So it's that time again, time for the Old Lady Game. Because the most recent contestants were so delightfully painful, I decided it was time to share the latest with you. So here they are. Some are repeats, but we needed them for comparison. Pick your favorites, and tell me the worst one there and the one you'd pick for yourself, if pressed. I find both are good to know, just in case.
Florence
Clytie (how do you imagine this is pronounced?)
Norma
Viola
Myra (BUT SHE WENT BY LAMAR!!!!)
Joyce
Enid
Delora
Nelda
Norris (whose father happened to be named Paul Revere)
Veloy
Dimple (!!!)
Lynnafred
Gaylie Aloyce
Valeara
It is not hard at all to choose the one I'd pick for myself - definitely Joyce. I actually like that name because it sounds happy - like joy! (Also I've known a couple of people (both women) named Joyce and they were very nice.)
ReplyDeleteI thought the worst was going to be Clytie, but then I got to Lynnafred and it was so obviously made up and so very ugly (in my humble opinion) that I would have to go with it as the worst.
Also I had an uncle named Lamar - it's not a BAD name - for a GUY!
Last night I sat by a lady whose sister was named "Della." I can totally see why Myra went by Lamar. Totally. ?? It is hard to pick the worst. Tie between Clytie (who in the world . . . ) and Valeara, which sounds like a disease to me. From this list I would pick . . . Dimple. Ha! I have several so why not?
ReplyDeleteWould you hate me if I told you I actually sort of like Viola in that old fashioned kind of way? Perhaps it's because of Shakespeare. Somehow being a Shakespearean name elevates it for me. Like when I found out that Jessica was a Shakespearean name, I had a little more respect for it. Worst name is Nelda.
ReplyDeleteI had a great grandpa name Dee Lora. And he went by Dee Lora. Not good for a dude or a chick. Blech.
Also, I love when you do this segment. :)
ReplyDeleteSandra, I like where you're going with joy and Joyce, but I think it sounds a little too much like "moist" to me, so I have a hard time with it.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, amen about Lynnafred. When I heard it, I thought it was spelled "Linnafred," or something, which is somehow not as bad. But when I saw that it was Lynn tacked on the front, I died a little inside.
Valeara TOTALLY sounds like a disease. I think that was one of the unwritten rules in child naming we came up with: don't name your child anything that sounds like an illness.
Lara, I also kind of like Viola. I should state upfront that I don't think all of these names are horrible, they were just the contestants in the game and are needed for comparison's sake.
Still chuckling about Dee Lora. Why not go by Dee? That's not so bad.
I had a hard time picking the worst. Dimple was a contender, for the sheer ridiculousness of it, and the others I already mentioned. But I think I have to go with Gaylie Aloyce because it's twice as awful. There's no going by a middle name or a nickname that would save this one. Good, good times.