names in Prep

[celtic--punk.livejournal.com]

so i just read Prep, a novel by Curtis Sittenfeld, for the 2nd time because I loved it so much, and there are lots of interesting names in the book. for those who havent read/heard about it, its about a girl who is a "female holden caulfield" at an east coast boarding school who doesnt fit in (she's from the midwest and on scholarship; reasons why she feels different) in my opinion, the choice of interesting/some odd names in the book kind of display what celebrities do as far as name choices go: picking out there names in order to show they stand out from others and, because of wealth, are somehow better. This theme, not just because of names, however, is prominent throughout the book (wealth)

anyway, names in the book, along with my own personal commentary,  what do you think?

GIRLS:

Lee (main character; I've heard of this spelling used for men; for girls i've always thought of it as "leigh"
Martha (too old womanish; plus I think of Martha Stewart, whom i dont like)
Dede (short for Deirdre Danielle; I really like Deirdre)
Aspeth (um, wtf? no)
Horton (again, no. i wouldnt name a girl with something that started with "hor""
Norie (dont like)
Clara (if its cl -ARE -uh, then i like it; cl-AIR- uh, dont like)
Sin- Jun (korean name)
Conchita (latina name)
Rufina (latina)
Gates (i really dont know where this came from; nouns as names do not appeal to me; dont like as all; might be worse than aspeth)
Hunter (boys name, and even as a boys name, i dont like it)
Tig (wtf again? didnt even mention as a nickname if it was one, pray to god it was)
Sage (nope - its a spice)
Robin (dont like)
Daphne (dont like)
Kaley (ok name, dont like dont hate; wouldnt use it for a child)
Adele (no- sounds too old)
Maisie (dont like at all)
Isolde (not really; didnt even like the story)
Jean (too old fashioned)
Gina (better than Jean, still dont like
Melodie (dont like; see noun as name)
Sohini (i think an Indian name)
Ginny (dont like)

BOYS

Cross (hate this name; if it was just Ross i would like it; even weirder, he is Jewish, so i have no idea why he would be named cross....)
McGrath (as a first name? no....)
Devin (no; I like Kevin. And I've heard of Devin for a girl as well. even as a girls name, i dont like it much more)
Aubrey (also a girls name, isnt it? dont like it much for either sex)
Henry (too old fashioned)
Darden (dont like)
Edmundo (nope)
Tullis (wtf? dont even know how to pronounce it, with a long or short U, either way, its weird)
Renny (dont like)
Alfie (dont like)
Arthur (dont like)
Niro (dont like; plus its the name of the dictatorial roman emperor that was a bad ruler and persecuted/killed christians- different spelling, but same pronunciation i guess)
Nicky (childish - my brothers name is Nicholas, but we stopped calling him Nicky after 2nd grade)
Mario (dont like - nintendo character)


so yea, i am all for unique names (i have one myself, but it is an ethnic name) but these did not appeal to me very much. just curious as to what everyone thinks (book readers or not)

Comments

[bornto-fly.livejournal.com]

I ADORE that book. I loved Martha, Clara, Ginny, Gina, and Robin (although I prefer Robin on boys) for the girls. For girls, I like Aubrey, Henry, Arthur, Niro, Nick(y), and Mario.

I think she did a really nice job of using names that would have been the names of kids at a prep school like that. It seems like the "rich" use old fashioned names, like Henry, and Martha, and also really "unique" names like Aspeth, Gates, Cross, etc.

The only name I didn't really like was Lee, since it's the masculine spelling of the name, and I think it's really boring. But whatever, it was still a good book.

[bobinwales.livejournal.com]

Never read the book, but I'll give my comments on the name!

Lee - Don't particularly like boys name's on girls
Martha - Not keen on
Dede - Don't like it or Deirdre. But I do like Danielle
Aspeth - Not a fan
Horton - No. Far more masculine
Norie - No
Clara - Dislike
Sin- Jun - Not a fan
Conchita - Don't like
Rufina - looks too much like Rufus
Gates - reminds me of Gareth Gates. *shudders*
Hunter - Kind of like as a boys name
Tig - Random. No!
Sage - Not a fan
Robin - For girls I like Robyn more than Robin, but that may be because I have two friends called Robyn!
Daphne - Not my style really
Kaley - Don't like this spelling. Don't think I like the name!
Adele - Like it
Maisie - It's ok
Isolde - Love it
Jean - It's ok
Gina - Don't like
Melodie - Dislike
Sohini - Looks pretty
Ginny - Like HP geek! :D

BOYS
Cross - Don't like
McGrath - No
Devin - No
Aubrey - No
Henry - Like
Darden - I actually quite like this
Edmundo - No. Just Edmund, yes!
Tullis - No
Renny - Don't like
Alfie - Not a huge fan
Arthur - Love
Niro - No
Nicky - Like it!
Mario - Don't like it - Nintendo game!

[turn-it-upp.livejournal.com]

i read that book, i didn't care for it. i really wish the author had given the main character a more interesting name. lee is an okay middle name i guess but it's so bland for a first name. it's silly of me, but it really bothered me throughout the book.
the names that i do like are daphne, maisie, isolde, henry, and darden.

[christhiane.livejournal.com]

My reaction to Aspeth when reading the novel was also WTF?!? It sounds like some poisenous fibres.

I really disliked the name Cross, too.

I wasn't too hyped about the names chosen by the author, to tell you the truth, but I did enjoy the book immensly.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

The prep school stereotype is that the kids who attend have really, really unique names, so as far as that goes, the author has it dead-on. While some of the names make me go O_o, and others make me go =O, all of them make me roll me eyes because they're sorta off IRL, or at the very least, just off for one reason or another.

[lneef.livejournal.com]

What they're going for with those names is an upper-class feel as far as using family surnames as first names. That's where Gates and Aspeth come in. Probably also Hunter and Horton. I went to college with a lot of "society boys" (who often had numbers after their names) and a great number of them had first names like McGrath.

I keep meaning to read that book.

[celtic--punk.livejournal.com]

i dont like the name Lee either, but i think she did that to keep with the theme of her character: an outsider, plain midwesterner (woot!) who had a "normal" name instead of a unique or rich name. she also didnt have a middle name (playing into this as well)

[celtic--punk.livejournal.com]

yeah, aspeth really made me cringe. however, it made me hate her character even more, which i guess was good. i cant decide which was worse - that or tullis....

[bornto-fly.livejournal.com]

I actually agree. I mean, Lee wouldn't be the name I chose, but it did work for the character, and I thought the other names worked, too. Like Martha was TOTALLY a Martha, and Aspeth and Dede both really fit their characters, too.