Mrs. Brisby's First Name

I'm positive that you have noticed that people often guess what Mrs. Brisby's first name is. In my fic (The Third Element) It's Sara.
What do you think?

Honestly, I prefer Elizabeth.

But I have no problem with Sara. It's really a matter of where you want to take it. I've seen quite of number of different names tried and the only one that doesn't really seem to fit to me is Dawn Griffiths' choice of Madeline. And not because it doesn't fit but because that's just a name I'm not fond of.

I use Elizabeth Conly in honor of Elizabeth Hartman, the actress who voiced Mrs. B. and Jane Conly, Robert C.'s daughter who wrote the two followup stories Racso and the Rats of NiMH and R-T, Margaret and the Rats of NiMH. I think both women have added greatly to the wonder that is the Secret of NiMH.

Anyway, I hope that help some. ::grin::

--Mav

First I have thought that Maria should be Mrs. Brisby's first name (at a time that I have not read any english texts about "The Secret of NIMH"). Now Elisabeth (used in the fanfics of Paul S. Gibbs and J.C. Foster) is my most favorite choice for her given name, but Sarah (also used by Kris Lapke), Rose (used by Christopher Silva) and Jennifer (used by Ken Singshow) are good choices too.

Unless I miss my guess, I've stated my preference for Mr. Brisby's first name and the reason for my opinion on this site before, but I don't mind doing so again. My first and only pick for Mrs. B's first name would be Elizabeth. To me, this name lends itself quite nicely to the type of character that Mrs. Brisby was and developed into during the course of the movie. Plus I think that it is a neat way to pay homage to the fine, talented actress that gave Mrs. Brisby her voice. I speak of none other than the late Elizabeth Hartman.

I named her Rose because I felt that wild animals would probably have a smaller pool of names and would more likely take names from their enviornment or just using their species, like Auntie Shrew or Great Owl.

In my story, her parents named her Rose after the rosebush in front of the Fitzgibbons farm house.

Hey Chris, I like your reasoning. And that's one of the great things about NiMH, so many well thought out stories and backgrounds.

I'll stick with Elizabeth in my stories, but I hope you keep using Rose in yours. And I look forward to seeing something else from you in the future!

--Mav

It's odd... Elizabeth's not my first choice for a name (really, I'm not sure what would be--Rose has a certain logic to it, tho), but I've read so many fan-fics with that as her first name that it's kinda jarring if someone uses a different name. Oh well.

In my own fanfic, she remains "Mrs." I prefer not to resolve the mystery, and since it's not about her, either, I can get away with it. :)

:D

And I say good for you Simon! And soundly argued too. ::grins::

--Mav

Yo!

I was wandering when this topic would be posted.

I agree in giving Mrs. Brisby the name Elizabeth not only because I think it fits well with her character but also to honour Elizabeth Hartman (I have just seen on e of her films "A Patch of Blue" a she was great!).

I have also considard other names however Elizabeth is still my favourite:

1. Elizabeth
2. Rebecca
3. Helena
4. Jaqualene
5. Meria
6. Jane
7. Kirsty
8. Alixandria

These names are not in any particular order.

L8tr!

Jam.

For years I have not gave much thought to Mrs brisby`s first name until I got on the internet and started reading fan-fics. After reading "snap shot" the first fan-fic that I read, I kept running in to the name Elizabeth in three fan-fics in a row. from paul s gibbs two stories and j.c. foster. also found out that this name is after the late Elizabeth heartman. So Elizabeth kinda stuck with me. Animals named after their enviornment is done in some great stories like Richard Adams book "watership down" some of the rabbits names were blackberry, dandelion, and buttercup. So Elizabeth, rose, sara what ever you choose, the nice thing about a blank page like this is that it is up to each fan`s delight on what do with it.

I suppose I'd go with Elizabeth as that has the strongest tie to the character being the voice actress. Anything else, even if it sounds better, you'd be hard pressed to find a good enough reason to choose over Elizabeth.

Even though it doesn't roll off of the tongue, you can always shorten it just like how Jeremy called her Mrs. Bris, he could now refer to her as Liz, or Mrs. Liz

Also, I just made a new thread with a scan of the publicity portait of Elizabeth and Mrs. Brisby togethor. So go check that out.

Elizabeth gets my vote, thanks to Paul Gibbs ^^

Hi guys,

I was visting the Justin & jenner site and I saw my mistake, In the above post by me I said my first fan-fic was "snap shot" but there is no such thing, It was "Freeze Frame" by Depne Lage, It sounds close but no cigar. Sorry about that. Just did not want anyone to be looking for a title that is not there.

Well anyways It`s still a good read,check it out if you have not read it yet.

I used to think that maybe natural mice (ie. those not from NIMH) didn’t have proper names. Look at Auntie Shrew after all. Couple of problems with this of course. First of all: Jeremy. However he is a bird, maybe they have real names (after all they spend a lot of time calling out to one another, you’d have to know who you're shouting at). The second, more tricky case was Janice in the book. Natural mouse, proper name. Sort of scuppered my initial idea. To get to the point, personally I think Jennifer, Elisabeth, or even just Beth work well, though really, you can’t top just Mrs. Brisby.

I'm not sure where the Jennifer name started from, but I think choosing that name is too close to Jenner. Plus that it starts with the letter J is also too much , as you already have Justin, Jenner, and Jeremy.

Though, it is a nice name.

I don't believe her name is either of those given...and as much as I want to, I cannot tell you what I think her first name is...as I have no arguement, only my opinion. I am sorry.... :roll:

i dont know elizabeth just sticts with me for some reason

i just like the name elisibith for some reason its just me.

those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it

After careful research and much thought, I would have to say the first name that would work best for Mrs. Brisby and still contribute to the overall symbolism of the movie would be:

Elizabeth

The name means 'Consecrated to God" which would closely match her overall personality in the movie, IMHO.

--Tzolkin
ﺶﺞﻚﷲ

how can you research a movie characters name?

how can you research a movie characters name?

Search engines and other Forums of course. You can read what other people's opinions are and compare the same results from different places.

re: maxx
so he just compared oponions eh. but i thought this pull was supposed to be our own opinions not other peoples.

True, but maybe other people's opinions have with other information to back it all up with. And I'm not saying he went and compared other opinions himself, that was just my theory.

By the way if you want to reply to my messages with my name on them, try using the "quote" button or just use the

Insert sentence here

code.

yeah but that brings the question how he get other information out side the movie.

I don't know, maybe he looked at forums and maybe he didn't. He could also look up another website that may have more official information on Brisby's name.

Heh, we're still carrying on a conversation about how someone got their information. :lol:

:shock: You guys are debating how I got my info? Hmm... sorta weird IMO, but... cool, I guess..

I actually didn't get the info from anywhere NIMH related or any forums. I just decided to go to a site that gives the meaning of names, and typed in the names of some of the characters, and got intruiguing results. .

Jonathan = Meaning: Gift of God, Origin: Hebrew
Justin = Meaning: Just or True, Origin: French
Sullivan = Meaning: Dark-eyed, Origin: Celtic/Gaelic
Timothy = Meaning: To Honor God, Origin: Greek
Cynthia = Meaning: The Moon Personified, Origin: Greek
Martin = Meaning: Warlike, Origin: Latin
Jeremy = Meaning: God Will Uplift, Origin: Hebrew
Teresa = Meaning: Harvester, Origin: Spanish

And for possible first names for Mrs. Brisby..

Elizabeth = Meaning: Consecrated to God, Origin: Hebrew
Sara = Meaning: Princess, Origin: Hebrew

And that's the evidence I have. Anyways there's more sybolism to this, on which I partially drew the conclusion, but it's pretty easy to point out, and too lengthy to post here. I recommend reading Friedrich Nietzsche's 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' or at least the first part of it, about the three metamorphosis of the spirit. Very interesting, if you're into that sort of thing...

--Tzolkin
ﺶﺞﻚﷲ

Elizabeth is a good name.

Some names I like personally are Guinavere (sp?) and Rebecka.

I believe Rebecka means persiverance and Guinavere means white light or purity . . . I can't remember. However one name feels stronger while the other is more noble.

:shock: You guys are debating how I got my info? Hmm... sorta weird IMO, but... cool, I guess..

I actually didn't get the info from anywhere NIMH related or any forums. I just decided to go to a site that gives the meaning of names, and typed in the names of some of the characters, and got intruiguing results. .

Jonathan = Meaning: Gift of God, Origin: Hebrew
Justin = Meaning: Just or True, Origin: French
Sullivan = Meaning: Dark-eyed, Origin: Celtic/Gaelic
Timothy = Meaning: To Honor God, Origin: Greek
Cynthia = Meaning: The Moon Personified, Origin: Greek
Martin = Meaning: Warlike, Origin: Latin
Jeremy = Meaning: God Will Uplift, Origin: Hebrew
Teresa = Meaning: Harvester, Origin: Spanish

And for possible first names for Mrs. Brisby..

Elizabeth = Meaning: Consecrated to God, Origin: Hebrew
Sara = Meaning: Princess, Origin: Hebrew

And that's the evidence I have. Anyways there's more sybolism to this, on which I partially drew the conclusion, but it's pretty easy to point out, and too lengthy to post here. I recommend reading Friedrich Nietzsche's 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' or at least the first part of it, about the three metamorphosis of the spirit. Very interesting, if you're into that sort of thing...

--Tzolkin
ﺶﺞﻚﷲ

And THAT...concludes our debate.

I am a big believer in the "nomen est omen" principle when naming a character.

So I am glad to read that the name "Elizabeth" does have origins that fit Mrs. Brisby's character so well.

Cheers!

mal

Some names I like personally are Guinavere (sp?) and Rebecka.

I was intriqued by these names, so I decided to look them up. The exact name wasn't in my sources' databases, so I can't tell the exact meaning.
:? Drat! Maybe I can try more sources.

As I said before (or maybe not), personally I like the names Jessica, or Elissa, but Elizabeth just seems to match the symbolism of the movie and the character's personality almost perfectly.

--Tzolkin
ﺶﺞﻚﷲ

Domo!
This was a very big issue inside my head also. Thinking about what everybody says, my opinion has ben inspired, but I think Elizabeth is the best. I have done some research on Mrs. B's voice artist, Elizabeth Hartman. By looking at the images of her, I have noticed that Mrs. B looks just like her, which gives the conclusion that it kind of makes sence that Mrs. Brisby's first name is Elizabeth...

I've thought about this, but other than Elizabeth, I personally thought "Eleanor" could be good also. But I think Elizabeth is the best...

I'd have to say Elizabeth.

I've seen quite of number of different names tried and the only one that doesn't really seem to fit to me is Dawn Griffiths' choice of Madeline.

I agree, Medeline is a french name and I don't think it would do for a american mouse.

Hey, why do we only get 2 choices? XD
Personally, i never though Elizabeth suited her...maybe it sounds too formal for my taste, i dunno. In my fan-fics, i've named her Penny, Marion, and..just Mrs. Frisby in my most recent story. Sometimes i think the fewer mysteries resolved, the better ;)

edit: and wow, i just realized this thread is from forever ago, oops! :)

Thats what I noticed as well. I chose Elizabeth just out of spite that there was no more choices other than Sara. In my nimh fan-fic Mrs. B's first name is Jennifer.

If anyone wants my opinion, I try various names to Mrs. B., and Elizabeth seems to fit her almost perfectly. Sara just doesn't seem right. And I'd sooner name Theresa Jennifer.

If anyone wants my opinion, I try various names to Mrs. B., and Elizabeth seems to fit her almost perfectly. Sara just doesn't seem right. And I'd sooner name Theresa Jennifer.

Yeah, Elizabeth does sound suitful for her.

Elizabeth does suit her for a few reasons. For oone, Elizabeth Hartman was the voice talent of Mrs. Brisby. However for my story, I thought I would take a different name because Elizabeth seems to be everywhere among the nimh fan-fic community.

Elizabeth does suit her for a few reasons. For oone, Elizabeth Hartman was the voice talent of Mrs. Brisby. However for my story, I thought I would take a different name because Elizabeth seems to be everywhere among the nimh fan-fic community.

Bet your sweet bippy on that :wink:

I voted for Elizabeth because (1) it honors the late Elizabeth Hartman and (2) it just seems to sute her so well.

I voted for Elizabeth because (1) it honors the late Elizabeth Hartman and (2) it just seems to suit her so well.

That's what I had been thinking it was all along. :P

I voted for Elizabeth because (1) it honors the late Elizabeth Hartman and (2) it just seems to sute her so well.

That's what I had been thinking it was that all along. :P
_____________________________________________________________
-Nimhster 8)

it does indeed honor the actor as well as suites mrs brisby better than sara. one of the reasons i picked it over sara but i also feel that even just keeping her as mrs brisby is fine. personally i like elisabeth becuase i really like the name more.

Okay, definitely gotta weigh in on this.
First of all, mavikfelna stated, on his 6-year-old post

"I've seen quite of number of different names tried and the only one that doesn't really seem to fit to me is Dawn Griffiths' choice of Madeline. And not because it doesn't fit but because that's just a name I'm not fond of."

First, I had a regular correspondence with Dawn Griffiths long ago, from 1988 to around 1993-94. During this period I would send her copies of every NIMH fan-fic I created, and she'd present her ideas to me. She wasn't especially forthcoming about original characters or storylines, though, and it bothered me (and I told her in at least one letter) that she was putting more energy into inventing more details about MY original characters. So I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to hear that she "stole" my name for Mrs. Brisby. I came up with Madeline as far back as 1985, for no particular reason other than I thought it fit her. This was a couple of years before the death of Elizabeth Hartman, otherwise I probably would have used her name.
Now, in her only f-f I've actually seen, the one over in Robin's, I didn't see the name used anywhere, though I could have missed it. Anyhow, I don't have a huge problem with this; I'm flattered that she thought that highly of my choice. I just wish she'd have asked me first. Anyway, I needed to set the record straight. In any case, since Simon has a copy of The NIMH File and so has no doubt seen my first f-f, at least the first draft, he can verify that I, indeed, named her Madeline first.

That`s cool :D

Elizabeth has always stuck with me thru the years.

I personally can't decide. I can think of a number of different names which might fit although like many, Elizabeth is a partial favourate of mine. I'll just have to see how things go when I get my fan fics up and running.

personally, I chose Abagail Elizabeth Brisby....as a full name for her...Not sure why it rings so well in my mind, "Abagail" just seems soft and motherly...while Elizabeth seems to be the accepted name among all us fans...so I put them together...no reason not to have a middle name!

personally, I chose Abagail Elizabeth Brisby....as a full name for her...Not sure why it rings so well in my mind, "Abagail" just seems soft and motherly...while Elizabeth seems to be the accepted name among all us fans...so I put them together...no reason not to have a middle name!

Good point and Abagail was one of my favorite characters in "Once Upon a Forest".
But Elizabeth as a first name has been with me for to many years.

I say we should honer her voice actor (may she rest in peace) and give Mrs. Brisby the voice actor's name: Elizabeth.

This is getting relevant as I'm starting my own fanfiction and I must admit I'm stuck.

I could go with Elizabeth, but soooooooo many fanfictions use that name that it would be too obvious. I was thinking of Hillary as in Hillary Clinton, but I cannot tell if that's more laugh worthy or cringe worthy. I was also thinking of Teresa going with a family tradition of naming siblings after yourself.

I dunno....I might just leave it alone or make some kind of bad joke out of it somehow.

To me, Elizabeth is such perfect a name for her. Whether or not it's to honer of her voice actress isn't as important to me as it flows so well. Now I have thought about a maden name for her, for a story I'm kicking around in my head. But I'm not worrying about it that much. To me debating on what her first name is, is kinda like debating on what to name Justin. I guess I just take it for granted that her name is Elizabeth. It would be nice if their were some way to make it canon, but oh well. This, of course, is all my opinion so enjoy with as much salt as you like.

I personally like Sarah, which seems to be a popular second choice. Elizabeth feels a bit schoolmarmish to me, for some reason.