MovieChat Forums > The Grass Is Greener (1960) Discussion > Weird question...

Weird question...

posted 16 years ago by tablespoon81
6 replies | jump to latest

I was named after this movie. For some reason, my mother heard the name Hilary and took a shining to it. She had actually never heard the name before, which explains why she spelled it so differently in the hospital bed after I was born. My question is: Mitchum asks after her name saying "isn't that a boy's name?" and she gets a strange look on her face. Not being from England, is there something I'm missing here? It is originally a boys name, and the only other British show I've seen featuring the name was The League of Gentlemen, where the character is a man. I'm just curious where the name stands in British culture, and what that look on her face probably meant.

[–] Mrs_Phoenix 16 years ago

As far as the look on her face when he says "that's a boy's name" my impression was that it had more to do with the obvious flirtation and attraction between the two of them. Because remember after he says that he says "you don't look like a boy to me" (or something like that). Not being British either I can't help you with anything else regards the name Hilary.

Barbara Wynne:We must go,darling,we have the Bishop for lunch.
Clive Candy:I hope he's tender.

[–] CGMCC 16 years ago

Hilary is a Medieval English form of HILARIUS or HILARIA. During the Middle Ages it was primarily a masculine name. It was revived in Britain at the beginning of the 20th century as a predominantly feminine name. In America, this name and the variant Hillary seemed to drop in popularity after Hillary Clinton (1947-) became the first lady.

[–] richimorton 14 years ago

Hilary Benn is a fairly high profile Labour politician in the U.K. - the son of the very famous Tony Benn M.P.

That which does not Kill me makes me Stranger . . .

[–] piquebu 14 years ago

My name is Tracy (a Boy's name) and my sister's name is Sandy (also a boy's name). I have male friends named Lynn and Kelly. This movie was the first time I heard that Hillary is a boy's name. But I wouldn't worry about it.

[–] lmchildress 14 years ago

I thought her reaction was because most Americans consider Hillary to be a girl's name, and that the name Hilary is generally a boy's name in the UK, so she was surprised that he knew that it was a boy's name at all. Her explanation that she was named for an uncle rings true.

[–] jreedha 11 years ago

It was originally a surname - last name. Think Sir Edmund Hillary, who climbed Mount Everest. Many names which were originally last names became first names - usually for boys first, and then some of them became girls' names almost exclusively. Some examples (and I will add more as I think of them) Shelley, Beverly, Madison, Whitney, Carroll (Carol) Allison (though anciently, Allison was a girl's name, at some point in distant history, it became a last name - then, eventually, a girl's name again.) Brandon - currently very popular, was also originally a surname. Many more.

I think these names changed application due to the habit of upper class families to incorporate the mother's maiden name into the offspring's name. My mother, for example, was born a Weatherby, and her son, my brother, is named Robert Weatherby - Weatherby being his middle name. My father was named after both his grandfathers - Robert Reed and Harvey Burns Brown. This became Robert Burns. I love names - they illustrate much about the times.