: Winifred. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/67 "2008-08-20T11:56:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Elmer. “Elmer? You fuckin’ named him _Elmer_???” “Not _Elmer_. ----_Aylmer_. It’s Anglo-Saxon for _Beautiful Thing_” ``` --- **Brain Damage** ``` One of my favorite lines from a weird movie. Te protesing guy and his wife are keeping a pet monster that has wandered off into the first guy’s apartment. The first guy learns the creature’s name when the second guy bursts in and asks What he did with Aylmer. Nowadays I don’t think a lot of people are naming their kids Elmer. Elmer Fudd has poisoned the name with associations, and any good will left over is gonna be squelched by Elmer’s Glue-All and Elmer Gantry. I’d forgotten **Ethel**. I’ve never known any Ethels, so all I can think of are Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) and the Ethel that chases after Jughead. Not a sexy name. And whoever spelled it _Ethyl_ needs to check their dictionary. And do you know any people named _Propyl_? And I’m sorry if you’re a good-lookling Emily, but I still don’t find the name attra ctive. That’s going to be true of any name in here – statistically, there are going to be good-looking Griseldas and Elmers, but that’s not going to change our perception of the names. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/68 "2008-08-20T12:03:33Z")
I had an elderly relative first name Zillah. Je ne sais quoi. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/69 "2008-08-20T12:05:30Z")
[QUOTE=Cicero] I had an elderly relative first name Zillah. Je ne sais quoi. [/QUOTE] Were your frustrated relatives in the habit of shouting “God, Zillah…” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/70 "2008-08-20T12:12:25Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Were your frustrated relatives in the habit of shouting “God, Zillah…” [/QUOTE] Heh- I like that. The outfits i have seen pictures of her in make me think that (by todays standards- these pictures are from the 1920’s).However, I am told she was a knockout and a lovely person. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/71 "2008-08-20T12:54:11Z")
[QUOTE=Lobelia Overhill] John has to be the least sexy name any man could have. [/QUOTE] I couldn’t believe it when they kept Mr. Big’s name a secret all those years on Sex and the City and they finally reveal it and it’s…John. What a letdown. Talk about no imagination at all. I’m hoping there’s some inside reason for using it, like with Dickie (cringe) on Law & Order. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/72 "2008-08-20T13:00:49Z")
My grandfather’s name was Myron and even he went by his middle name (Kenneth). His mother’s name was Birdella. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/73 "2008-08-20T13:03:35Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I’d forgotten **Ethel**. I’ve never known any Ethels, so all I can think of are Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) and the Ethel that chases after Jughead. Not a sexy name. [/QUOTE] On “ER” in the past season or two, Nurse Chuny Marquez revealed that her real name was “Ethel,” when a thoroughly sauced Abby asked her how she got the name “Chuny.” She’s pretty hot. I was in the Honolulu Airport two years ago, and had a long conversation with professional photographer Ethel Davies. She’s not bad looking. But when she introduced herself as “Ethel,” inside my exact thoughts were “Ethel? Your name is Ethel? You gotta fu¢|\ **Author:** ![mudkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@mudkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mudkicker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/74 "2008-08-20T13:07:14Z") [QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] The last book in the Anne of Green Gables series is about Anne’s youngest daughter, whose full name is Bertha Marilla. She hates her nickname “Rilla” and wishes she was called by her dignified first name. The story is set against the backdrop of World War I. The associations with that name have really changed! The TV Show the Big Bang has two nerds named Sheldon & Leonard. I wonder how they chose those names 😃 [/QUOTE] Yeah, and Anne says in the first book that her parents were called Bertha and Walter, and ‘weren’t they lovely names?’ Anne, you red-headed fool, they were not. I read kids’ books quite a bit (for research purposes of course :)), and always get a chuckle out of names that were used in the 30s and 40s. My favourite is of course ‘Fanny’ - and yes, I’m sure y’all are aware that that has a different, more graphic meaning over here across the pond. 🙂 Re the OP: Nigel, Neville, Colin, Martha are the first that spring shudderingly to mind… ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/75 "2008-08-20T13:15:30Z")
[QUOTE=Cazzle] There are clearly generational differences at work here. I suppose there’s nothing _wrong_ with most of their names, but you don’t hear them (particularly the girl’s names) and think “Sex Kitten”. [/QUOTE] This just begs the question: Is one supposed to think sex kitten upon hearing a female name? (not picking on you, just sayin’…) I had forgotten Ralph. And add Craig to the list. Awful name, Craig. I also forgot Muriel, Ardell and Hilda–my 2 grandmothers and great aunt. Throw Millicent in there as well… ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/76 "2008-08-20T13:28:03Z")
Has Mildred appeared yet? Mildred and Gertrude, yuck names for the ages. I have a friend my age (mid 40s) named Esther. I’ve known her for years and am of course used to it, but every once in a while I think, “lord, her name is _Esther_!” Oh and I based the 25-year popularity on the age of my sisters, who are now 27 and have been surrounded by legions of Emilys since the day they were born. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/77 "2008-08-20T13:40:40Z")
Growing up, I knew several boys named Troy. _Every one_ was an asshole/bully. Phyllis and Gladys: elderly, sporting cats-eye glasses, wearing their hair in a beehive while playing canasta. Yetta. The only Yettas left are ninety years old and speak Yiddish as a native language. Speaking of names specific to ethnicity, there’s an old novel named [Zuleika Dobson.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuleika_Dobson) Zuleika is an Arabic name, and in the context of a homogeneous society like Edwardian England, it just sounds deliciously exotic. Nowadays, any British or American who uses that as a name risks the child being mistaken for an actual Arab. 😃 Similarly, Juanita had a wave of popularity among non-Hispanic whites around 1900. Farrah is an Iranian name. I wonder where Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett ran across it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/78 "2008-08-20T13:46:34Z")
My mother’s parents were Emma Bertha and Julius Elmer, and they were dairy farmers. Emma’s nice, and Julius is not so bad either. I don’t dislike Bertha and Elmer but they’re just not fashionable. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/79 "2008-08-20T14:30:10Z")
[QUOTE=mudkicker] Re the OP: Nigel, Neville, Colin, Martha are the first that spring shudderingly to mind… [/QUOTE] Interesting, since Colin is now a fashionable baby name on this side. I think people imagine good-looking, sophisticated Englishmen when they pick Colin. Nigel and Neville, however–no freaking way. I have never understood the former popularity of Nigel in the UK. Or Beryl for that matter. I quite like Esther and Zipporah though. I was sort of rooting for Zipporah as a name for our second little girl (we could call her Zippy!) but my husband nixed it and we went with Emily. ---
**Author:** ![mudkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@mudkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mudkicker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578/80 "2008-08-20T14:35:58Z")
Yeah, Colin’s just a personal one for me, brings up images of raincoats and Thermos flasks… Re the friend called Esther above, I just remembered the name of a former housemate of mine - Concepta. :eek: Why yes, she was Catholic. As was her brother Ignatious and her various other religiously named siblings. ‘Hey Concepta, fancy gettin’ down and dirty with it?’ - Nah, never going to happen. IIRC her boyfriend called her Connie - good move. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-first-names-suggest-er-qualities-other-than-physical-beauty/460578.md?page=5)