When Pam and I wrote our first name book, Beyond Jennifer & Jason (back when Jennifer & Jason were still baby names), we had a little section called NAMES THAT ARE TOO MUCH TO LIVE UP TO, listing examples that had such a potent image that whey would overpower an innocent babe–including such biblical temptresses and goddesses as Jezebel, Salome and Venus. Well, things have now changed to the point where those names and others equally powerful have slipped into the mainstream. Why? Partly the current anything-goes atmosphere, partly some tipping point moments, such as:
DELILAH: WHY THE BAD GIRL RAP? Biblical temptress who betrayed Samson. DEFUSER? Lame old Tom Jones song; was considered as baby name by Rachel and Ross on Friends.
DESIREE: WHY? Precocious French teenager engaged to and then jilted by Napoleon. DEFUSER? Jumped onto the Social Security list in 200 at #181. Not sure why.
JEZEBEL: WHY? Scheming, promiscuous New Testament hussy; name came to mean hussy. DEFUSER? Feminists started to see her as a victim, became the name of a hot weblog. Name still means hussy.
LOLA: WHY? Sexy 19th century Spanish dancer/courtesan Lola Montez, sexy Marlene Dietrich character in The Blue Angel, sexy Pajama Game song ‘Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets’. DEFUSER? Madonna nicknames baby Lourdes Lola, Kelly Ripa mentions daughter Lola every mornining
LOLITA: WHY? Iconic Nabokov lollipop-licking nymphet; DEFUSER? Actress Lolita Davidovich says it’s a common name in Eastern Europe, director Brian de Palma bestows it on his baby.
SALOME: WHY? Deceitful dancing New Testament seductress, seen as even worse in Oscar Wilde play and Strauss opera; DEFUSER? Not sure, but it was defused enough for TV actress Alex Kingston to use it for her daughter.
SCARLETT: WHY? The Scarlet Letter, phrase “scarlet woman,” spoiled and selfish Scarlett O’Hara; DEFUSER: Scarlett Johanssen
VENUS: WHY? Roman goddess of love, deadly Venus Flytrap plant; DEFUSER: Tennis ace Venus Williams
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Tags: biblical names, Delilah, Friends, Kelly Ripa, Lola, Lolita, Lourdes, Madonna, Nabokov, Napoleon, Oscar Wilde, Salome, Samson, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett O'Hara, sexy names, Tom Jones, Venus Williams
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 2:10 am and is filed under Uncategorized, biblical names, celebrity names, girls' names, sexy names . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
November 13th, 2008 at 3:32 am
I think the Isabella/Isabelle craze may have a lot to do with the acceptability of Jezebel. The names are very similar in sound, so for a parent who is not exactly steeped in Old Testament history and is looking for something out-of-the-ordinary, I can see why it would appeal.