Electra

I have a friend named Olympia, with sisters named Octavia and Ontario. The moment I met her, I sat her down and grilled her about her name. Apparently, neither she nor her sisters have ever had any trouble with their names, except that Olympia gets confused with Olivia a lot. Olympia and I both go to a highly selective university, so it obviously did not cause her any trouble in that regard.

(incidentally, the combos are:
Octavia Alexandra
Olympia Alexis
Ontario Allison)

This is relevant because I have always liked Electra, but never considered it seriously until recently, and it suddenly occurred to me that Electra was really not much weirder at all than Olympia, and why shouldn’t I shortlist it? Electra to me is beautiful, elegant, bold, full of energy. I’m a sucker for “ct” in almost any name, although I do like the related Elettra a lot. And I do love the E. (being an Emma.)

My top combo is Electra Anna Jamesina, which seems kind of flighty on its own, but IMO looks great with my other top combos. For reference, the last time I wrote them down, they were this:

DS: Ludwig Erol Benedict
DD: Minerva Maria Cecilia
DS: Franz Felix Wolfgang Sebastian
DD: Electra Anna Jamesina
DS: George Mount
DD: Griselda Jane Thomasina
DS: Albert Sunshine Harpsichord (yeah yeah yeah. this is from a poem I love. And check out the initials!)
DD: Claudia Wren

Ludwig, Minerva/Minnie, Franz Felix, Electra, George, Griselda/Zelda, Albert/Abbey, Claudia

To me it is a bustling 18th century marketplace, with Mozart wigs and gypsies and shouting vendors and bags of coins, with EAJ providing the some of the jangliness and bags of coins. Does this make sense? These names glitter with commerce and sparkle with life. To me. Electra is the zest and energy, Anna is a copper coin (golden really), Jamesina is a jangling bag of coins, a jangling tambourine.

Anyway, as far as NN’s go, I wouldn’t mind her not having a steady one (no one calls Olympia “Lympie,” for instance), but lately I like Bernadette nn Birdie, and these cute snappy nicknames all lined up are so neat, you know? Minnie, Zelda, Birdie, and Electra. I thought about Ella and Etta but they both felt like stretches, and Lex but I don’t really like it, and then Lettie occurred to me, and it doesn’t feel like a stretch at all. So, yeah, Electra occasional nn “Lettie.” Of course, who’s to say I wouldn’t call her Sparks now and then! Or shouldn’t!

Other than EAJ, I have a few other combos I’m not totally satisfied with:
Charlotte Electra (Charlotte is one of my favorite names to experiment with interesting middle names; it’s so rich and orange)
Clara Electra
Claudia Electra
Electra Irene
Electra Jane
Electra Celeste (talk about sparkly! talk about rich! still, I’m not sure…)
Electra Nightingale
Electra Weaverbird (and now that you mention it, why not Electra Moth? in addition to offending traditional sensibilities, it also has the added image of moth-zapping; sort of faustian if you think about it. Add a dash and make it a brand name. [I jest! I do like Electra Weaverbird though.])

I’d love your suggestions, though, if you have them. I am having rather a hard time with it. Also, I’m very interested in what you all think of Electra! (Also whether you prefer Electra or Elektra. I am definitely in the C camp but I see Elektra’s appeal, and wonder about your opinions.)

Thanks so much!