[identity profile] lethe-cat.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] babynames
What do you think about the name Sappho?

Do you immediately think of the Greek poet? Is it inseparable from lesbians (and is that a bad thing--bullying etc.)?


How do you pronounce it? Sap-foh or Sah-foh? I like the second one.

Date: 2010-10-19 12:35 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bugwife.livejournal.com
My dog's pedigree name was Sappho and we pronounced it the second way. We had no idea about the lesbian angle, just thought it sounded cool. We called her Sophie. :)

Date: 2010-10-19 12:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] velkoria.livejournal.com
I uh love that name... partly because I did a 10 page paper on a portrait of Sappho. So the lesbian thing made me go huh?

I pronounce it Sah-foh.

Date: 2010-10-19 12:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-tergo-lupi.livejournal.com
I do think of the poet. I would consider that a bonus. I might consider where you live, though.

Date: 2010-10-19 12:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fivepoints.livejournal.com
I pronounce it the second way. And I immediately think of the poet and lesbians. Not that that's a bad thing. I doubt someone would get much teasing because of it - no one I know knew of Sappho or the content of her work until high school at the earliest, many not until college.

Date: 2010-10-19 01:06 am (UTC)
sal_amanda: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sal_amanda
All of this was my thought exactly.

Date: 2010-10-19 01:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] joereaves.livejournal.com
This is what I was thinking as well. To me the connection is instant and obvious, but I doubt most high school bullies would have a clue (still I suppose only one needs to know for it to be an issue lol).

I don't much like it as a name though, not my style.

Date: 2010-10-19 02:50 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laminy.livejournal.com
I didn't know the context/connection, I just thought it was a really, really ugly name.

Date: 2010-10-19 03:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] blosmbee.livejournal.com
I think of the poet and lesbians. I think it sounds very pretty, but I have a hard time imagining it on a modern age girl.
Like another commenter said, she probably won't be aware of the lesbian connection until high school or college, and I'd imagine she'd have more people making assumptions about her mother's sexuality than anything else.

Date: 2010-10-19 05:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sans-patrie.livejournal.com
I think of the poet and Lesbos, but as far as I'm concerned that's a pretty nice connection. Nothing like the connections with, say, Ophelia. Or any number of other more common names...

Date: 2010-10-19 05:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] buttonmoulder.livejournal.com
There's a girl in my daughter's daycare class named Sappho. She's two. I immediately think of the whole Greek, poet, lesbian thing, but it's a really cute name on this little girl.

Date: 2010-10-19 09:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] linds-ayyy.livejournal.com
I went straight to Lesbian poet, sorry. I wouldn't be able to make the distinction.

Date: 2010-10-19 01:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kort-ni.livejournal.com
this exact comment. *nods head*

Date: 2010-10-19 07:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snoglobel.livejournal.com
I had no idea about the Greek poet/lesbian thing and had to look it up. I pronounced it Saf-pho and I actually like it a lot.

Date: 2010-10-20 02:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] waitingonsunday.livejournal.com
My first thought is of the Sappho Comet, the bird. I am clearly outnumbered, though!
Page generated Mar. 20th, 2026 09:05 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios