Pollyanna, etc
I read the old Eleanor H Porter Pollyanna books when I was a child; there were also numerous followups, improbably enough. And there's a Scottish craftswoman called Pollyanna Pickering - her name's on some coffee mugs of mine for instance; don't know if it's her 'real' name or not.But this can't be usual, surely? Has anyone else ever encountered a genuine Pollyanna?Some storybook names really catch on, it seems, and others don't, though the books may be very popular. Like Pollyanna! And Jancis, from Precious Bane I think. Read by millions, used by very few. Interesting! And no doubt the same with movies and soapies and such.
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I've never met a Pollyanna, but I do know of a Pollyanne who's in her 70s or 80s. Aside from the books, I guess that if Porter thought of the combination others probably did too!
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Yup, I've read about a Swedish-Brazilian girl living outside Stockholm, whose name was Pollyanna. I remember it because I thought it was so special. And if it is used in a relatively small country like Sweden, I guess you can find a lot of Pollyannas in the U.S. and Canada, too.
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