Why Buffy?

[shakatany]

I've always wondered why Joyce named her daughter Buffy not Muffy or Cindy Lou or something else. In all my years of fanfic reading I never saw this question addressed so I've decided to try to answer it and I've come up with this scenario: Joyce and her sister Arlene (I'm inclined to think that the Aunt Darlene in "Pangs" was a mispronunciation) were orphans raised by an Uncle Bill. They grew up watching Family Affair and saw themselves as having a sort of FA life and swore they would name their kids after the characters.

Joyce met Hank in her freshman year at college while studying art history and they were soon inseperable. He was a year or so older and when he graduated they married and she became pregnant a short while later never finishing college. By that time Arlene was also married and had a daughter named Cissy. Joyce then gave birth to a girl she named Buffy and a short time later Arlene's second daughter was born and named Celia. A few years passed and Arlene gave birth to a son named Jody. After Celia's death at age 8 Arlene and her family moved to Illinois. Anyway this is my story and I'm sticking to it - anyone have a better idea?

Comments

[stretfordditto.livejournal.com]

Shak you crack me up! How come you don't like the name Darlene? Maybe Elizabeth is a family name, but Joyce wanted something a bit more modern? I'd have called my daughter Buffy if I'd thought of it..my second name's Elizabeth (after the Queen).

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

I think it was established that her name was Buffy Anne never Elizabeth. Joyce talked about her sister Arlene in "Choices" and Buffy talks about her Aunt Darlene in "Pangs". Of course Joyce might have 2 sisters named Arlene and Darlene but that is a bit much.

Shakatany

[stretfordditto.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe they were twins! Darlene and Arlene lol. :D Buffy is a diminutive of Elizabeth like Beth, Betsy, Betty, Eliza, Liza, Lizzy and on and on... :D

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

I know it's a diminutive and in the early days many fanwriters wrote that her name was really Elizabeth but I think it was in "The Gift" that it was established that her given name really was Buffy.

Shakatany

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

Works for me. It really is a silly name, but that was Joss' point.

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

Well I know why Joss chose it. I was merely speculating why a mother would name her daughter Buffy *g*

Shakatany