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HelpRe: Elphaba
in reply to a message by Buneary
I believe Gregory McGuire created the name based on the initials of L. Frank Baum, original author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I think one of the reasons it works for the "wicked" witch is that it's so ugly sounding.
Wicked aside, I think it's a terrible name. The "elf" sound, the "buh" sound at the end of the name, the fact that I think "elephant" when I see it written out-- all reasons it's awful IMO. Unless the baby is born green, I'd scratch this name.
Made up names form literature work sometimes, but I don't know that the world is ready for little Elphabas yet.
Wicked aside, I think it's a terrible name. The "elf" sound, the "buh" sound at the end of the name, the fact that I think "elephant" when I see it written out-- all reasons it's awful IMO. Unless the baby is born green, I'd scratch this name.
Made up names form literature work sometimes, but I don't know that the world is ready for little Elphabas yet.
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This was supposed to go under the OP
Elphaba is a GP of mine, and if the little girl doesn't like it she can always go by Ellie, so I don;t see it as being too tragic. That being said, I have two main problems with Elphaba:
First, it sounds like elephant and alphabet, which has already been mentioned. That doesn't bother me, but I suspect a lot of girls won't like the connection.
Second, giving kids bizarre names after characters you like always seems like a mistake to me. What happens when your interest in this fictional world inevitably wanes? Will you still like the name? Will it sound even more ridiculous over time? For example, I feel like a lot of people who have named their daughter Khaleesi are going to regret it someday.
Elphaba is a GP of mine, and if the little girl doesn't like it she can always go by Ellie, so I don;t see it as being too tragic. That being said, I have two main problems with Elphaba:
First, it sounds like elephant and alphabet, which has already been mentioned. That doesn't bother me, but I suspect a lot of girls won't like the connection.
Second, giving kids bizarre names after characters you like always seems like a mistake to me. What happens when your interest in this fictional world inevitably wanes? Will you still like the name? Will it sound even more ridiculous over time? For example, I feel like a lot of people who have named their daughter Khaleesi are going to regret it someday.
This message was edited 7/13/2014, 1:01 PM
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