MovieChat Forums > Jessabelle (2014) Discussion > Why Would someone name their child Jessa...

Why Would someone name their child Jessabelle?

posted 10 years ago by jamesdean-13
21 replies | jump to latest

It sounds an awfully close to Jezebel (def: an impudent, shameless, or morally unrestrained woman) ... I can just hear my grandmother cackling right now.

[–] Thrill_KillZ 10 years ago

Agreed, but maybe the old school apprehensiveness has died out enough to go for it. Same could possibly be said for using Scarlet, but apparently adding an extra t relinquishes its negative connotations 

[–] HenryCW 9 years ago

If you have in mind Scarlett Johansson, her parents actually named her after the character Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With the Wind.

[–] sandifay62 9 years ago

That same reason someone would name their child Beyonce.

[–] Just_Tamm 9 years ago

That same reason someone would name their child Beyonce.

Because that's her mother's maiden name. Some women give their children their maiden name as first names.

[–] dan-859 9 years ago

Some women give their children their maiden name as first names.

That's the dumbest thing I've heard in quite a while.

"... and this is my daughter, Goldstein".

[–] Zerose 9 years ago

Why do you think that?

One traditional way of preserving women’s family names in a patrilineal society was to give a daughter or son the first and maiden names of her/his mother. One example: the 13th U.S. President Millard Fillmore. His mother's name was Phoebe Millard.

[–] ravensdestiny_28 9 years ago

Several members of my family have given their children family last names as their first name. It's not uncommon.

[–] cpoet 8 years ago

I went to school with a bunch of old money Southern kids (ha, not me) and I observed a tradition of using a family surname or maternal maiden name as a middle name.

That way, they sounded like regular people when you first met them--Hi, I'm Joe Wilson--but they could pull out the big guns when they wanted to: Hello, J. Vanderbilt Wilson here.

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[–] DarleneHamilton 9 years ago

Well her mother cheated on her father so it's kind of a clue

[–] bellapeligrosa 9 years ago

It's not a common name in Europe - I'm guessing it's quite Southern in the USA? I actually think it's very pretty. Jezebel though has quite a 'z' sound, Jessebelle has a softer 's', so when said out loud there is a difference.

It's too cerebral! We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!

[–] junktom 9 years ago

I never thought of that! I always thought it was a pretty name (Jessie + Bella)

Is this a common thought?

Classics are names that everyone heard, yet most have never seen!!

[–] JudgeNotLestYeBeJudgeReinhold 7 years ago

Probably a common thought for the Twilight generation.

[–] rpressley 9 years ago

Jessa Duggar is named for same reason

[–] Jerry-137 9 years ago

Reminds me of my nephew who was named "Cain". Why they chose that name I'll never figure out but Cain didn't work out to well as an adult as he killed his married girlfriend. Maybe because she was ending the relationship. He holed up in his house until the SWAT team came for him and then shot himself. Sad but true and sometimes I wonder if he ever thought about the origin of his name.

Some parents don't think about the repercussions a child might go through because of their name especially names that can be used for males and females. Kids can be mean growing up and then can cause a child to be withdrawn and maybe later become the scourge of society to get even.

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My favorite: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

[–] dg_hurley 9 years ago

idk. i'm from tennessee and i've never heard it til the movie, soo i dont think it's a southern thing ::shrug:: still, if i pronounced it outloud i'd say it like Jess-uh-belle not Jez-uh-belle, but that might just be me.

I was just your cigarette.