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Baby names

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

Original poster

Perdita?

108 replies

Orphlids · 13/10/2019 18:27

I’m looking for a posh, educated person to tell me the correct pronunciation of the name Perdita. Is it PER-dit-ah, as they say in Disney’s 101 Damations, or is it Per-DEET-ah? I prefer the latter, but I admit I have no idea which is correct. How does it tend to be pronounced in performances of Winter’s Tale?

OP posts:
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Nell96 · 20/11/2019 17:41

I'm so sorry for your loss OP, i can't imagine how you must be feeling.

My name is Perdita and i pronounce it Per-deet-a. I just wanted to let you know that i've received so many compliments about my name over the years. Yes, there has been the odd comment about 101 dalmations and how it should be pronounced Per-ditta instead, but it honestly hasn't bothered me. Kids will tease other kids about anything and people have opinions about all sorts of things and can be particularly judgemental about names, but i've always loved having such an unusual name.

Please ignore the negative comments here. It's a beautiful name and a lovely choice for your daughter. Take care x

TatianaLarina · 17/11/2019 18:56

Very sorry to hear that OP.

Perdita is a lovely name.

Ignore the naysayers.

Original poster
Orphlids · 17/11/2019 16:09

@Onceuponatimethen, thank you for your lovely response.

OP posts:
ElvenMoonwings · 17/11/2019 16:07

I have just read of your loss and am very sorry.

ElvenMoonwings · 17/11/2019 16:06

Emphasis on the first syllable not the second.

I like it but not the meaning.

Is there a Saint Perdita to put a different slant on the meaning?

Onceuponatimethen · 17/11/2019 15:58

Op, I am so very sorry about your beautiful daughter, Perdita.

You are using the name entirely appropriately.

I think most who have posted on here will be so sorry to have hurt you. As a culture we are awful at acknowledging baby loss, so the idea that the name was meant for a lost little one wouldn’t have occurred to most people.

Original poster
Orphlids · 17/11/2019 15:49

Thanks, @PlasticPatty. x

OP posts:
PlasticPatty · 17/11/2019 15:30

It's purr- ditt -uh
I've known and loved it since childhood. Great name.
I'm sorry for your loss, OP. Very sorry. Flowers

Original poster
Orphlids · 17/11/2019 15:24

I’ve come back to respond to a few of you who left comments on this thread. It’s a general message to ask that in future, you pause before you make unpleasant, unkind and uncalled for remarks on threads such as this. All I asked for was the correct pronunciation of the name in question. Nothing more. But many of you have felt the need to offer unsolicited parenting advice and insults.

My baby died shortly after birth. She is our “lost one,” which, as many of you have mentioned, is the meaning of the name we chose. So no - she will not have to endure name-related teasing, or have people think her parents are pretentious, or have her name translate comically when she travels abroad. How I wish she could experience such trivial matters as part of life’s rich tapestry.

I came here for certainty of the pronunciation of her name, and some of you were so kind and have provided that. Thank you. But those of you who have said unkind things, you have added in some small way to my utter despair and all-consuming grief. Only now have I been able to find the strength to respond. I can hardly bear the thought of you knowing the fate of my darling girl, but I’m hoping that by telling you this, you may, in the future, reconsider before making unkind comments. You simply don’t know the damage for which you are responsible. @MMmomDD

OP posts:
cheesydoesit · 17/10/2019 19:32

Yes as PP say its 'Purr-ditta'. I love it, it's on my list. Go for it OP.

nopenotplaying · 17/10/2019 08:40

@Heronry agreed! Cameron = crooked nose GrinGrinGrin

Heronry · 17/10/2019 07:17

But @Rachelover60, lots of very commonly-used names have less-than- pleasant meanings — Amelia, Claudia.

FenellaMaxwell · 17/10/2019 07:12

Purr-ditta. I wouldn’t use it though because the meaning of the name is just depressing!

Krisskrosskiss · 15/10/2019 12:54

LOVE IT!!

Rachelover60 · 15/10/2019 12:50

I knew someone who named their baby, 'Antimony'; one of its meanings is 'poison'.

I do think people should look up meanings of names before saddling their child with something.

NotGreenNotKeen · 14/10/2019 18:40

Sorry being cruel to be kind but "woof"!....?

VenusClapTrap · 14/10/2019 18:26

I love this name.

Poignet · 14/10/2019 16:52

It really doesn't take much imagination to see what teenage girls can do with the name of a spotty bitch from Disney.

Perhaps you could stretch your imagination to a slightly better-read type of teenage girl, who might pursue their schoolmate Perdita with 'Exit, pursued by a bear' and references to a psychotically jealous father and a mother who is a statue that comes to life?

RolytheRhino · 14/10/2019 13:10

I think unusual name teasing varies dramatically according to wear you live and what school you go to. Eg Perdita probs wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in a private school in north London, but oils where I grew up

I went to a pretty rough comprehensive and the only name-based teasing I ever heard was stuff like, 'Colette, the best a man can get'. Based on my experience, I'd say name-teasing is generally pop-culture based and unpredictable so the Dalmatians would be unlikely to cause an issue for poor Perdy.

BigGlasses · 14/10/2019 12:58

I have a friend called Perdita. She pronouces it PUR-ditta. But invariably gets per- DEETA, which she hates. She normally shortens it to Purdi/Perdi to avoid the mispronouciation.

I think if you have a strong preference for one prouncation over the other then it may cause problems in the long run.

Rainbowhairdontcare · 14/10/2019 12:58

I think it's one of the worse Shakespearian names.. as a Spanish speaker it sounds horrible (it's actually very similar to "little bitch" - perrita). Please don't.

FizzyGreenWater · 14/10/2019 12:49

Well I'd think that regardless of the 'right' way to say it, most people would say per-deet-ah, so just think on whether you're happy to have that.

It's nice, though so heavily associated with 101 dalmatians and also its meaning that I probably wouldn't use it.

Also, wind your neck in.

Onceuponatimethen · 14/10/2019 09:47

I think unusual name teasing varies dramatically according to wear you live and what school you go to. Eg Perdita probs wouldn’t raise an eyebrow in a private school in north London, but oils where I grew up.

smemorata · 14/10/2019 09:47

It's PERdita in Italian.

evilharpy · 14/10/2019 09:31

It would be PerDEEta in Spanish (and also means the lost one).

Is it PERdita in latin? I can't get my head around the stress being on the first syllable.

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