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Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Brinestone on February 04, 2011, 06:35:18 AM

Title: First impression
Post by: Brinestone on February 04, 2011, 06:35:18 AM
I'm not allowing for those who would reserve judgment. Take a stand: girl or boy?
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: The Genuine on February 04, 2011, 07:03:53 AM
Spoiler (click to show/hide)


EtA:  Edited to add spoiler tags.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: rivka on February 04, 2011, 07:05:07 AM
I confess to also being swayed by the mystery "writer" and character of the almost-same name.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Scott R on February 04, 2011, 08:02:48 AM
Ellery is a boy's name.

Ellory is a girl's name.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Jonathon on February 04, 2011, 08:08:22 AM
Quote from: Brinestone on February 04, 2011, 06:35:18 AM
I'm not allowing for those who would reserve judgment. Take a stand: girl or boy?

What about judging you for spelling the name of my ancestor wrong? :p
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Brinestone on February 04, 2011, 08:32:54 AM
 :blush:
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 09:25:28 AM
I could see it going either way, though it first strikes me as a girl.

However, names of ambiguous gender are teh awesome.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Jonathon on February 04, 2011, 09:27:44 AM
What about if it's Elery? Same reaction?
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 09:33:17 AM
Still sounds like a boys name to me.  Though I imagine he will likely see some grief at school, but that must be balanced against the very righteous desire to keep the name pool diverse and interesting.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Porter on February 04, 2011, 09:40:38 AM
Quote from: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 09:25:28 AM
However, names of ambiguous gender are teh awesome.
Why do you think this?
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: pooka on February 04, 2011, 10:22:20 AM
Our soon to be has been called "Cedar" for the better part of a year.  It will be interesting to see if we are able to change tracks. 

I also thought of Ellery Queen, but if Hillary Clinton does return to the political limelight, I wouldn't want a kid saddled with a name that resembled hers. 
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 10:27:26 AM
If there are two Ls, I think it's a girl. If there is one, I think it's a boy. The vowel is neither here nor there.

Quote from: Porter on February 04, 2011, 09:40:38 AM
Quote from: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 09:25:28 AM
However, names of ambiguous gender are teh awesome.
Why do you think this?

Because I grew up with one and even after one traumatic experience in third grade music class I learned to own it.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: pooka on February 04, 2011, 10:52:45 AM
Your first name or your middle name?
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 10:54:26 AM
I must be ignorant on this, but I always thought Annie's name was, well, Annie.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: pooka on February 04, 2011, 10:59:40 AM
I thought her first name was Anneke, which while foreign, is not what I'd consider androgynous.  But maybe I'm mashing up androgynous and gender ambiguous.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Porter on February 04, 2011, 11:13:38 AM
Yeah,  I don't see how her name is ambiguous either.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 11:15:19 AM
Anneke, if that is indeed her real name is an awesome name.  Very Japanese.  I'd always thought that was the Japanese name she'd picked up while on her mission and had stuck with it.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Jonathon on February 04, 2011, 11:18:22 AM
I believe she grew up using her middle name, Morgan.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: pooka on February 04, 2011, 11:27:30 AM
Anneke is dutch, though.  I'm not sure why you'd pick up a Japanese name on a mission.  Aren't you supposed to go by Elder or Sister?
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 11:31:08 AM
Quote from: pooka on February 04, 2011, 11:27:30 AM
Anneke is dutch, though.  I'm not sure why you'd pick up a Japanese name on a mission.  Aren't you supposed to go by Elder or Sister?
Yes, but many missionaries still get full Chinese/Japanes names and then use them after their missions.

edit: Also, Anneke sounds like a Japanes approximation of Annie.  This probably doesn't help but there's an anime where the older brother is called Anneke which means older brother in Japanese, with a bit of a twist on the pronounciation.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: sweet clementine on February 04, 2011, 12:40:12 PM
Annie's name is "Anneke Morgan M***".  She grew up as Morgan, only switching to "Anneke" when she came to college and her professors started calling her by it because that is what showed up on their roll.  Being the bashful girl that she can be now and then, she didn't want to correct them, so the name stuck.  Hence, she is referring to Morgan as the gender neutral name.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 12:42:46 PM
Maybe I'm pronouncing it wrong in my head.  I hear Anneke as,

Ann - ni (as in nit) - key
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Porter on February 04, 2011, 12:43:20 PM
In general, am not a fan of gender neutral names.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: sweet clementine on February 04, 2011, 12:44:12 PM
Also, Ellery = boy for the same reason Jesse said.  Ellery Queen will always be my favorite detective.  As a side note, I did not have a hard time accepting "Ellery" as a boy's name when I first read his books (as opposed to, say Ashley or Cortney...er...that guy off Law and Order with the superlatively girly name) so you can take that for what you will.

and BB, I think you're pronouncing it right
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 01:02:43 PM
Quote from: Porter on February 04, 2011, 12:43:20 PM
In general, am not a fan of gender neutral names.
How do you feel about Taylor?  You won't offend me, I have never been able to nail down how I feel about it myself.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Porter on February 04, 2011, 01:38:03 PM
Quote
How do you feel about Taylor? 
Faaaaaaar too popular.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Brinestone on February 04, 2011, 01:41:35 PM
He is pretty popular (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNc45FTenhg), isn't he?
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 01:50:43 PM
Quote from: Porter on February 04, 2011, 01:38:03 PM
Quote
How do you feel about Taylor? 
Faaaaaaar too popular.
I don't meet many boy Taylors.  I can probably count them on one hand, even with two fingers lopped off.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: pooka on February 04, 2011, 03:37:39 PM
It may not have been a girls name when you got it, is the thing.  And it's one thing to be against bestowing gender ambiguous names as a parent, different to be against names already posessed by adults.  To me, the trouble with Taylor is not that it is gender ambiguous, but that it crossed over to being a girl name. 
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 03:44:12 PM
Clem got it right. I was Morgan for most of my life. Now I'm Anneke, which is indeed Dutch, but which my Mom decided to Anglicize as /æ'nəki/. It does sound a lot like the Japanese word aniki (older brother) but I prefer to go by aneki (older sister) in Japanese because, well, I am the universal big sister after all.
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 03:47:53 PM
Also, I like that Clem pointed out to me the other day that one of my qualities is that I have "ethnic flava."
Title: Re: First impression
Post by: Marianne Dashwood on February 04, 2011, 03:50:13 PM
Quote from: BlackBlade on February 04, 2011, 11:31:08 AM
Quote from: pooka on February 04, 2011, 11:27:30 AM
Anneke is dutch, though.  I'm not sure why you'd pick up a Japanese name on a mission.  Aren't you supposed to go by Elder or Sister?
Yes, but many missionaries still get full Chinese/Japanes names and then use them after their missions.

edit: Also, Anneke sounds like a Japanes approximation of Annie.  This probably doesn't help but there's an anime where the older brother is called Anneke which means older brother in Japanese, with a bit of a twist on the pronounciation.

And actually, most missionaries don't get Japanese names. Because in Japan they just use katakana to write your English name, which is usually not too flattering. Most people will have someone pick kanji to approximate their name but I don't know of anyone who ever uses it.

Chinese is all kinds of different because they don't have enough phonemes to get anywhere close to most of our names ;)