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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Winnifred

41 replies

Colliecross · 25/07/2010 23:40

NN for Winnifred please.

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Cakey0207 · 28/07/2010 22:51

My nan was called Winifred and her NN was Wyn.

rachel234 · 27/07/2010 15:20

Anything with -FRED sounds very masculine to my ears...

... and Win/Winnie sounds masculine too (or is Winnie the pooh a girl?).

But of course that is just my view - feel free to ignore it .

Careful · 27/07/2010 14:27

Winnie the Pooh

MarthaQuest · 27/07/2010 14:24

I love Winifred , very Angela Brazil, but DH sadly vetoed for dd.

Agree, it's definitely feminine in this cou ntry.

Amandoh · 27/07/2010 14:20

My Grandmother was called Winifred but everyone called her Win. I think shortening it to Winnie is nice but not keen on Win.

Kathleen123 · 27/07/2010 14:15

It has to be Winnie.

sonniebonnie · 27/07/2010 12:59

WINFRIED

Gender: Masculine

Usage: German

German form of WINFRED

Winfried is relatively common in German speaking countries.

sonniebonnie · 27/07/2010 12:57

WINFRED

Gender: Masculine

Usage: English

Pronounced: WIN-frid [key]

Means "friend of peace" from the Old English elements wine "friend" and frið "peace". This was the birth name of the 8th-century missionary Saint Boniface. It became rare after the Norman conquest, though it was revived in the 19th century.

CreepyFunbags · 27/07/2010 11:21

Whoops!

Original poster
Colliecross · 27/07/2010 10:41

NIFFY?
Well I've gone off it totally now.

OP posts:
tortoiseonthehalfshell · 27/07/2010 01:24

My husband nixed this for HDD2 as being "one step too far into old lady". And we have an Edith.

But I love it, as long as you promise to spell it with one N.

CreepyFunbags · 27/07/2010 01:20

Niffy?

piprabbit · 26/07/2010 23:44

.

Apparently Winfred was the birth name of Saint Boniface, but has been out of use for centuries.

ravenAK · 26/07/2010 23:42

x post piprabbit!

ravenAK · 26/07/2010 23:41

Nope, the choirgirls were definitely St Winifred's!

The saint's name is sometimes spelt Winefride?

I think I like that better. Still wouldn't be my choice for a name, sorry.

Could shorten to Win, I suppose. That might be...aspirational

piprabbit · 26/07/2010 23:41

I think that song was sung by St Winifred's School Choir - ie. a lady saint. She died for the sake of her chastity.

here does show an interesting alternative spelling Winefride, which could lead to some interesting booze related nn's.

seeker · 26/07/2010 23:37

I've had a go at finding out who St Winfred was, and have failed. However the never to be forgotten hit "There's no one quite like Grandma" was sung by the choir of St Winfred's School - so he must have existed!

5DollarShake · 26/07/2010 19:57

Never heard of Winfred or Winnifred either.

Winifred is a girl's name - was my great aunt's name.

PaintingTheFence · 26/07/2010 17:50

Winifred is a girls' name.

Manfred, Alfred and Wilfred are boys' names.

I have never heard of Winfred.

Raeven · 26/07/2010 17:09

My grandmothers name was Winifred and she was always known as freda

ruthosaurus · 26/07/2010 17:06

One n, girl's name, and good lord, no. Proper old lady name, that is.

LetThereBeRock · 26/07/2010 16:34

It's terrible.

PuppyMonkey · 26/07/2010 16:25

Eek, it's truly horrid sorry.

Rockbird · 26/07/2010 16:17

Awful name, no redeeming features at all, sorry.

sonniebonnie · 26/07/2010 13:19

Sounds masculine to my ears, I think due to the -fred ending. Not keen, sorry.