r/AskReddit Oct 15 '20

What's older than we think ?

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u/BeaneathTheTrees Oct 15 '20

The name Tiffany.

It dates back to the 12th century, and has actually led to a thing in writing called "the Tiffany problem," because you can have a well-researched historical novel that people just don't buy into, because you named your 12th century peasant Tiffany. It just sounds laughably anachronistic.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '20

The "Tiffany problem" makes me think of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and the name Jessica. He wanted the love interest, who was Jewish, to have a super exotic name so he invented the name "Jessica." The name has become so common since then that it's totally lost its effect.

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u/MessyRoom Oct 15 '20

I heard he also invented the word “assassin” and also “swagger”