What do you think of Persephone?

[woodysquirrel]

What do you think of Persephone as a girl's name? It's listed on Mumsnet's Baby Name Finder.
Please could you help with this. I'm guessing this is very unusual, am I wrong? How popular is this and what do you think of the name? We're shortening to Sephy or Persy.
Middle names will be Constance Jane.

Well, I feel gratified at absorbing a little bit of Culcha, so thank you very much Pent

Do come to me if you ever need a smutty riposte- tis my usual area of expertise

You? Smutty? Never!

Sorry, OP. Totally derailed your thread. Very bad form. Apologies.

fine if she works for BT
otherwise , are you kidding?

Everyone you know will snigger behind your back and judge you for being an all-time ponce.

You asked!

What about Proserpine, the Roman version?

I love it, and we semiseriously considered it for DD, but we are Cypriot so can trump the 'poncetastic' card with the 'it's cultural innit?' card

If you like it, use it. Pshaw to everyone else.

I like Persephone, it's very melodic, but always on someone else's child In fact I do know of a Persephone and Calliope. There is a new brother with a name in keeping but have forgotten what it is.

I do like Hermoine, Helena, Callista & Stephanie.

Staggered to receive so many replies, thanks.

I don't know if it being poncey bothers me, while may not be considering private education she won't be going to a school in a bad area,(will that really matter?)
I thought it might become the new Penelope

I'm keeping it on our shortlist just in case

any more opinions welcome

How do you pronounce Proserpine? I haven't ever heard of it.

You sound very nice- if the ponceyness doesn't worry you, I'd be tempted to say go for it then...

(Helen would be a good middle name? )

There was a Demeter at my DCs' school a couple of years ago.

That was her mum, no?

I think Persephone very unusual and some would struggle to pronunce/spell it.

(georgimama and BitofFun, I know 2 Helens under 9. DH calls one of them "DD's 40yo pal Helen" as there are a lot my age, but I like it )

I absolutely love it.

Yes, Demeter was her mother. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and she neglected her duties when Persephone was kidnapped and take to the underworld because she was searching for Persephone. Demeter appeled to Zeus to see that she was set free. Zeus said she could go free so long as she had not eaten anthing. But, she had eate pomegranate seeds. So she was banishe to the underworl for sic months of the year. It's not really a happy story. This story is actually near and dear to me (sorority links) but I wouldn't name my child after such a dark story.

And I don't think the name is the least bit posh. It is ancient greek. Is that posh?

Poncephone

I think it is a lovely name. It was a name I considered. I would have shortened it to Sephy or Seph.

I thought it was a boys name.

How popular is it? --Ot very.

What do I think of it? I don't like it.

Constance is nice.

I love it and it is up there in my top ten for girl's names. DH likes it, but unlike me, thinks it's abit too poncy.

He likes Penelope though, which is in the same league as Persephone in my opinion, though more widely used as a name,

I also like:

Antigone
Hermione
Ariadne

They sound so pretty especially Persephone.

Maybe I'll get to use it as a middle name one of these days!!

Persephone is a gorgeous name.

Love it

Also Antigone and Hermione, Helen and Alexandra/Cassandra.

How about Medea or Clytemnestra? Those are cheerful names.

Electra? Iphigenia? Cassandra? Jocasta? It always amazes me that people choose such unfortunate names for their children. If they would only bother to look up their classical heritage, they would steer well clear of them.

Pro-ser-pee-na, not a very auspicious name and doesn't even sound as nice as persephone.

if you would like a nice greek name, how about Aletheia. it means truth.

Most well known classical names for girls have so many bad connotations that I can't really inflicting them on a chid. many sound very beautiful because Greek is such a mellifluous language, but the meanings or myths associated with them much are less so.

I have to say, as well, that all this talk of shortening to Sephy just makes me think of Final Fantasy and maniacal, one winged, silver haired bad guys. But that may be because I am a mother of teenage boys.

Penelope also gets the same sort of mispronunciation as Persephone, I knew tons of youngsters who, when reading Greek Myths at school, refered to Percy-phone and Penny-lope (with a long o and no ey at the end.)

Why would you want to do that?

StressedHEmum - the day I see a 'Sephiroth' name thread on MN will be the day I die laughing (I do like him though - always root for the misunderstood bad guys)