Now you tell me

[pegkerr]

Rob says, "I don't particularly see the point of naming a house, and I haven't heard one I like yet. Including "Gray Gables."

Phooey.

Comments

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Well, then he doesn't have to call it that. ;p

[bordergold.livejournal.com]

hee. such a party pooper :)

Aw, what does _he_ know...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

...he's a _guy_.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I'm uninspired by what I've heard so far, too. They're all derivative.

B

[kokopoko.livejournal.com]

I'm sure he'll like "Rob Lodge" "Rob's Castle" "Home of Rob" "The Rob" "Rob's Pad"

[frozenrhino.livejournal.com]

I thought "Bubba" was a quality choice.

Re: Aw, what does _he_ know...

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*crows with laughter* What a put-down!

Re: Aw, what does _he_ know...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Well, if anyone knows from guys, it'd be _me_!

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

I was joking to Lee about calling our place Geek Havens.

Mostly I called it Das Haus though.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I'm rather of the opinion that if a house wants to be named, it will name itself and let you know.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that--as frequently happens--I'm with "the guys" on this one. Good house names, IMHO, take themselves way less seriously than, and/or describe the inhabitants and their lives more than, the ones on your list. For example, Blaisdell Polytechnic: it tells the location of the house and two prominent factors in the inhabitants' lives, all in two words. And it's clever.

I feel this way about every house/property/estate name that I ever encounter, in fiction or real life, not just yours.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

What a leveler! Okay, okay, okay. I'll keep my eyes and ears and imagination open for something better. *grin*

[llinos.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, I'm afraid I have to agree with Rob, it's always seemed a tad pretentious to me to give a name to a house with a perfectly serviceable number.

House names are usually only necessary for identification purposes when large and grand houses are set in their own grounds. More humble houses on a street are not in need of such a refinement and to add one comes across as an endeavour to be "posh" in a way that Hyacinth Bouquet might attempt.

Our house had a name when we moved in, "Port Merion", and also a number, "6". I must admit I took the nameplate down, but I content myself that, as the house is named for the place where the sixties cult programme "The Prisoner" was filmed, my house is also named after the hero of that series!

[psychic-serpent.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have to say, the options either felt "done" or depressing. (Grey is not the cheeriest color in the world and it was all over the place.)

Oddly enough, though, just before I was going to sleep last night I thought of something that seemed just right for the home of a writer:

BardSong

You are a bard, after all, and this is the place where you write your songs. :D

[skg.livejournal.com]

Maybe you haven't found a name that is kindred to your house yet.

I don't know anything about your house, but maybe it is more of a "Patty's Place" than a Green (Gray) Gables or an Ingleside or an Echo Lodge from a naming perspective.

*end of LMM diatribe*

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good name for a singer's home. Or a writer who wishes he were a singer.

Naa. We can do better.

B

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Well, I see your point, if the only purpose of the house were to identify it for the postman who delivers the mail. If utilitarianism were the only cause, you are absolutely right, there is no "need" to name my house. But that's not why I want to come up with the perfect name.

To me, a home is more than just a house, if you understand me. I want to name the home. The Victorians understood a home as a sacred place; English landscape designers talked about the "genius of the place." I want to name my home because I want to put into a beautiful word, or two or three, what my home means to my family. Not just me, you understand, so I shouldn't choose a name that only I like, or is significant to only me. It should be right for all four of us. Which is why if Rob doesn't like it, it can't be used.

Don't you feel that your home is more than just the wood or bricks or stone that you live in, the place you sleep and where you store your clothes? It's where I garden, and where I dream, and where I write, and where I brought my babies home and started teaching them about the whole wide world. It's where I have my liveliest fights and most loving moments with my husband. It's my home. It is extremely important to me. I write about my home here all the time because it's in the background of all my stories about my family, and one odd thing I've noticed about my writing is that I can't write about a character freely and fully unless I've figured out the character's name.

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

my favorite house name was "Hell." they also called their car "the handbasket." I doubt you will follow this model, however.

what is the impetus for naming the house? to distinguish it from your other houses? to make it seem a more unique object, or closer social grouping? to keep outsiders from knowing what you're talking about when you speak of it in public?

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

mm, that's a good reason, at least.

[alisgray.livejournal.com]

I like pretending.

I can see why someone else's pretend name for your house might annoy you.