Ways to honour the family name Drusilla

[mum1993]

Hi all,

Finally have narrowed down Baby 3's name to 2 choices per gender (gender is a surprise!) but if baby is a girl I would like to incorporate my Grammas name Drusilla as she is sadly no longer with us.

The name choices for a girl would be Ivy or Isla. For a bit more context my Gramma was known as Dru, pronounced droo.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this? X

@Sapphirejane

Of course it honours the person if the name you choose is done so with that person in mind.

Sorry but Drusilla is not a pretty name. Drew is much nicer .

Why are you saying sorry? That's your opinion, not a definite fact. You aren't in charge.

You can say
^Sorry, we don't have any bread left today.
Sorry, you didn't get the job.^

But not
Sorry I like raspberry ice cream better than mango.

Drusilla is also a fab character in Buffy! Great name for a 1st or 2nd name. Go for it

It's a children's zoo in East Sussex. Drew is great as works for both sexes.

I think Drusilla is awesome. Ivy Drusilla is fab.

She was also my gramma who passed before meeting my children. So this comment is completely unnecessary

Actually my reply was to a pp wondering who Drusilla was in a tv programme.

Silla/Cilla?

Blimey, just looked up its meaning and 3 sites had it as strong, fruitful and dew.

The obvious solution is Drusilla as a middle name for a girl, or Drew for a boy.

However if you don't like the name that much, what about another name ending in "illa" - here is a list
www.behindthename.com/names/pattern/*illa

However I would advise against Godzilla or Gonorilla 😬

Drusilla was also Caligula's sister. Not a good connection.

However, if you want to "honour" a name the only way to do that is to actually use it.

So Ivy Drusilla or Iris Drusilla. Drew is an entirely different name which in no way relates to your relative.

Drusilla is a great middle name. Something different and meaningful amongst infinite Grace, Rose and May middle names.

It’s also the name of a kind Greek matriarch in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

Honestly, if you want to honour someone just use the actual name, not an approximation or soundalike. When I had DD I chose Martha as her middle name to “honour” our family name of Mary- I was off my rocker trying to justify it.

I can’t help but think of Drusilla who was a character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Great character but super evil. As this was one of my fav shows back in the day that is the first thing I’d think of when I hear the name.

I'd just go with Drusilla as the middle. It will rarely be used outside of official forms and such, and if curious friends/classmates ask her about it she can just truthfully say it was her great-grandmother's name.

If you're really hesitant about it as a contemporary name you could use two middles - for example Ivy Catherine Drusilla Lastname - and it's likely no one will even know that Drusilla is in there except your family and if your daughter wants to highlight it or use it when she's older she can.

(All that said I don't think it's a terrible name and Silla as a short form is quite nice.)

I would use Drusilla as the middle name. Drew or Andrew would be nice for a boy.

Drusilla is quite cool IMO, nice to have an unusual middle name and nice to honour your grandmother.

I am 60ish. I went to school with a Drusilla and knew another as a neighbour. Probably both 65ish now. Both very clever, both had dark wavy hair. Neither were mainstream.

It's OK.

Ivy Drusilla

Use it full as a middle name. It's fab. Too much for a first name maybe, but great as a quirky middle name.

I quite like it. I'd use as a middle name. Drew if a boy.

Dru is such a cool name, first or middle, for a girl! Love it!!

Just use it as a middle name - a third name if you feel it’s a strong flavour. I think it’s rather splendid but would probably use as one of three
eg Ivy Katharine Drusilla
Or if you really don’t like it and your granny had a middle name use that

Drusilla is a cool name!

@QuillBill and who put you in charge of policing people’s language

@GoodSoup

Drusilla is the insane murderous vampire in Buffy, with the terrible accent.

She's kind of cool in a batshit way though. Not gonna lie, this is my reference for the name but children growing up now won't have that. I like the name.

Drusilla is pretty. Use that as a middle name. Nobody under about 40 will know anything about Buffy.

I named my son's middle name after my grandad, who had a very, very unfashionable name. But its my Grandads name. Unless i used it, i wasnt honouring him. I added a second middle name to counteract it's uncoolness in case it bothered my son when he's older.

But imo if you're going to name a baby to honour someone, just use the actual name.

I agree that using the full name as either 2nd or 3rd name works.

However, to respond to those who suggest that honouring a name requires full name or nothing - my generation on my father's side of the family has several Lisas and Elizabeths. All named in honour of our great grandmother. Who turned out when she died (in her 90s) to have actually been called Eliza. Doesn't change the fact that her great grandchildren were named "after her".