Marjorie in Qatar

Before we reveal the answer to all these riddles, Justin and I thought we'd share some of the name hints that didn't quite make the cut (most of which were rejected when we decided to allow Googling):

• The first historically notable bearer of this name was an empress.
  
• Were proper names allowed, playing it would be worth 12 points in Scrabble.
  
• It is paired with Logos to form one of the emanations of God in Valentinian Gnosticism.
  
• It only has one more letter than syllable.
  
• According to Wikipedia, a small tribe of this name lives in the Amazon; one of its unusual cultural practices is that men celebrate the birth of their offspring by cutting their legs with rodent teeth. Justin does not intend to follow this tradition.
  
• It has been in the top 1000 girls' names in the US 71 of the last 100 years -- though not in either of the years we were born.
  
• The top Google hit of this name is of an actress. (However, making universal statements about top Google hits seems dangerous in this age of personalized search results!)
  
• It is the name of this cat.
  
• It is the name of one of President Bartlet's daughters.

( The answer lies here! )

Clue #5: The name is Greek in origin.

_tove, roseandsigil, and Justin's parents have now figured out the name. :-)

Before I give today's clue, allow me to congratulate those who have already guessed the name: jcreed, y_pestis, Derek, chrismaphone, and my parents, who participated despite not having a net connection at home, and who just sent the below pictures of them in the grocery store anagramming names of pasta:



Clue 3: Her (first) name contains more vowels than consonants.

Justin's brother Derek started the wonderful family tradition of announcing a forthcoming child's name through a puzzle or quiz game -- a tradition I am pleased to continue, sucker for trivia games that I am.

Our family and friends now too far-flung to do this around the dining room table at Christmas, so we will conduct our baby name challenge RIGHT HERE ON LIVEJOURNAL!

Here's how it works:

1. I will post one clue per day, at approximately 6 p.m. (that's 4 a.m. in Auckland -- sorry David, 8 a.m. in California, 9 a.m. in Montana, 10 a.m. in Kansas City, 11 a.m. in Pittsburgh/DC, 3 p.m. in Oxford, and 4 p.m. in Ouagadougou, in case anyone in Ouagadougou decides to join in).
   
2. You may then post a comment containing either your guess for the day or general commentary.
   
3. Your comments will be SCREENED, which means they won't be visible to others until I approve them. I WILL ONLY APPROVE GUESSES IF THEY ARE INCORRECT; thus, if you see a name in comments, you can assume it is an incorrect guess.
   
4. When you post a correct guess, I'll post that you have finished the game, but will not unscreen your comment.
   
5. Using Google and other resources is totally fine.
   
6. We will continue posting daily clues for as long as people are guessing!
   
7. This is meant to be collaborative, so cross-talk is encouraged. If everyone thinks we're naming our daughter Gertrude but you happen to know that I was deeply traumatized by Gertrude the Puzzle Bird in 6th grade*, I encourage you to share that information.

* Totally made up. Gertrude the Puzzle Bird rocked my little 6th grade world.


Your first clue is this:
It's a saint's name.