Tempest-Clunky cool or banished to old-lady land?

[appy]

Yesterday, my brother Lincoln brought home his class name list for Valentine's Day. There were some adorable names (Tenley, Clara, and Luca) as well as some cringe-worthy ones (Braeden, Kade, Maddeline, Sydney, Cloey). One that struck me, however, was Tempest. Her nickname is Tempe-pronounced tem-pee. I thought it was pretty darn cute myself, but no one else seemed to agree. This is more of a hypothetical thread than anything, but what do you think of Tempest nn Tempe? It is clunky, but in an amazingly cool and edgy way? Or is it destined to be the old lady in the nursing home down the hall from grandma? What does Tempest bring to mind?

Thanks for any comments!

~RJ

[catheyc]

I definitely think of Tempest as more edgy and not at all an old lady name. Do people actually know old ladies named Tempest?! I certainly don't. I do love the nn Tempe (I've grown to love it as a fan of the tv show Bones), but Tempest is much to edgy for me to actually use and even though it seems a fine name on a grown woman, on a baby it seems discordant somehow because I think of stormy dark, dangerous seas and meanwhile there's this cute little baby. Maybe if I met one I'd think differently.

[elrock13]

Tempest isn't at all an old-lady name. Tempest isn't in the top 1000 today, let alone 80 years ago. This name is super hippy-ish in my opinion, but it's gaining quite a strong following. Tempe sounds like invitation to a bully, and is going to be pronounced Temp-ay frequently. Not to be harsh, but I strongly dislike this name.

[ashthedreamer]

Love Tempest! I agree that it's not an old lady name at all, haha. I love the connection to The Tempest; I'm sorta a huge Shakespeare fan, haha. I think its nns (like Tempe and Emmy and Tess) are very sweet.

[appy]

Catheyc, yep. In third grade we went to a nursing home and I met a sweet old lady named Tempest, so that's a positive association for me. And Elrock, doesn't bother me. I welcome name-tearing--you can only build from criticism .

[aurra]

I think Tempest is a strong name, but I just don't see it on anything other than a fictional character. An edgy name like that only fit certain personalities and would be highly ironic on sweet little girls. I also don't like any of the nicknames, though Esti and Temi are okay.

[lis09]

I don't think it's an old lady name at all. It's uncommon and strong. The only real person I have heard it on is Tempest Bledsoe from the Cosby show.

[philomena]

I don't like at all. Way too wordy for me and not namey enough. Temperance is okay but Tempest is unappealing at best.

[isabellemarie]

I like the nn Tempe. I have a friend who just had a baby girl they named her Temperance with the nn Tempe.

[nj003]

Tempest is the opposite of clunky/old-lady name to me. It fits right in with the wonderful cute hippie names like Aurora, Lark, Winter, Snow, Frost, etc. I guess I can see how it might feel a bit older, since it's got the feeling of Temperance (which I also love) but to me it's definitely not clunky at all. Tempe is slowly growing on me as a nickname, not crazy about it though.