The Gashlycrumb Tinies

For anyone who has come across this book, you will know it isn’t exactly an ideal namesake book. The Gashlycrumb Tinies is a picture book by Edward Gorey documenting the (fictional!) deaths of 26 children in alphabetical order. You may wonder what anyone would like about such a thing. But I have to say that, in my defense, I have a rather dark sense of humour! Plus the pictures are charming and Mr Gorey is somewhat of a literary genius. But this is beside the point. I chose to base my second post on this book because it is a treasure trove of lovely names, along with some not-so-desirable. The Gashlycrumb Tinies was published in 1963, which may or may not give some insight into the names he gave to his little characters. I say may not because most of the names seem more appropriate for the Victorian Era, which is reflected in the clothing and backgrounds of the images. And so here they are, from A all the way to Z…

• Amy  I’m somewhat neutral on Amy. I think it is a lovely choice for parents who are looking for a neat pretty, choice for their darling daughter, but overall I prefer more ‘unusual’ names.
• Basil I must admit I’m a sucker for Basil; I think he’s adorable for a little’un. I do agree, however, it would take one confident male to pull this off with ease.
• Clara  J’adore Clara! I have heard a variety of comments about, including that it is too plain, too frilly and too old. But please, please give it the benefit of the doubt and simply repeat it in your head. Clara, Clara. Just beautiful!
• Desmond I have been adoring Desmond recently. I think he is strong and elegant. It helps that there is a character on Lost (one of my uber-obsessions) with this name.
• Ernest I must say, I am biased towards this name. Ethel and Ernest, a beautiful graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is one of my favourite books, which makes me favour this overwise quite old-fashioned name. Plus, Ernest happens to be my favourite Gashlycrumb Tiny- he looks so sweet, unaware of his impending doom!
• Fanny Slang for vagina in the UK, slang for bottom in the US. A bad idea in my book.
• George Whilst I don’t love George, I think he is a fine choice for parents looking for a timeless classic.
• Hector Now I think about, I’m quite the fan of this name. There is a quite noble, if irritatingly skittish, character in A Series of Unfortunate Events named Hector, which makes it an immediate hit in my book. The sound, however, makes me slightly; not altogether undoable, but I do always think ‘tractor’ when I hear it!
• Ida I thoroughly like Ida, and would love to see parents go for this rather than ‘Huge In America’ and ‘Racing Up In England’ Ava.
• James I have a cousin named James, and he’s lovely. It’s a nice name, along the same lines of George, but it’s consistant appearance in the UK top tens puts me off it.
• Kate This, I don’t much like. I think it’s fine as a nickname to Katherine (my own middle name!), but just too… brief on it’s own. Although Kate from Lost does something to improve my opinion of it.
• Leo Oh, Leo, how I love thee. I’ve had to forget using him as a first name for a reason I shan’t divulge, but lament the loss regularly. I think he has everything going for him, and Leo Borlock, the lovely but disappointingly conformist narrator of my favourite book, Stargirl, makes a great namesake.
• Maud A wonderful, underused gem of a name. The world would be a better place with more Mauds in it!
• Neville Not perhaps the most fashionable of names, but perhaps famous Neville Longbottom, the lovable hero in the Harry Potter series, will give it some street cred. Me, I quite like it, but wouldn’t ever use it.
• Olive I like Olive a lot. I would be pleased as punch to meet a little one named this.
• Prue A fantastic nickname for an even more fantastic full name- Prudence. Underused and gorgeous.
• Quentin I have suddenly fallen for Quentin in a big way. I think it is so lovely, and could be an excellent twist on those -un, -en, -on endings so very popular in America. Q’s a fabulous letter, as well!
• Rhoda This one always surprises me a little, after so many traditional, vintage names before it. I like it a little, but not enough to ever consider it.
• Susan As with Rhoda, this comes as a surprise. Perhaps Mr Gorey was reaching the end of the alphabet and just thought, screw it, I’m going to have some fun! Whatever the reason, I like Susan in a way, if only for it’s deliciously declining popularity!
• Titus Though I can see many a good thing about this name, my first immediate thought is ‘tit’. And if it is for me, then what about those nasty little bullies on the playground? If you give your child this name, I think you should probably start training him to run fast from a very early age! (An exaggeration, of course, but you catch my drift!)
• Una Sorry, but I cannot get past the interfering mum-type in the film Bridget Jones. You know, “Gravy doesn’t need sieving, just stir it Una!”. For that reason, I get a dated vibe from this name.
• Victor A wonderful name that really needs resurrecting from the graveyard of the unused!
• Winnie For a long time, I didn’t whether this was a boy or a girl, but after some counting I discovered it must be a female to make it an even 13-13. I like this as a nickname only.
• Xerxes While I’m not a particular fan, I loudly applaud Mr Gorey for resisting falling back on Xavier when the going got tough!
• Yorick Just like Xerxes, love the fact Gorey chose an unusual one for this fairly difficult letter. And the name itself I think is actually quite handsome!
• Zillah Of all the illustrations, this is in my opinion the saddest- a tiny girl succumbing to the evils of drink. I would be quite intruiged to meet a little Zillah, though it’s not a particular favourite.

Whew! So, there it is. It is a shame because I ended up cutting out bits of etymology and meaning from this, but it was just getting far too rambly and I had to make it more succint. Even so, I do hope someone got something out of it, if not just a really great bunch of names! Looking over my post, I can quite securely conclude I like at least eighteen out of twenty-six, and I love a great deal. So when all is said and done, Mr Gorey, late Mr Gorey in fact, I’d like you to know you did a fantastic job!