Would the meaning of the name Mallory steer you away?

[iruma77]

I’ve been obsessed with the name for years and years, but mentioned it in passing to someone and they were shocked we even considered it. It’s such a beautiful name & I haven’t cared about the meaning of anyones name before!

Yes. I would worry I was condemning them to a life of sadness, which I know is ridiculous.

Yes it would. You cant use it imo

If you think it’s beautiful use valerie

Yes personally it would. I avoided Tristan for a boy for this reason as well.

It's from Maol Mhuiri meaning "servant of Mary".

What does it mean?

As long as her surname isn't Park then I think its a nice name.🚘

It's a bit americanised I suspect.

I don’t know its meaning, but it sounds like an American name to me. (Of course you may be American so that’s fine!)

Mallory Towers?

I've avoided Penelope because of its associations, rather than meaning. But we're talking about the "original" Penelope, so might as well call it its meaning. Similarly with Lilith. Sadness and vengeful demons are not what naturally came to mind when I looked at DD!

For me, the meaning is a fundamental part of a name.

I probably wouldn't use Mallory, because the prefix 'mal' is still so widely used in modern English and therefore even people who aren't interested in the meanings of names might be more likely to make the connection.

FWIW, Tristan doesn't come from the French 'triste'. That was a later association. It comes from the Welsh 'drust', meaning 'tumult'.

I think they’re different names. That’s from Gaelic and Mallory is from Norman French.
Names with ‘negative’ meanings can be seen as a challenge e.g. for an ‘unfortunate’ child to overcome and transmute misfortune. See also names like Jacob and Dolores.

@NormasArse it means unhappy or unlucky, from French malheur

@ZoyaTheDestroyer I studied the French Tristan et Iseult at university. It says in it that he was named Tristan because his life was so sad. So it’s an association that dates from at least the 12th century!

Yes, it's the same in the German Tristan but it's a paretymology, albeit a very old one!

Amelia is a birth defect but a surprisingly common name, doesn’t seem to put people off.

I didn't know there was a meaning to it particularly but I don't like it and know I do know the meaning, yes it would put me off even more.

My neice is called Mallory. I love the name and imo it sounds great whatever age you are.

You hardly ever hear that word/birth defect though. The name also means vigour/effort/industrious.

I love the name and it wouldn’t put me off

It does not, it's a homophone, a phonetic coincidence.

Amelia the female name is of Germanic origin. Amelia the condition comes form the Greek. Totally different meanings.

While I take your general point, Amelia the name has been around for centuries (as opposed to the need to talk about thalidomide and associated conditions). So when most people hear Amelia in the West they think of the name.

Also, they are not pronounced the same in most languages.

I totally understand that, but it’s spelled the same so potentially confusing for people. As with a lot of names with obscure meanings, or similarities to things, or whatever, it may not matter depending on the country, or context. Mallory for example, is a nice name to me that reminds me of Mallory Towers, nothing more.

Yes, it could be confusing as an isolated word. But my point is that it is no very commonly uttered in everyday life meaning the condition, and very often indeed meaning the given name.

My personal confusion is actually between Amelia and Emilia! 😁in fact, I know someone whose daughter's name was initially spelled in error at the Registry office and only noticed at the last minute!

Im not superstitious so I wouldn't be put off by name meanings. It sounds like an ok name.

I’ve only just looked up the meaning because if this thread. I don’t think that many people would know it’s original meaning.

That’s just ridiculous. My name means “foresight” - does that mean my mum condemned me to a life of being a psychic?