Actress Largo Woodruff, who appeared in several films in the 1980s, was born in New Jersey in 1955.
She was the second of three children. Her older sister was named Allegro, and her younger brother was named Lento.
All three siblings were named after musical tempos by their father Wallace Woodruff, a professional musician and music teacher. The three names/tempos are Italian words that indicate the speed at which a particular piece of music should be played:
- Allegro means “cheerful” (i.e., play briskly)
- Largo means “broad” (i.e., play slowly)
- Lento means “slow”
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was also named with music in mind. Her name is based on the musical term con dolcezza, meaning “with sweetness” in Italian.
Sources:
- Hopkins, Carolyn. “Young Largo comes of age as actress.” Tampa Bay Times 6 Feb. 1981: 54.
- Largo Woodruff – Wikipedia
- Wiktionary
Image: Screenshot of The Funhouse
Allegro sure got the best name, although I vastly prefer Allegra, since it’s a real name for girls. Lento and Largo sound ok, but every person who has ever had a decent elementary school music teacher would know what those words mean, and I sure wouldn’t want to be named “broad” or “slow,” even in lovely Italian.
I completely agree with Sharky. I don’t care if the father is a musician, if he thinks a name meaning “slow” or “broad” is so great he can change HIS name, you shouldn’t saddle your children with unfortunate names to feed your ego. I hope his children found a way to make peace with their unfortunate monikers – at least until they could have them legally changed.
They’re very curious choices, given their meanings.
At least Lento’s name easily shortens to “Len.” And if Largo hadn’t liked her name, she could have gone by “Lara.”
Something like Andante might have been a nice alternative to either Largo or Lento, especially since you can create various nicknames out of it (Andy/Andie, Danny/Dannie, Dante).
Largo had three children with her director husband Fredric Blankfein (who passed away earlier this year).
One of them is called… Lyrica Brielle, a Broadway performer. That’s where the theme stopped, because Lyrica’s sister is a flight attendant named Shyla, and her brother is called Daelan Kael.
Thank you for looking that up, Emma!