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.

But just think, every time the baby entered the room you could have THAT music playing! I find him strangley compelling, but not enough to want to saddle my child with his name, sadly.

Had another thought on Greek names. I find all this business of plucking figures from mythology, or even ancient history (if you aren't familiar with the names background, in particular) a bit incomprehensible, to be honest, also calling your child some sort of anglicised version of Latin and Greek words (Eutyche, Eulallia, Euodia, etc.) a bit bizarre and pretentious. However, along with Aletheia, another very beautiful name (and one with great symbolism for ancient, hellenistic peoples) is Eleutheria. It means freedom.

Sorry, I don't know how to make my puter do Greek script, so I can't put in the etas where they should be, so you will just have to fill in long ae sounds.

achingly pretentious

I love it, loads...considered it,but thought would get this reaction.

Ophelia?

We just gave Ophelia as a second name to our daughter, so I am exceedingly biased towards it...

I don't agree with people who say that some names are "pretentious". Exceedingly odd. A name is a name. Some may ring better than others, but there are loads of different reasons why people opt for one name over another.

To me the names Tarquin and Persephone are used to denote the pinnacle of poshness in jokes.

BUt you can't say Persephone ... it has to be honked.

why can't you say it? I think it's lovely...would prob get shortened to sephie though which is odd.

It sounds as if you are trying to be posh.

maybe you are posh.

Tis fine as long as you are 100% sure she will go to a private school

obviously it's a wonderful name, an inspired choice and your daughter will grow up to be an assured, confident and exceptionally beautiful young lady. but I would say that...

I think it's a great name .. but then it depends who you are and where you are from as to whether you consider it poncey or pretentious or simply a name.

I would consider it poncey or pretentious but I know an Lysander and a Mungo (grown ups that I know from childhood) neither are pretentious or poncey (one is a pig/cattle farmer and the other a teacher)

Anyway - I really like Persephone.

I don't like Persephone. I wouldn't have known how to pronounce it correctly until I saw this thread and think the majority of people would also struggle.
I also think it is very poncey and sounds like you are trying very hard.
I don't like the nn either Sephy sounds too like Saffy which makes me think of AbFab and that drippy girl.
I do like Constance Jane though

If you have twins the other one could be Trimphone

for the record, I LOVE this name. Shame about the connotations, but beautiful name.

If I had twins, a boy and a girl, I would call them Peregrine and Persephone. Well, I wouldn't, but I'd like to IYSWIM

messalina - My Dad held out for me to be called Clytemnestra for AGES. Was very lucky Mum held her ground. He still thinks it would have been a good idea.

I think Persephone is ok, if a bit insipid, but unless you're happy for people to be calling her Percy (or Phony), then I would think carefully about it.

funky to me

Know a Cassiopeia - Cassie to her friends - which I personally much prefer.

I quite like it but wouldn't use.

I love it and it is on our shortlist. But not sure if we'll use it.

Reading this I'm astonished at the casual bullying going on of potential parents of a Persephone.

Comments about "poncey-ness" of the name say so much about the character of the posters.

If I were to have an opinion about one of the names offered by posters as an alternative, for example that Stephanie sounds like she is a cheap 17 year old with 3 kids living off benefits in a council estate, or that Helen sounds like a common old woman waiting to have her incontinence pad changed, there would be uproar.

And the reason is that many of you know or ARE a Helen or a Stephanie so such an opinion wouldn't be accepted.

Instead you revel in your collective ignorance, hiding behind reasons such as "people will mispronounce it" - should everyone with heritage from overseas abandon their roots for the same reasons? No, because it seems it's not alright to be xenophobic or racist, but it is alright to be "classist".

It boils down to the idea that some people feel confined by tradition and the opinions of others when naming their child. Anything which is new or different is regarded as "not normal" but it's only in the circles you move in that these names are "not normal" just as in the circles others move in Stephanie would be unthinkable.

Discussions about sound, mouth-feel, nicknames, back-story etc are all valid and valuable, but please don't try to humiliate or degrade others using your own sheltered standards.