Louise BrooksI once had a student named Thelma. On the first day of class, I read her name aloud from the roll, looked up, and said, "You're named after a grandmother, aren't you?"
And she was.
Thelma is the only student I've ever had named Thelma--completely unforgettable--as opposed to all the Jennifers, Heathers, and Alicias (varied spellings) I've had. It didn't hurt that Thelma also wrote well. That's razzleberry pie in the sky for a writing teacher: a competent writer named Thelma.
Louise is a Thelma kind of name. I've never had a student named Louise or Blanche or Edna or Mabel. Maybe Louise is a notch up from Thelma. There is that song: "Every little breeze seems to whisper Louise . . ." sung by Maurice Chevalier with his French accent in 1929.
Is there a Thelma song?
I know many females with the middle name Louise. Ann Louise, Anne Louise, Mary Louise, Alice Louise. Lots of people come up to me and say, "My middle name is Louise." My question is why doesn't anyone name her kid Louise? First name: Louise. Second name: whatever.
I went to grade school with Louise Brown, but I've only met a couple of Louises in adulthood.
I was named after my father, Louis. In Dutch, my name is pronounced Louisa, but that all changed with the immigrant status. I like the musicality of Louisa.
My next witness protection name is Louisa Roosevelt.
This is all just a twisted way of saying, that I'm glad Thelma's mother named her Thelma and not Tiffany.
What name would you like to have when you go into Witness Protection? And where would you want to live?
When our daughter was born (over 12 years ago) my husband wanted to name her Emma and I DID NOT. It seemed like a Thelma name. (We did name her Emma though.) Then it got really trendy and there are a lot of Emmas in the world. My husband hates trendy so he's disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI'm relieved.
Hi Thelma. I love the name Emma. It was Tom's grandmother's name. What name would you want if you could choose?
ReplyDeleteThis is precisely why our Noelle is not called Megan, which is her first given name. Haven't had any other Noelles in her class or grade yet. I haven't ever thought of a name alternative for myself.
ReplyDeleteOur daughter is Gillian Louise. You are correct if you are thinking my mother-in-law is named Louise!
ReplyDeleteThelma and Louise, please don't get together and drive off the edge of a canyon in a pale blue convertible. This blog is one of my primary pleasures these days.
ReplyDeleteWe named our eldest Alice. We liked that everyone knows the name, but no one uses it much anymore. The few we have met were contemporaries of our Alice's great-grandmother.
I wonder how it would feel to be a Dorcas. What should my witness-protection surname be?
My name is Melody Ann.
ReplyDeleteMy mother said it was that or Misty Sue.
Glad she chose correctly. : )
My daughter is Jaxen Trieste.
I love that her name is unique - even though there are now TONS of Jaxon's (with an o) around (mainly boys).
What name would I choose if I went into witness protection program??
Well, I better not tell you the name I pick in case they check my computer if I commit a crime.
: )
There were always 3-4-5 Sara(h)s in my classes growing up. It was never a big deal to me. Which is why I get confused when I have had to think of baby names and one I like is popular and that ends up turning me off. If I like the name, why should it matter if other people do, too?
ReplyDeleteWhen I tell people my name is Anne they say, "That's my mom's middle name." or "That's my aunt's middle name."
ReplyDeleteI don't give a damn about their aunt's middle name.
So I guess I'm stuck with Anne Louise, which are two names that everyone and their aunt has for a middle name. The "whatever" names. Except one of them is named after you. And I like you.
My seven year old has a girlfriend named Mabel. She's super cute.
ReplyDeleteI hate the PTA and being asked to be a class mother. When put on the spot to sign up for something I have actually signed Tabitha Rothchild with a fake number.
ReplyDeleteHey, my middle name is Louise, after none other than you. Sorry to disappoint - talk to Teddy about that. If it makes you feel any better, I grew up being called Bekah Lou. That should count for something, or am I still in the whatevs category? If I were in the witness protection program I'd be Sophia Renee. I pretty much love that name.
ReplyDeleteMy undercover name would be Leslie June. I don't know why, I just like it. More interesting though, would be the crime that would put me in the WPP. It would be white-collar crime, involving lots of money with minimal participation on my part but I would know all the dirt on everybody. I guess that means I would be the executive secretary to a politically connected gangster. That ought to buy me a ticket to a nice tropical country.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has a student named Louise in his class. So, for the record, there is a Louise in 8th grade in Sandy. They haven't had any writing assignments yet (he's her English teacher). I don't know whether she's gifted with words like you or Thelma. To be determined...
ReplyDeleteMy witness protection name? Ellie Carlquist.
Talia Hendrica Van Der Something. I would live in the 350 square foot studio on west 109th Street and Broadway for $1225. Because....I too love New York City. Oom Yo says hi!
ReplyDeleteI think Louise is kind of making a comeback, actually. My kids are naming their baby (due in October) Eloise, which is kind of close.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Mabel is making a comeback, too. So's Hazel.
I have to weigh in here, because I named my daughters Hazel and Ruby. Everyone asks me that grandmother question, as if it somehow explains everything and makes it okay. The irony is that my husband's grandma completely boycotted the name Hazel and refused to use it, calling our daughter by her middle name (Emmaline!) instead. You can't please anybody! Louise/Louisa have always been on our short list.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted the name Gizelle. One has to be leggy with pouty lips for that name, though. I have thick thighs and a short neck. Wouldn't work.
ReplyDeleteI named my daughter Afton. Lot's of people with dentures have that name.
I've only met a couple of Nancys who are anywhere near my age (early thirties). The rest were all born approximately around 1950 so there are a lot of 60 something Nancys I run into. I've never liked my name because it seemed old. In third grade I tried going my my middle name (Kristine). I'm glad that didn't stick because there are a lot of Kristine/Christine/Kristen/Christina/Kristi/ie/Krys etc. my age.
ReplyDeleteWitness protection program: Lucy Adler, London, U.K.
I had a baby this summer and our top three names were Beatrice, Gretel, and Olive. We settled on Olive. But you should have seen the grimaces people gave me when I told them our name choices. I still love Beatrice and Gretel and hope my next is a girl so I can consider these two names again.
ReplyDeleteI love Eloise like Ann mentioned.
Witness Protection: Sophia Silver.