Sybil
The Behind the Name entry is great, so I'll just quote it for you (yes, I'm getting really lazy with my paraphrasing lately): "From Greek Σιβυλλα (Sibylla), meaning "prophetess, sibyl". In Greek and Roman legend the sibyls were ten female prophets who practiced at different holy sites in the ancient world. In later Christian theology, the sibyls were thought to have divine knowledge and were revered in much the same way as the Old Testament prophets. Because of this, the name came into general use in the Christian world during the Middle Ages. The Normans brought it to England, where it was spelled both Sibyl and Sybil. It became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century, perhaps helped by Benjamin Disraeli's novel Sybil (1845)." Unfortunately, I haven't pulled any Sybil-ish characteristics into my MC's life, but maybe I'll start. It appears you can spell "Sybil" pretty much any way that gets all the sounds in the right order: Sibyl, Cybill, Sibil, etc. Way back in 1919, Sybil was the #375 most popular name for girls in the U.S. It fell out of the top 1000 altogether in 1930 and has never gone back.
Famous Sybils: Cybill Shepherd, Lady Sybil Grant (writer/artist), Sybil Dorsett (the woman the movie Sybil is based on)
Fictional Sybils: Sybil Russell (Chalet School series), Sybil Trelawney (Harry Potter), Sybil Fawlty (Fawlty Towers), Lady Sybil Crawley (Downton Abbey)
My Sybils: Just my main character. She's about the only character who is correctly teenaged (except she may have too much grown-up wit) in my WIP. And that's because, since we can read her thoughts, we get all her angst and not-fairs and whatever else. In other words, this project needs some serious rewriting, because I'm doing a lot of telling instead of showing. But hey, it's a first draft. That's what first drafts are for, yes?
Are you a Sybil? Do you know a Sybil? Any Chalet fans in the crowd?
Sources:
Behind the Name
Baby Name Wizard
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| I think this is about what my MC Sybil looks like. Source. |
Fictional Sybils: Sybil Russell (Chalet School series), Sybil Trelawney (Harry Potter), Sybil Fawlty (Fawlty Towers), Lady Sybil Crawley (Downton Abbey)
My Sybils: Just my main character. She's about the only character who is correctly teenaged (except she may have too much grown-up wit) in my WIP. And that's because, since we can read her thoughts, we get all her angst and not-fairs and whatever else. In other words, this project needs some serious rewriting, because I'm doing a lot of telling instead of showing. But hey, it's a first draft. That's what first drafts are for, yes?
Are you a Sybil? Do you know a Sybil? Any Chalet fans in the crowd?
Sources:
Behind the Name
Baby Name Wizard
1 comment:
I know only fictional Sybils.
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