Comments for the name Clytemnestra

Clytemnestra killed her husband Agamemnon as vengeance for his slaughter of their young daughter Iphigenia as a human sacrifice.

Clytemnestra Sutpen is a character in William Faulkner's book "Absalom, Absalom!" - she is called Clytie.

Clytemnestra was also the sister of Castor, Pollux, and Helen of Troy. In most variants of the myth, Clytemnestra and Castor are the mortal twin children of Leda and her husband Tyndareus, while Pollux (Polydeukes in Greek) and Helen are the half-divine twin offspring of Leda and the god Zeus.

This name is quite complex and foreign-sounding, and it's not particularly pretty either. I doubt you could get good nicknames out of it, and it sounds a bit like a name some stuck up people would pick for their child and look down on those who don't know the story behind it or how to pronounce it.

My god, this is a beautiful name! It's elegant, beautiful and with lots of nickname opportunities - like Clyssa, Nessa, Nestra, Temmie. Etcetera! It might be a bit hard for a kid to use, though, so they might have to go by a nickname for the first few years - imagine having to learn to print "Clytemnestra" on the first day of school. But still, that would never put me off the name! I love it!

Gosh, can you imagine how long it would take to learn to spell this name, no matter how old you are? And I can just see the blank stares as people look at this name on a school paper or something.

This name *is* really pretty, but at first the association kept me from liking it, since she killed her husband in Greek mythology.

I have to say this name reminds me of 'clitoris'- has done since I first enjoyed Greek mythology & unfortunately I'm sure a lot of children would be only too quick to notice the similar sound of this antiquated name!

Ugh. This name, pretentious beyond words, sounds like something that snobs would name their daughter and brag about it.

I thought it might be interesting to note that the Irish version of Clytemnestra is Cliotaeimnéistre. (Needless to say, I've never met anyone with that name.)

Even I think this name is way over the top and ridiculous, and I like a lot of names that the average person would consider odd or silly! I wouldn't even use it on a fictional character. Not only is there a bad association with Agamemnon's wife, but it would probably take the poor girl quite a few years to learn how to spell her own name correctly.

It most certainly is unusual, and it's exotic sounding, but it sounds like the name of an STD.

Despite the fact that it's quite a long name, I happen to find Clytemnestra oddly beautiful. Then again, I've sort of become a Greekophile (if that's a term :-]) as far as names are concerned, so I'm now a fan of Alcyone, Nephele, Eurydice, and Iphigeneia. A good nickname for Clytemnestra would be Nessa.

There are slow learners and there are fast learners so I don't care if a girl will have difficulty spelling her name, there will be harder things in life. Even though it's long, it has a nice sound to it. And instead of thinking of a wife that murders her husband, think of a character that is spawned by the imagination of the Greeks. Much more positive.

I really do want to like this name, but as it is reminiscent of both 'clitoris' and 'menstruation' to some I find it hard to imagine myself encouraging its use.

Apparently, the meaning "courter, wooer" is the result of a mistranslation. (The original name likely didn't have an 'n' in it.) An alternative meaning (and perhaps the original one) relates to the Greek word for "to scheme, contrive."

I know I've commented already, but I find the website's given history of the name misleading. Clytemnestra took Aegisthus (Agamemnon's cousin) as a lover largely due to the existing animosity between their branches of the family (look up Atreus and Thyestes). The reason Clytemnestra did this was because Agamemnon tricked her into sending their daughter Iphigeneia to him, under the impression that her daughter would be promised to a prince. Instead, Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigeneia to the goddess Artemis so that his ship(s) would receive the necessary wind to travel to Troy. Clytemnestra's daughter was murdered by her husband, and neither woman had had any say in the matter. So she spent 10 years (the length of the Trojan War) plotting her revenge.

I don't think you can top this name in sheer snobbishness. I'd expect a girl with this name to be rich and stuck-up. Hopefully no one is actually named this.