Vesper

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

A recent post that mentioned "Vespertine" reminded me of a book series I read as a kid - it was about a fearless girl named Vesper Holly, who was a bit like Nancy Drew, only way more awesome :) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/tagging/glance/vesper%20holly)

I was probably about 12 when I read them, and I remember thinking her name was so strange, and whispering it to myself over and over, trying to decide if it was horrible or beautiful.

It's got something to it... I would not use it, but it does have a certain appeal.

Reactions?

(Vesper means evening in Latin, and is not listed on behinthename.com -shock!-, although there is a listing for Vespera, which is apparently Esperanto.)

Comments

[turabiannights.livejournal.com]

I'm not exceptionally fond of it, honestly - I'd be wondering where Matin and Laud were :/ I could deal with Vesperine, though, which I've heard before.

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

Funny, that aspect of it (the prayer cycle) is what makes the name evocative and somewhat appealing to me :)
But no, I'm not exceptionally fond of it either!

[elemmennope.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of those european motor-scooters. Vespa? Doesn't really seem like a human name.

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

Yeah - Vespa!
I agree, it's an odd name.

[krosp.livejournal.com]

Something seems poisonous about it.. . vapor, venom, viper ...? I don't know really why, but it doesn't seem suitable for a person. Do you like Vesna?

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

True! The first thing I think of, though, is the evening prayer service (vespers), so my association is quite different.
Vesna is all right, but I'm not really looking for alternatives - this is a name I would not consider using. I just wanted to see what people thought about this strange name. :)

[liss07.livejournal.com]

Heh, the Bond girl in the new Bond film, Casino Royale, is called Vesper ;)

I thought it was quite nice myself, something different without being weird, it took a minute to register but yeah, certainly not a bad name in my eyes!

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's so strange about the Bond girl!!! I wonder if any of the scriptwriters had read the book series - Vesper Holly would have made a great Bond girl ;)

[septembergrrl.livejournal.com]

It's apparently a name from the original book (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_%28novel%29), which was published in 1953. So if anything, Vesper Holly was named for the Bond girl, judging by what seem to be the copyright dates on the Vesper Holly series. (Though it's more likely a coincidence).

I like it for the character, but I have a hard time seeing it on someone in real life. It reminds me of the scooters.

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

Ah! Interesting. Thank you. I wonder if it was actually used in the 50's, or just given to a character.

I agree with you - I also think it's a bit too out there for an actual person.

[liss07.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I've never heard of a real life Vesper, but authors do research and/or make things up so it's likely that Ian Fleming either heard of it some other way or was using artistic license :)

[liss07.livejournal.com]

Ah you beat me to it!

[anapology.livejournal.com]

A vesper is the name of a car, or a motorbike?

Nobody is cooler than Nancy Drew!!

[ewaeva.livejournal.com]

Vespa - Italian scooters. (I want one!)

And while Nancy Drew is very cool indeed, I think Vesper Holly could give her a run for her money! Hehe. Now I want to lounge around and read books for 12-year olds all day.

[ciara-belle.livejournal.com]

V for Vendetta?

Natalie Portman gets her head shaved in that. But her character's name is Evey.

[ciara-belle.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, I know what you mean. V for Vendetta is the big exception for me, because the story is good and the other actors do a really fantastic job. ^^