Dear Swistle,
A friend recently had her second baby and, as we oohed and ahhed over this new human she and her husband created, we got to talking about other names they had been considering. My friend brought out her huge list of baby names for both genders and I was so completely, utterly shocked to see my (secret) in-the-off-chance-we-had-another-baby-and-if-that-baby-was-a-girl name on her list: Blythe.
The reason I was so surprised is because, while this friend and I have many things in common, taste in baby names is not one of them. Like, I don’t see any overlap at all. I respect her choices and can see how they’re right for her and for her children, but they are not names I would choose (as I’m certain my kids’ names aren’t ones she would choose).
My friend says she is without doubt finished having babies and I’m nearly completely certain we are, too, so this isn’t a territorial kind of scenario. It’s almost guaranteed that neither of us will use the name Blythe. Nor is it a “who wore it better” kind of thing where I want to be told my kids’ names suit Blythe’s style better.
I was just taken aback that two people with such very different tastes in names both felt moony about Blythe. So my question is this: what style is Blythe, would you say? Is it one of those names that plays well with others? I love the name, but it is a bit of a mystery to me. I’m not sure what I love about it; I think it’s a combination of the way it looks on paper and the lovely-to-me “th” sound at the end, with that bonus “e.” To me it’s unusual, short and sweet…much like my daughter’s name. Plus, my Gilbert Blythe association probably helps as we’re big Anne of Green Gables fans.
And, just for fun, what’s your personal opinion on Blythe as a name? And could I potentially use it though my other 3 kids have vowel names? NOT because “vowel names” are a style, but because Blythe might stand out as sounding different?
Your fellow name nerd,
M
It IS a little hard to pin down, isn’t it! I think it’s because it’s a name that’s never been in the Top 1000: I tend to group names with other names that were popular at the same time, but the name Blythe has never been popular in the United States. I looked in the Social Security database that shows the usage of names outside the Top 1000; I took a sample of the usage every ten years so we could see what it’s been up to:
1886: -F, -M
1896: -F, -M
1906: -F, -M
1916: -F, -M
1926: 6F, -M
1936: -F, -M
1946: 12F, -M
1956: 24F, 5M
1966: 16F, -M
1976: 58F, -M
1986: 68F, -M
1996: 43F, -M
2006: 65F, 8M
2016: 168F, 6M
Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908. The movie was made in 1934, and then there were a fair number of miniseries and made-for-TV movies starting in the 1950s and continuing until now.
The Blythe doll was released in 1972; I wonder if that accounts for a little popularity surge, or if it was heading there already?
Blythe Danner began her career in the 1960s/1970s. That could also account for increased familiarity with the name, and increased usage.
Blythe could be a surname name, because of Gilbert; that’s not how I think of it, but I could picture someone with a surname-name style choosing it that way. I guess I think of it (apparently incorrectly, according to the usage info) as a sophisticated, non-frilly name that’s almost old enough to come back, along with names such as Edith and Ethel and Ida. But I had a lot of trouble picking the examples I just used: I don’t seem to have any other names in the same category as Blythe. I think of The Golden Girls, probably because of Blanche (another one-syllable Bl- name)—so perhaps some good example names would be Bea, Betty, Rue, and Estelle, along with Blanche and Dorothy? (Sophia and Rose are too currently popular.)
Blythe is also a word name, and word names can be particularly difficult to put in a style category.
Well! What does everyone else think? What style is Blythe? What kind of sibling names would you put it with?
I would use it with virtue names like Prudence, or with old-fashioned classic word names like Violet, or with sixties-style word names like Zephyr. Or, as you said, with Golden Girls names.
My biggest concern in using it is, how do you pronounce it? I always thought it sounded like “with” (short i, soft th) but I often hear others pronounce it like “scythe” (long i, hard th)
The only Blythe I’ve ever known pronounced it like scythe.
Pronounciation is also one of my issues!
I want it to rhyme with “with” but it seems like it’s always said rhyming with “scythe”
Is one actually correct? Maybe everyone has it rhyme with scythe because that is how Gilbert pronounces his last name in the AoGG movies?
There are two reasons I would pronounce it with a long I (i.e. rhymes with scythe): 1) an “e” at the end of the word often signals a long vowel rather than a short one (think hat vs. hate) (my second grade teacher called this “the magic E”); and 2), probably relatedly, the adjective “blithe” has a long I as well.
Grammar rules say that when there is a second vowel in a single syllable, the first vowel is long and the second is silent. The Y should sound like a long I and the e is silent.
I say it with long I, soft TH, an almost rhyme with knife. I was aware of the scythe pronunciation, but I had never heard the rhymes with “with” pronunciation.
I can see how Blythe fits into a few different categories depending who uses it. I think it’s sound and trendy -y- falls in androgynous surname territory for parents who aren’t name nerds or fans of classics. So someone who hears it without looking it up would think it belongs with girls named Sutton/Suttyn, Blake/Blayke, Dylan, etc. It also fits with word names which are all the rage right now. I can see how it would appeal to people with those sound and spelling preferences.
For me it feels much older/dusty a la Maude and Florence for some reason.
🤣 I think you nailed it with this!
My name list consists of Maud, Florence, & Blythe.
I think of it as an old-fashioned name and as an adjective name.
Could see it as an alternative to Joy or Felicity or Felicia for someone trying to convey happiness.
Or along with names like Alma, Willa, and Nell.
Or for someone who wants a name starting with B to honor an ancestor–Barbara is just a little too recent to come back, and the other B names I can think of (Brenda, Brianna, Bathsheba, etc.) just don’t strike the same note.
Or an Anne of Green Gables fan!
I think of it as androgynous in a preppy sort of way– like Greer, Harper, Piper, or Sloan.
Although from the numbers, I can see usage tilts heavily female.
Yes, I thought Greer too!
Yes! Sophisticated, preppy…doesn’t strike me as old and dusty. I wonder if its lack of use makes it seem like a new choice
It’s a modern virtue name to me – fits with older names like Edith and Frances while it could also be a sister to Sloan or Taylor. It’s easy to say, spell, unique but not really out there. I love it!
I think Blythe is one of those names that fits in several categories. I can see it working with less-common short/sweet names (Maeve, Bliss, Dove, Fern). I think it would also work for someone looking for less common word names and/or virtue names (Bliss, Verity, Constance, Dove, Flora, Echo, Wren, Clover, Honor). I can see it reading as more surname or unisex (Blair, Greer, Lane, Brynn, Shea, Sloane). It has history, so I can see it appealing to someone who wants a vintage name, but prefers something more uncommon (Beryl, Alva, Nola, Mavis).
I have always loved the name Blythe as it was my childhood best friend’s surname. However now that I have an Alfred it doesn’t seem to suit.
Alfred and Blythe.
Fred and Blythe.
Doesn’t fit! So I agree it’s more of a Blythe Sloan Harper and other ER names baker Parker porter
Interesting as I think Blythe and Alfred are lovely together.
Actually, me too! I was just thinking how lovely Alfred and Blythe are together! Sweetly vintage sounding.
Now I think Blythe probably wouldn’t work with my daughter’s name (a place name: Évora, Portugal).
Evora and Blythe?
I don’t really see it as unisex (probably because for me the name has such a strong association with Blythe Danner), but I totally agree with virtue/word names and uncommon short/sweet names. The first sibling names that came to mind for me are Maud, Bliss, Greer, etc. Claire also seems like it could be a good sibling name for Blythe (although much more common, of course).
For some reason I can also see Blythe in a sibset with sort of “rustic country” names: Alma, Willa, Nell, Georgia, Tillie, etc.
I totally agree with this taxonomy. I love the name Blythe and thought about it for my second daughter, but ultimately felt it was too similar to my first daughter, who is Bliss. Alma and Nell were also on my list!
My immediate sibling name pairing was Sloan/Sloane, and I see others thought of it, too!
It feels unisex to me, like Blaire and Blake. Probably just because it has the same first sound and a single syllable? Because I also only know of Blythe Danner, so I also picture it only on girls but for parents who like an old-fashioned, not-frilly girl name. I agree that it would fit in a category with Sloane. I also agree that Maeve and Blythe seem like sibling names.
Oh, I also think her daughter’s name, Gwyneth, goes well with it. Blythe and Gwyneth, Blythe and Gwen.
I have a Blythe!!!!! And I SQUEALED to see this discussion, as I certainly scoured the internet and your site for insight on this name 5 years ago :) So here I am to contribute:
My Blythe is 5 years old, we pronounce it rhyming with ‘tithe’, with a hard ‘th’ sound. It’s utterly adorably to her called, “Bive” by her younger sister.
And for sibsets, she is the one of four girls and one older brother, their names are Felix, Blythe, Eloise, and twins Charlotte and Fiona. Clearly, I lean vintage classic :)
Anecdotally, of all of my children’s names, I have run into Blythe ‘in the wild’ more often then any other. Even more often then top-10 Charlotte! I can think of 2 other little Blythe/Blithe ‘s that live local to me, and I don’t know of any other repeats of my other more-popular chosen names. So strange!!!
I’ll comment without reading others so that I’m not swayed…
To me Blythe is a traditional virtue name. I would group it with Verity, Amity, Felicity. My primary association is the rhyme Bonny, Blythe, Good and Gay… from the days of the week nursery song. For that reason I also have a bit of a religious feel to it perhaps similarly to Grace or Mary. I also think of it as a traditional name so it would go with Elizabeth, Margaret, Jane, Catherine. It does seem quite English to me.
The name was on my list as a middle name if we used the name Naomi (Naomi Blythe) but I got overly stuck on the pronounciation as I’m a bit of a stickler saying the pronoun differently to the virtue. If I had another baby I would go ahead and not worry about that.
My style FWIW is religious (Christian), Traditional English style names and I am Australian.
The version I learned of that poem is “Sweet and Kind, Good and Gay”. I like your version better.
We know a Blythe who has a sister named Carrington. Maybe it’s a preppy, surname name for girls?
That’s where I place it–kind of like how in the show the Facts of Life Blair was the upper-crust one and Jo was the blue-collar girl. Blair and Blythe read the same to me–kind of preppy and streamlined.
For me, TheFirstA nails it- unique short, virtue, surnamy style. Or I would call it Antique Anglo.
It was on MY rather long list and I think it made my top 5 but DH vetoed it early as being too unfamiliar- exactly why I love it, right? That and…Anne + Gilbert foreva!
The other names exactly in my top tier with Blythe have mostly been named already: Auden, Ava, Corinne, Drew, Dylan, Eden, Eva/Eve, Fiona, Greer, Isla, Maeve, Paige, Reid (yup for a girl), Sloane, Sutton, Tessa, Rowan, Shayne
I love Blythe but with our family history of depression is might be a bit cruel come the teenage years. I see it as going with Clementine, Hazel and Zinnea. Those sort of names.
I incorrectly thought Blythe was one of the Golden Girls. But apart from that I would associate it with late-20th-century unfrilly-female names such as Greer and Sloane.
I love it! My top pick for a girl, but I have four boys, and one named Gilbert. I’ll never get to use it. Style-wise, I group it with Gayle, Paige, Blaire, Leigh, and Clare. One syllable snappy names.
I think of Blythe as one of those 80s movies cool girl androgynous names–Sloane, Andie, Dale, Lanie, Blair, etc!
I named my daughter Blythe she is 6 now and I love it even more now than I did 6 years ago. It’s one of those names that grows on you I think. My friend pointed this out to me that when her husband forst heard it he thought it wasn’t nice then a the more it was said he did a u turn and thought it was actually a really lovely name.
It suits my daughter so much. Everything about this little name is lovely, from the joyous meaning to it’s short and sweet sound. I have never met another Blythe but I’d be delighted to meet another one, it would he a novelty! I pronounce it like bathe not bath some people get it wrong but its fine it’s not enough of a reason to not chose this name. I see it as a virtue name or vintage, its stylish but not pretentious, just simple and classy.
We named our little boy Blythe, with an unvoiced (hard) “th” as in “bath” or “think.” We followed suit from Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables. It seems to be used more widely as a girl’s name, but because of the Gilbert association, I always thought of it more as a masculine or at least unisex name.
He has a sister Eva, and we are considering names like Mae and Rose as possible complementary sibling names.
We have a daughter Blythe! Pronounced almost rhyming with “life” though tons of people want to say it as the word “blithe” rhyming with “lithe”. Blythe has a sister Everly & a brother Kenyon. And a cousin Sloan (F) which I’m seeing on here people see as a good match. We have never met another Blythe and it’s such a sweet little name I’m surprised. We do have to repeat it for people because it’s unusual but I don’t think that’s too big a deal.