Thursday 29 July 2021

Alberta Comes In From The Wilderness

A leavening read
After the recent engrossing immersion into the Age of Enlightenment

Bertie, the six-year-old prodigy in Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series, starts school in Book 2. He's a dear little character. While his mother has him destined for great things, he's not shaping up to be popular. But it's heartening to know that Alberta, his feminised name form, may becoming more fashionable after decades in the Classic Names Wilderness. Apparently, Alberta is a jazzy old name.

For English-speakers, feminising names can be rather hit and miss. Just sticking an 'a' or an 'ina' or suchlike on the end doesn't automatically work, for either an attractive ring or timelessness. There's an old-fashioned-ness to most and some just don't sound as if they'll ever cut the mustard for future generations. You can't really imagine a Kennethina rising through the ranks on the Starship Enterprise.

Beam me up, Kennethina!

Some Saints' names work nicely: Paul generously gave us Paula, Pauline & Paulina; ditto various Kings: Alexander begets Alexandra; Henry begets Henrietta. Some feminised names lower in the popularity stakes sound a bit posh as a result: viz. Nigella, Edwina & Thomasina. Very Sloaney Pony.

Bertie's classmates in his Steiner School include Merlin and Tofu. Merlin could feasibly beget Merlina, but Tofu sounds firmly gender-neutral to me.


Image credits: 1: Flying With Hands; 2: www.Rabittooth.com


16 comments:

  1. Naming a newborn baby is a difficult task for almost everyone. Jewish babies have to be named after a loved relative, but NOT anyone who is still alive. Even then, the name can be translated into English, but then all family members had to have liked the person being memorialised. Christian families like to use the first names of the living parents, not so much the grandparents. Thus if dad is Charles, the son will be Charles Jnr.

    To look for predictability in baby naming, I loved writing "The names we gave to our newborn babies" https://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com/2012/02/names-we-gave-to-our-newborn-babies.html In my year at school, there were 8 Helens!!!

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    1. Dearest Hels, I did not know that about Jewish names. So many opportunities to riff on this idea! There must be plenty of families for whom this likability consensus is hard to arrive at. I guess you just go further back through the generations until a family member is found who no-one remembers so could cause least offence!

      So much fodder from your post and its links, too. I'm rather partial to quirky late Victorian names - the Cyril & Esmerelda variety (names of our only goldfish when kids) and the Nature Names - flowers and gemstones, so beloved by Chinese students these days looking for an Anglicised name - but was surprised to read that Thelma was forecast to be coming back in!

      Mr. P's paternal family was very large and in his generation there are half a dozen men named for the same grandfather, which is a headache for the postman in the home village!

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    2. I think it's in Iceland where names are limited to a short list. No Elvis or Wayne gets past the registrar's control.

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    3. I've heard about that, too. Similarly, in France there's only so far you can push creativity with given names.

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    1. Dearest Contessa, of course Elizabeth cut her own path and wasn't begat from any male, and easily ticks both the Saintly and Queenly inspiration boxes!

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  3. Bertie is a very appealing and amusing character. I have made a mental note of buying the book for Lady M this coming Christmas. I'm sure she'll love it as much as I did.

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    1. My introduction to him was when he was seven but I'm going back to the beginning of the series and am presently scooting through the second book. Such delightful reading! I'm sure Lady M could only agree with us, dear Cro!

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  4. Dear Pipistrello, with glee I read a number of Alexander McCall Smith's books (took one to Bavaria to reread - and walked in Edinburgh with "new eyes").
    One funny thing was that I thought that he invented the name of that female psychologist he so often quoted (I can't recall her name now...it is on the tip of my tongue) - I thought it as a form of high irony. Appreciated it.
    And then I walked through Berlin, very near to my apartment, and saw the white KPM-porcelain plaque with the blue text - we have it on many houses to remind tourists where a famous author or painter etc lived - and there SHE stood: long text that she really existed!
    "Da war ik baff" - as the common Berliner says - I was completely taken aback.

    By the way: my late father's name is Albert. If my son had been a girl - I would have called her "Albertine" - thinking of that wonderful woman in "Zazie dans le Metro" (hope you have seen the DVD - otherwise I am convinced you might enjoy it).

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    1. Dearest Britta, you have given me my jolt for the day - I had assumed Melanie Klein was a complete fiction. Oh, this is too much! I shall have to check now if there was any foundation for the 3-year-old tyrant, Wee Fraser - hahahah!!

      Albertine is a gorgeous feminisation, and very nice coincidence, so I hope you've had an opportunity to use it somewhere else? Your bicycle, perhaps? The movie is a good tip - thank you!

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  5. Kids generally despise unique names when they are children. Later, they like they are the only one with that name in their class.

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    1. Dear Ur-spo, I loved my name as a kid and for most of my school years was the only one of that name. It's not that unusual a name, but is indeed an invented name as opposed to a Saintly/Biblical/Queenly one. My Dear Mother was convinced Dear Brother was going to be a girl and had Regina up her sleeve. Shock! A boy! The name she chose horrified the nurses and Dear Grandfather, who so despised it he never uttered it and called him "Snips" for all his days. Mind you, this is the Grandfather that wanted my mother to be called Pollyanna but my grandmother put her foot down. He still called her "Polly" until the day he died.

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  6. I’m not over keen on my name …. it sounds like a Miss World contestant. Not many call me Jacqueline …. it’s Jackie or Jack which proves your point. XXXX

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    1. Dearest Jackie, you are so right, Jacqueline is the perfect name for a sash-wearing beauty!! It is lovely to me and having the rare Q gives it added distinction. Fortunately, three-syllable girls names are easy to play around with when they fail to please their owners :) xx

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  7. Naming can be challenging in the family. My grandmother believed I was named after her mother, Susanna. My given name was chosen by my mother and is Susan. Nobody dared to correct grandmother. For years, I responded to both names.

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    1. Ah, dear Susan, if you were to move into the Pipistrello roost, you may need to fall back on your grandmother's preference in order to be distinctive, for we have each of a Sue, Susie, Susan and Suzanne living here. We're only missing Susanna to make the complete set!

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