The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1897-01-30
LOVELY GIRLS NAMES.
They are Fearfully DistOrted-The
Evolution of MARY"

the Evening WISCONSIN,, thus dWells up
on this interesting subject:
1T came about through letter, at
least through the signature at the end
Of the letter. After telling ne. on four
pages Of rose-colored paper, carefully
lined with rale blue, exactly the style
of beauty possessed by the writer and
her great grief, which she felt a true
lady could understand, because of some
tiny spots that came on her nose and
its inclination to get red and to swell,
she asked my advice and ended up be-
ing Mine very lovingly, Maymye Opal
Jones'" grasped the "Jones," and l
did not struggle with the Opal" but
l looked long time at the "Maymye"
before l realized that it was a new way
Of spelling Mamie" To what base
uses may we come at last! Fancy any
body starting with beautiful Hebrew
name Of Mary" which, pronounced
correctly, is the loveliest name in the
world, and degenerating it into May
mye!' About Mollie' there is some
thing whole souled and affectionate:
you think of Mollie" with dimple
in her chin and with blue eyes and with
blonde hair. You can forgive 4 woman
named Mary for permitting herself to
be called Molie by those she loves and
while she is young. l can even under
stand girl allowing herself to be called
Mamie, which is, of course, the French
for My Soul" but what sort Of a girl
is it who signs her name Maymye
Opal Jones?" Where did she get that
Opal?" Not in baptism am sure The
future of "Maymye Opal Jones" is the
on a programme, and its wearer will
sing in a husky voice those knowing
ballads which are the delight of GER
tain kind of music hall.
It's curious how some people rise su-
perior to their names. while others are
absolutely crushed under them. To
my way of thinking there are no names
as beautiful as those taken from the
Bible. There is dignity and womanli-
ness in Miriam, Leah, Salome, Rachel,
Ruth, Deborah, Elizabeth and Magda-
len; but when you call Sarah "Sadie,"
when Rachel is lowered into one syll-
able, when any of them are degraded
into nicknames, l can imagine the old
prophets arising and calling down all
sorts of bad fortune on the foolish
women. 1t is said Mr.. TeEnyson is re-
sponsible for the influx of Saxon names
that came to us at one time. Maud,
Mabel, Gwendoline, Eleanor, Ethelind,
and others that were as dignitied as
/ they were understanding. For myself,
l like name with meaning-Con-
stance, which tells its story of faithful
ness at once; Amabel, from W hich Mabel
comes, and which is after all only a
twisting around Of the word "amiabie";
then there is Penelope, weaver; Su-
same. lily; Hilary, cheerful spirit;
Emma, gem; Angelina, little angel;
Beatrice, a blessing; Ada, princess,
and Agatha, gracious. There are hun
dreds of others, and each one tells its
own story.
Did you ever trouble yourself to fol-
low a name through the different lam
guages? Take the name Rose. which is
of Latin birth, and meaEs. Of course,
the queen OF flowers; In Italian it be-
came Rosabella, which means a lair
rose; in French it is Rosalia, which
means ROSY lips. Now. there would be
sense in a grandmother named Rose
urit Il h,x Z he
name in its pretty changes. Visiting in
the Highlands once, / met a small girl
who was namedNida, and until she edu-
Gated me l never realized how ignorant
l was. Eager to make her talk. ! asked
her for whom she was named; she said,
! after her father, for his name was David .
and it was only when i little search had
been made that | discovered that, in
the Gaelic, Vida is the feminine Of
| David. Speaking Of the name influenc
ing people, the most abominsble gossip
l ever knew was called by her intimate
friends Angie" Curiosity prompted
me to ask her her full name; she told
me it was Evangeline, and, of course,
|
Query! Had she depraved the name.
or had the name Influenced her?
Who, that ever read 'David Copper
| field could think of girl named Dora
as anything else but meek, foolish, in
deed, absolutely silly, though entirely
lovable? And who that ever read Mid
dlemarch' could think of woman
named "Iorothea' except as one eager
to do right, eager for wisdom, and yet
with heart and brain battling against
each other? Could Becky Sharp be
called any other name? When you say
Becky" don't you seem to herr the
sound of gold, and don't you think
supply of the good things of this world
and how they are to be gained? And
| doesn't Amelia sound like buttered
! toast? Soft and adapted to any diges
ton. 1t seems to me that the people
! who name us have much to answer for.
| There is the boy who is slender Of build
and weak Of mind, vain and inclined to
be talkative, weighted down by Regin-
aid or Oliver, or even Hector. ANY
| clerk IN haberdasher shop could down
| him. There are men who, all their lives
! long, are known by initials. because
they realize the folly of having been
! given fashionable name. | rather like
the Southern fashion Of giving to the
eldest daughter her mothers maiden
name; it doesn't Undue her with any
masculine instincts, aud it seems, in a
pretty way, to make her cling to the
| girlhood of the past.
A hunt through dictionary of names
has proven to me that Barbara means
"a foreigner" or somebody who is
strange; don't believe in that diction-
arv.