This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Paralee
This one is a bit of a mystery. It seems to be predominantly Southern. It's probably not a variation of Pearlie, because it seems to have been in regular use before Pearl was. By Googling "Paralee" along with the word "genealogy" I was able to find several examples of women with Paralee as a first or middle name born back in the 1820's. It may have a literary origin, but I haven't been able to track it down yet. I hope someone else on this board has more information!
vote up1vote down

Replies

It is very common around here in the south. I encounter it often in my own as well. It seems to be a combo of common phonetic elements, in a manner like African Americans. I know Verlees, Erlees, Estalees, etc. I don't know any Paralees still alive where I live, but there are some kids of Paralees around so I might could ask.
vote up1vote down
It's certainly possible that someone just created it, but what's curious about Paralee is that it's so much older than most of the other creations you mentioned. -lee just wasn't a common ending, especially in that spelling, for names back in the 1820s.
vote up1vote down