Melba

Originated in the late nineteenth century as a stage name for Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba, who derived it from her hometown of Melbourne. French chef Auguste Escoffier subsequently named both a dessert and twice-baked toast after her. American parents began registering the name in 1893, importing operatic celebrity straight to the census rolls.

The name lands with the weight of a heavy parlor curtain. It belongs almost entirely to the twentieth century, carrying the texture of sheet music and pressed linen. Today the average living Melba is around seventy-four years old. The sound suggests someone who writes thank-you notes in fountain pen and will not be rushed.