Baby Name of The Month: Lorelei

Baby Name of The Month: Lorelei

Lorelei ( Lor-eh-lie)

Why Lorelei-
This name originally comes form a German legend.  Rhine Maidens were legendary water-dwelling creatures (mermaids) responsible for luring sailors to their death on treacherous rocks with their irresistible song.  Much like sirens in the Odyssey.  The head water sprite (mermaid) gave her name to a boulder located on the Rhine river which is there today.   The spelling of the rock is Loreley but the name is always Lorelei.


So you might be thinking, why would you consider a name with such a wicked story.  Well, it is just a story.  Rich and I really love mythology and the fact that this stems from Germany, (Rich is German decent) is a plus.  I love the frilly-ness of Lorelei, she just sounds so girly.  
In the social security administration numbers released this year she ranked 531 out of the top thousand, which is great from my stand point.  This means that roughly only 536 babies were named this in 2010.. as compared to the number one name Isabella where 22731 girls were named this.  I much prefer non-popular names so they dont always have to be referred to as a secondary trait .. like Amy T. or Amy with the curly hair or fat Amy.  Naming her Lorelei, i am sure she will just be Lorelei to her friends.


Also, Marilyn Monroe played Lorelei in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.. and how can you not love a Marilyn Monroe reference.


Downsides to Lorelei-
I hate hate hate nicknames.  I love pet names like pumpkin, or cupcake, or anything like that.  I hate nicknames, where you name your child Melissa only to call her Missy for the rest of her life.. why in the world didnt you just name her Missy?  I will never understand this.  So Lorelei lends herself to being called Loren or Lorel or there is that awful one from gilmore girls Rory.  


All in all, Lorelei is very girly, with a cool history and not too popular..  but with the slight possibility of being called something other than Lorelei.   With this one draw back, she is still on the long list of possible future baby T's!