to think that all these darling Jocastas are mythical?

[manicinsomniac]

Seriously, does anybody actually know a Jocasta?

I know it's the go-to 'mock the middle classes' earnest yummy mummy name on mn but I'm not convinced they're really around.

It only appears of one of the ONS name lists from 2006-2012 (there were 3 Jocastas born in 2007) which means there have to be fewer than 20 little Jocastas walking around the UK.

Does anybody know where the reference to 'little Jocasta' came from? Did it start from a specific thread? I know of other seriously posh names which actually do get used each year (if not very frequently) eg Araminta, Antigone, Persephone.

I couldn't lumber my DC with a name that people would mispronounce the whole time. It would drive me mad.

I had a hamster called Veronica

There's a Cleopatra and an Electra in my DD's class and a Zeus at my DS's.

I was at school with one. I don't think I've met one since.

I'm common as muck. But my father was/is very into mythology. My name is 'the profit of doom' from the Iliad - cheers dad! But it's quite common now, not so much when i was a child.

Both DH and i studied the 'classics' so that's kind of where our pool of names has come from. No one fares well in them tho, so the more juicy and dark the better imo

BeCool I have a Harriet and Hermione was on our list for her, it was the same year that HP first got big, was very glad we didnt go for it as I am know people would assume that was why she was given that name.

When my friend and I were expecting our second DCs at the same time, we were discussing baby names. I said I liked Perdita (long fan of 101 Dalmations) and her DH said "I think we should call our baby Echo", his DW and I said in unison "What?" he said "Echo" again and she and I fell about! Needless to say the baby wasnt called Echo, which is a shame as I think it would have suited her!

I know of a working class Jocasta in her 20s

In Sainsburys (obvs got lost trying to find Waitrose) I overheard "Jocasta darling as you have been sooooo good helping Mummy with the shopping when we get home you can have a whole dish of Olives".

Did you really though? I don't mean to be cynical it's just that all these 'overheard in Waitrose/Sainsburys/M and S' type threads and groups are always full of comments people have 'heard' like
'No Jocasta, you know you only like the organic rice cakes darling' and 'look Jocasta, it's your favourite smoked salmon and caviar appetisers' and 'Jocasta darling, don't touch the slice bread, that's what other people buy' that it makes me rather disbelieving

I think one person heard one comment like that once and it snowballed into a rumour that everyone claims for themselves (like Le-a!)
Apologies if you really did hear it. Too many other people make shit like that up.

My sister has a friend with a DD called Electra, and it really suits her. I dont know why but even as a newborn it really did fit, we had all had very raised eyebrows when we first heard though.

If i was really devil may care, my really really favourite name for a boy would be Jean-Baptiste but i think that may be a pretentious step too far I just love the way it rolls round my mouth.

Wasn't Jocasta the granddaughter in Reggie Perrin - know it's really dated now, but think he quietly despaired of his dd/sil's liberal/modern parenting, so perhaps an even earlier use than Viz, Polly Toynbee etc in this context.

Don't know any in real life either.

Hey, that's not fair tortoisetree - I can't be expected to search back 2.5 years for repeat threads! How do you have that good a memory!?

Wasn't there a Jocasta on Time Team? Brilliant woman. That's the only one I've heard of.

I do know a Iago, that's about as 'way out' as it gets

I know two Jocastas, both approx mid thirties, and both Irish.

MAnic I think I was that parent once

Well I wasnt but DD2 was the kid. Got back from a holiday in france the day before, went shopping in Tesco the next day and DD insisted on speaking french the whole way round, I was mortified. I said (not loudly) "ooh look, they have pain au chocolate shall we get some?" and she said (top volume natch) "OH NOOOOO MUMMY! THE PASTRIES WONT BE AS NICE AS THE ONES WE HAD IN PARIS!!!"

I didnt clip her ear, but it was close.

I did want to name DS Gianluigi as that's my favourite name ever, but it was, quite sanely, vetoed. We don't have any valid link to Italy whatsoever.

How many Persephones are known as Percyfone? It is a pretty name but I would get really pissed off with people saying it incorrectly. I have a not very rare surname and that is always said wrong, which I cant work out. Think of saying Jones as John-ez, it really is that silly.

Actually, I'm wondering if I'm wrong about Viz, anyway. I know the mother was called Cressida, and I think one of the children was called Tarquin. But maybe I'm thinking about the Jocasta from the Reggie Perrin books.

Never met anybody called Jocasta and personally don't like the name but like lots of the other names brought up on this thread - Antigone, Romily, Iliana, Indio.

Never heard the name Ptolemy before and think it is especially lovely, but really don't like that silent P. I just think it makes the written name look a bit ugly. I would have to spell it Tolemy or Tholemy but I expect then I would get judged as both 'pretentious prat' for the name as 'classless chav' for the spelling. I also quite like Thomely which I just made-up by accidentally misspelling my misspelling of Ptolemy.

BogeyFace - An old friend I went to school with has a DD called Ekho. I'd never heard it as a name really but quite like it now.

Ok so I'm probably being stupid, but how do u pronounce Jocasta?

I did my A Levels at a v normal 6th form college in Sussex, but we had a UCAS open day at Brighton racecourse at the same time as Roedean and some other local 6th forms. An announcement was made over the tannoy for a Roedean girl called Aphrodite

Surely most people know how to pronounce Persephone. Don't they?

haha Bogeyface that's hilarious. I can just imagine you cringing.

I know a 3 year old girl like that. She's gorgeous and her parents aren't pretentious at all but they are very wealthy and have lovely holidays and lifestyle. Some of the things she comes out with are classic (last time we were there for dinner there was a woeful look at the wine (very naice wine from their huge wine cellar), a little shake of the head and then the comment 'mummy, you're drinking my inheritance' Obviously she must have had that said to her many many times, she didn't come up with it herself but coming out of the blue like that it was very funny. She isn't called Jocasta though! Or anything like.

Pronounce Jocasta as it is spelt ('o' pronounced as in block). I dislike that it could be shortened to 'Jock'

You would think, Ardomay, but people constantly mispronounce my very boring, very phonetic, very English name, so who knows?

DH's name before we got married (he took my name) was the name of a country, but with one letter repeated. Think 'Itally' or something. He'd tell people. 'like the country, but with two Ls' and they'd still reply, 'so how do you spell it?'