Personally I prefer NASA's pronunciation, which is "charon". - eviltoast
  • otp@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    Oh, wow. This comment just made me wonder if Shirley is a female bastardization of Charles through Charlie…

    It’s probably not, but I could see it being the case

    • Lvxferre@mander.xyzMEnglish
      2·
      2 months ago

      This comment just made me wonder if Shirley is a female bastardization of Charles through Charlie…

      I gave it a check (Wiktionary is surprisingly good for this sort of stuff), and reality is even weirder:

      “Shirley” is etymologically equivalent to shire + ley. It was initially a habitational surname. Then based on the 1849 quote it was used for some time as a masculine first name. Then as a feminine one.