BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Baby Names What do you think of Agatha?

My husband loves the name Agatha Jane for the daughter we are expecting. What do you think?

I think Agatha Jane is a lovely name and one to be proud of.

Agatha???

Really??

Try to remember the name you choose for your child, isn't really ONLY about what you like but what your child with have to live with their entire life.

Can you imagine being in grade school with the name of Agatha?

There's another discussion of Agatha in this forum around the date, 3-7-08. You might want to take a look there.

I can think of lots worse names than Agatha, and putting it with Jane gives it a nice sound in my opinion. Agatha is apparently an old name which makes it interesting.

I'm not sure we need to buckle to grade school peer pressure when we name our children. Plenty of people receive unusual names either as a way to continue a family tradition or to honor a special person. And, then, there are the people with rare or unusual last names, and we can't change those just to appease the grade school meanies. Eventually, I think, most of these people learn to appreciate having a unique and, perhaps, meaningful name.

Agatha Christie seemed to function pretty well with her name; but, then, she didn't go to "real" school. She was home-schooled. Glen Close (spelling?) has a boy name, and she seems to have adjusted.

Of course, everyone should be careful to consider what their children's initials might spell, but that's another subject . . .

I like Agatha. And I really like the pairing with Jane.

But I also think "Agatha" could bring on some teasing from those who don't like it (or just aren't used to it), so that should be factored in to your decision.

Here's the other recent discussion about Agatha that cela referred to: What's wrong with Agatha?!

Hi, my name is Agathe (French). The English version of my name is Agatha. Agatha is the name I have been called since Kindergarten and high school through to now - I am 38 yrs old. I have never been teased about my name and have being brought up here in Australia (70s + 90s) and in South Korea (80s). I think names are a personal thing and sometimes asking others of their opinion makes things more difficult and confusing. Some people like some names, others don't. My advice is stick to what you like and don't rely too much on other people's opinions. Agatha is not a common name (which I think is good) - I too am looking to name my second child due in a week and find that asking others their opinion confused me and makes me question myself.
Agatha

I think this is fantastic advice!

Almost any name can be a way kids find to tease each other. Don't let what "might happen" sway your choice. Just go with what feels right with you and your husband.

Hey, I came across these Agatha threads via search engine, and I felt compelled to join this forum just to point out the one HUGE factor that is likely to make Agatha a successful upcoming name for kids again:

Agatha has a major comic book hero as a recent namesake.

If you haven't read Girl Genius by now, you are sorely missing out. Let me give you the shortest version I can come up with.

The story is a high fantasy adventure (with a good dose of romance) in a world like our own, only technology has taken an odd turn due to the prevalence of "sparks" (mad scientists). Society is alternately advanced and half-destroyed by these Sparks - and it lies under the even greater threat of mind-controlling bugs from another dimension.

There are giant mechanical creations running loose in the Wastelands and genetically engineered monsters tromping through society under the banner of Baron Wulfenbach. The Baron rules his part of the world with an iron fist to quell the political in-fighting, and he's possibly the only thing standing between the world and the bugs: He does what has to be done to protect society, even if it means sacrificing innocent lives. He's well-intentioned, as far as that goes, but he's far from good-hearted, and you better not get in his way.

In a small corner of this world lives Agatha Clay, a mousy lab assistant desperate to prove herself. She suffers from frequent headaches that interfere with her concentration, and she can't even muster up a single working invention, so her co-workers either pity her or ridicule her. Then, one day, the Baron arrives to inspect the results of an assignment he gave the lab... and that's how the saga begins.

This is an ongoing comic. You can get, what, five or six of the graphic novels in print, but more than that, you can go and read the whole comic to date (even prior to the printing date!) online. It's all at GirlGeniusOnline, absolutely free, updated three times a week. And if you enjoy over-the-top storytelling and high fantasy in the slightest, it won't take more than a couple chapters to get you absolutely hooked.

So go ahead and name your daughter Agatha. And when you're telling her stories, you can add in an "oral tradition" version of Agatha's adventures. And when the kid is old enough to read comic books with the occasional half-clad heroine, you can let her read the comic for herself.

Even if she does end up getting teased a little, she'll have a hero and role model to look up to, and it'll give her the backbone she needs to thrive under any amount of peer pressure.

Do what my parents did, take the name seperate the sylables in this case Ag A and Tha. Now make a list of everything that rhymes with those, because with the way kids minds work, they will think of them as well.

But even with teasing, if your girl has good self confidence, it will never truly bother her.