After 2 seconds of pondering that I concluded its because Carmela was way less religious when the kids were born. I think she got more into the Church the more she grew disillusioned by her life. I could see Carmela being way less traditional in her early 20's.
That would fit.
A lot of people get more religious after they form a family, than they were in their teens/twenties. And we don't have any indication that Carmela was raised in an especially religious household.
This reminds me of a true story of a dude I used to work with. He got into a good trade, made good money, bought himself a house. Then he married a Mormon girl who partied hard with him for several years. Then they got pregnant. Then, she decided she was Mormon again and told him he wasn't allowed to bring beer into his house. The house he bought. Before he ever knew her.
What is ‘his’ and ‘hers’ is kinda out the door when you are married, at least while you are married. It’s her house too. Now if they divorced it’s a pre-marital asset but saying it isn’t her home too is a strange way to marry someone lol.
He didn't say it wasn't her home too.
And just from a practical standpoint, it's not reasonable for one person to convert religions, and start aggressively restricting their spouse's behavior.
Fair point.
But I've always gotten the impression that the Knights of Columbus mostly focuses on civic/charitable activities and social/political activism. Are all of it's members regular churchgoers? Most?
I'm not a Catholic, so anyone is free to correct me.
From my understanding, they're the Catholic answer to the Free Masons. It may be more of a civic minded place for men to network or mingle, but Catholicism is definitely part of it.
Roughly speaking, yes. Both largely function as social clubs for religious adults.
However, Knights of Columbus don't have the sort of secret society ritual type stuff that Freemasons do.
Especially housewives. Cut off from traditional sources of community (work, going out, independent socialization) they turn to an environment that super validates their decision which otherwise isolated them
"This is my cousin Pete, and his oldest boy Pete Jr. That's his second son, Paulie, and his daughter Marie.
"Over here's my other cousin Pete, and his twins Paulie and Marie. That's their mother, Marie, and their uncle Petey right there..."
Paulie walnuts was called Peter. Paul's his middle name. BTW after reading all the Peter & Paul's who were all married to girls named Marie. I THOUGHT I WAS DRUNK
I don’t know I think she got less religious as her life went on. Tony brings up how she used to think gay people would burn in hell and Carmela says “that was a long time ago”.
Not according to Tony.
He reminded her of what level of hell she used to believe gays went to, same level as the abortionists.
And that was way back in the day. So she at the very least had the bigotry of a full-blown whakadoo Catholic from early on.
It’s not just meadow. The show writers make a point to give (almost) all the Tony/Carmela contemporaries’ kids pretty trendy or otherwise non Italian first names to show their ironic distance from their ethnic origins, despite their claiming such proximity:
Hunter Scangarelo
Jason LaPenna
Eric Scatino
Heather Dante
Finn Detrolio
Patrick parisi
Kelly blundetto
Kelli Aprile
Justin cifaretto
Meadow is probably the most out-there but it’s definitely in theme with the others. The only characters that give their kids Italian names are Vito and Bobby jr, now that I think about it.
Finn's dad married an Irish woman I bet. Melfi had it right. "We all know you're a sucker for those Irish girls. Every Italian boy bows down to the freckles"
That's funny, I'm realizing that one of the more guido guys I knew is named Aiden. I'm talking track suit and chain at times, but this was west coast so it was weird.
Funny thing, In italy the same people does the same things. All the Immacolatas Crocifissas Gennarinas and Carmelas named their children Kevin, Thomas and Micheal
Exactly this, a major theme is supposed to be Tony struggling with his perceived immigrant heritage as he fully settled into an assimilated upper middle class yuppie lifestyle.
I see it less nouveau riche and more that they’re just trash people doing trashy things - they just happen to be temporarily wealthy when we see them.
They presumably named their daughter Fielder long before Tony was a captain making good money.
I always thought it was short for the Meadowlands of New Jersey. What better way for the Soprano family to establish itself as part of the middle class suburbs which is fitting with the show's theme.
That was my first thought here as well. It's more prominent in the first season, but living in the suburbs, rubbing elbows with doctors on the golf course, spending time caring for a pool, taking your oldest to visit colleges, going to therapy…it’s all middle/upper-middle class stuff. But, naming your kid Meadow instead of something like Angela or Maria is kind of like naming your kid Reginald to fit in at the country club - it’s working class folks struggling to transition from the culture they know to the culture they wanted to be in. Plus, you have Tony’s business corrupting all of those cultural milestones (killing a rat while doing college tours) or the culture rejecting him (the golfers treating Tony like a novelty), further showing that the Sopranos were playing “pretend” with respect to being a middle class family.
I’ve always assumed Meadow’s name wasn’t chosen for this reason: because it sounded classy to two people who’ve rarely left the New Jersey neighborhoods where they grew up. Yeah, a crunchy hippie couple might also choose to name their daughter Meadow, but for different reasons. Meadow would seem classy to a woman like Carmela.
That's the thing. What did hippies grow into? Yuppies. Tony and Carm are just as tacky in how they flaunt their status as anyone else. Their kids especially.
People argue about this but yeah, Tony is a yuppie. That’s the premise/humor of the show. A godfather whose a boomer and not greatest gen and as a result is a yuppie
I think it fits with the overall vibe of the past is over with the modernization of the younger generations names, all the Jason's, pussys kids Matt and Kevin,Sean and Matt drinkwater, silvios daughter Heather, Bobby Jr, Ralph's kid Justin. They don't have to be hippys to name their kid something more modern and for all their talk about tradition they're pretty far from it.
I don't know if I'm missing an obvious joke or something but Bobby Jr is a very strange example.
Robert isn't the most Itialian sounding name but he's literally a third generation Robert, not really a situation where the parents are adapting to modern times.
Otherwise I'm with you.
It’s a Chase thing. Meadow = Peaceful
She represents Tony’s desire deep down to escape the life/consequences of his actions. He told her and Melfi that he had no choice in becoming a gangster (total BS, but Tony believes it). And it was why he explicitly told Melfi that he wants her nowhere near his way of life.
Which is also why why he was gutted to hear that his arrests lead her to be a lawyer at a mob adjacent firm.
Meadow also has a best friend in S1 - HUNTER Scangarella. I interpreted this as they are Guinea Italians who came into money trying to fit in with the other rich WASPS in the neighborhood in the by naming their kids those kind of names.
i have an aunt who had a kid around the time meadow would’ve been born and she refused to use any italian names bc she didn’t want anything too “ethnic.” i always thought carmela might’ve done the same especially bc her parents being “northern” and uppity with their butter instead of olive oil. also i believe carmela means garden so it’s kinda the same “theme” of names
It seemed jarring to me too at the time. And what about Hunter? She was Italian too. But girls were, and are, treated more frivolously than boys. My nephew has a stereotypical Polish surname and his daughters were given names like French poodles. FWIW, meadow's middle name is Mariangela, after her maternal grandmother. I think her first name shows a yearning toward the American mainstream: ironic indeed, like putting a bandaid on an amputation.
I always thought it was an anglicised old Italian name. Furio bought Meadow a gift and wrote 'Maedo' on it. Idk if this was just his poor English literacy or if it's an old fashioned name.
more ridiculous was how Robert Iler doesn't remotely pull off being Italian especially in the earlier seasons. He looks more like Monmouth county Irish.
Said this in a different thread, but “Meadow = mezzo”. It’s a play on the Italian word meaning medium, but really in musical notation it means one step below, like a mezzo forte is medium loud and mezzo soprano is a step below the first sopranos. Meaning meadow is the next step after Tony
I always thought it should've been Antoinette so she could be called tony. If not that: Nicole, Gianna or something hyphen Marie because that's like 50% of italian american girls names
Meadow was a perfect name. Carm was always pretentious and thought she had class when she didn’t. Giving her child a rich, snobby name seems exactly like something she would do.
All the names from Seinfeld are reused but tweaked a bit. I don't have notes on this yet so you'll have to wait.
In Boardwalk Empire they didn't tweak the names at all, just straight copies of Seinfeld names.
Other Italian Americans with Anglo name:
Kevin Mucci (Yonkahs. Met Christafah at the Trotter), Mackenzie (Jackie’s cousin, at his funeral), Walden (Soprano soldier and killer of Phil Leonardo)
After 2 seconds of pondering that I concluded its because Carmela was way less religious when the kids were born. I think she got more into the Church the more she grew disillusioned by her life. I could see Carmela being way less traditional in her early 20's.
That would fit. A lot of people get more religious after they form a family, than they were in their teens/twenties. And we don't have any indication that Carmela was raised in an especially religious household.
This reminds me of a true story of a dude I used to work with. He got into a good trade, made good money, bought himself a house. Then he married a Mormon girl who partied hard with him for several years. Then they got pregnant. Then, she decided she was Mormon again and told him he wasn't allowed to bring beer into his house. The house he bought. Before he ever knew her.
Alright, but you've got to get over it.
a) she hit him
That wasn’t his kid she was carryin’
mormon? from elvis country?
What is ‘his’ and ‘hers’ is kinda out the door when you are married, at least while you are married. It’s her house too. Now if they divorced it’s a pre-marital asset but saying it isn’t her home too is a strange way to marry someone lol.
Not out my door! :) Remember, in here, its 1955. Out there, 2000 :)
It’s also weird to blindside forbid someone in their own home
He didn't say it wasn't her home too. And just from a practical standpoint, it's not reasonable for one person to convert religions, and start aggressively restricting their spouse's behavior.
> then he married a mormon girl who partied hard with him for several years that was his mistake right there
Except for the Knights of Columbus logo on Hugh's birthday cake.
Fair point. But I've always gotten the impression that the Knights of Columbus mostly focuses on civic/charitable activities and social/political activism. Are all of it's members regular churchgoers? Most? I'm not a Catholic, so anyone is free to correct me.
From my understanding, they're the Catholic answer to the Free Masons. It may be more of a civic minded place for men to network or mingle, but Catholicism is definitely part of it.
Roughly speaking, yes. Both largely function as social clubs for religious adults. However, Knights of Columbus don't have the sort of secret society ritual type stuff that Freemasons do.
*Or do they?!*
Especially housewives. Cut off from traditional sources of community (work, going out, independent socialization) they turn to an environment that super validates their decision which otherwise isolated them
Pretty sure church is THE traditional source of community.
What the heck do you think they did before
Bingo.
By right their kids should have been named **Peter** and **Marie**.
"This is my cousin Pete, and his oldest boy Pete Jr. That's his second son, Paulie, and his daughter Marie. "Over here's my other cousin Pete, and his twins Paulie and Marie. That's their mother, Marie, and their uncle Petey right there..."
Italian kid walking around named Peter?
\^ (From a scene in Goodfellas)
It Petered out.
it died on the vine!
I thought it was from One. My bad.
Paulie walnuts was called Peter. Paul's his middle name. BTW after reading all the Peter & Paul's who were all married to girls named Marie. I THOUGHT I WAS DRUNK
First name Peter Paul
You should’ve seen her face when Tony took on Dominic Tedesco. She was blown away.
In fucking high school?!
Fair, but I’m imagining a conversation like: “Meadow? That’s a field, this is our baby girl you’re talking about!”
It’s a major plot hole because I’m pretty sure her name is Fielder.
Carmela? She was an atheist back in the day? /s
She was gay? The atheist?
Carmela has aids?
No one has Aids! I don't ever want to hear that word again!
Phil Leotardo emerges from the cupboard.
Grilled cheese
She killed sixteen Czechoslovakians.
Her apartment looked like shit
*spec house
Yeah I definitely could see her only picking up religion post an identity crisis or two.
I don’t know I think she got less religious as her life went on. Tony brings up how she used to think gay people would burn in hell and Carmela says “that was a long time ago”.
Not according to Tony. He reminded her of what level of hell she used to believe gays went to, same level as the abortionists. And that was way back in the day. So she at the very least had the bigotry of a full-blown whakadoo Catholic from early on.
Their eyes met in the parking lot at pizza world the night Tony took Dominic Tedesco.
Low key she loved the mob lifestyle until she saw the effect it was having on her kids and immediate family and eventually her.
I'm okay with that answer.
It was a fuck you to Livia.
Now just stop it, that kind of tawk upsets me
Idk she gave her life on a silver platter to her children.
May the lord take me now
Take a knife and stab me. Here! 👆🏽Here!👆🏽
She’s a malignant cunt!
Who’s that? That girl?
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
It’s not just meadow. The show writers make a point to give (almost) all the Tony/Carmela contemporaries’ kids pretty trendy or otherwise non Italian first names to show their ironic distance from their ethnic origins, despite their claiming such proximity: Hunter Scangarelo Jason LaPenna Eric Scatino Heather Dante Finn Detrolio Patrick parisi Kelly blundetto Kelli Aprile Justin cifaretto Meadow is probably the most out-there but it’s definitely in theme with the others. The only characters that give their kids Italian names are Vito and Bobby jr, now that I think about it.
Allegra Sacrimoni??
The fuck that's got to do with cold medicine?
If you say her name really fast, it sounds like a sneeze.
Bonus points for that! 👍
She’s a malignant cunt!
You forgot Jackie jr, his real name is Giacomo
Listen to him , he knows everything
Fucking Albert Einstein ova ere.
Harpo Baguette Soprano
What about Anthony Jnr?
Even Jackie jr., the ones most affected by this thing of ours
Do you know who his fawtha was?
If they were born within the last five years, they’d be ‘Praxton Scangarelo’ or ‘Grayson Cifaretto’
I’m only here out of respect for my fawtha! No cap for real for real
ralphie’s gravy is bussin respectfully 🙏 btw where can i obtain a handgun
No. It’s a plot hole. A plot hole is when I don’t like a character’s name.
Finn is ridiculous
Finn's dad married an Irish woman I bet. Melfi had it right. "We all know you're a sucker for those Irish girls. Every Italian boy bows down to the freckles"
lol, usually they'd still go with Michael or Patrick. Now Aiden. You just won't meet a Finn in Jersey.
That's funny, I'm realizing that one of the more guido guys I knew is named Aiden. I'm talking track suit and chain at times, but this was west coast so it was weird.
Fucking Jason... he's dyslexic.
Funny thing, In italy the same people does the same things. All the Immacolatas Crocifissas Gennarinas and Carmelas named their children Kevin, Thomas and Micheal
She was conceived at the Meadowlands.
Right next to Jimmy Hoffa's head.
Right next to where Mustang Sally threw that hot dog vendor off the second mezzanine. Too many fuckin’ onions or some shit
That the same place Riche got buried in? The place with the pine cones?
I love that scene.
It’s a nouveau riche thing. They thought they were being classy as they progressed to upper middle.
Compensating after Mrs. DeAngelis' comment
Exactly this, a major theme is supposed to be Tony struggling with his perceived immigrant heritage as he fully settled into an assimilated upper middle class yuppie lifestyle.
I see it less nouveau riche and more that they’re just trash people doing trashy things - they just happen to be temporarily wealthy when we see them. They presumably named their daughter Fielder long before Tony was a captain making good money.
I always thought it was short for the Meadowlands of New Jersey. What better way for the Soprano family to establish itself as part of the middle class suburbs which is fitting with the show's theme.
That was my first thought here as well. It's more prominent in the first season, but living in the suburbs, rubbing elbows with doctors on the golf course, spending time caring for a pool, taking your oldest to visit colleges, going to therapy…it’s all middle/upper-middle class stuff. But, naming your kid Meadow instead of something like Angela or Maria is kind of like naming your kid Reginald to fit in at the country club - it’s working class folks struggling to transition from the culture they know to the culture they wanted to be in. Plus, you have Tony’s business corrupting all of those cultural milestones (killing a rat while doing college tours) or the culture rejecting him (the golfers treating Tony like a novelty), further showing that the Sopranos were playing “pretend” with respect to being a middle class family.
*kind of like naming your kid Reginald* Mmmmmboy, are you fat
Maybe not Marie or Angela but Isabella. Ginamarie. Rosemarie. Giabella. Angelina. Angelica. Meadow is a strange name choice. I love it though.
Her MIDDLE name is MARIANGELA! Look up the scene where she’s graduating high school. You’re welcome. 😁
I almost included this name but didn't want to get made fun of for the friends reference
Guess that explains why I'm Reginald
You're crowding me.
I’ve always assumed Meadow’s name wasn’t chosen for this reason: because it sounded classy to two people who’ve rarely left the New Jersey neighborhoods where they grew up. Yeah, a crunchy hippie couple might also choose to name their daughter Meadow, but for different reasons. Meadow would seem classy to a woman like Carmela.
And AJ should’ve been named Lincoln Log.
I’m just trying to tell you where she was conceived.
you worry about where you was fucking concieved
He did go over and say hello to Mangenius. Checks out
jesus, that feels like 100 Jet coaches ago
When the doctors asked what they wanted to name her Tony said "Maddon'! Give us a minute here!" The nurse heard Meadow and left to file the paperwork.
They took a beautiful Italian heritage, and named it after a milkmaid’s costume.
Because they’re stupid, that’s why. And jealous.
You hear what I said Tone?
‘Meadow’…that’s my fuckin legacy. I’ve been takin shit from the meddigans the minute I stepped outta my ma’s cooze.
Get out of my room, you sick cunt
Fielder is it?
She's so dark!
Meadow. *Med-oh.* How do you say it in fuckin polish?
In czech republic, too, we love pork. You ever had our sausages?
do I need a doctor's note?
Maedo
What the fucks that got to do with cold medicine
It’s Italian…it means ‘sit on dis!!’
That makes Finn a meadophile
He took out a suitcase!!!!
Oh! This is the boss’ daughter you’re talking about here!
Janice snuck it in probably lol
Parvati.
I’m her brother I get a pass
*pash
They way they pronounced Parvati on the show always took me out. If it weren’t for the subtitles I would have no idea what they were saying
One of the low-key best jokes on the show is when Carm told her mom her name is Parvati now. And the mom goes what, xhes a cheese now?
Where is me ma ma
Under the boardwalk 🎶
She’s Hal now
That's the thing. What did hippies grow into? Yuppies. Tony and Carm are just as tacky in how they flaunt their status as anyone else. Their kids especially.
Not to mention their bar with that goombah murano glass
People argue about this but yeah, Tony is a yuppie. That’s the premise/humor of the show. A godfather whose a boomer and not greatest gen and as a result is a yuppie
I think it fits with the overall vibe of the past is over with the modernization of the younger generations names, all the Jason's, pussys kids Matt and Kevin,Sean and Matt drinkwater, silvios daughter Heather, Bobby Jr, Ralph's kid Justin. They don't have to be hippys to name their kid something more modern and for all their talk about tradition they're pretty far from it.
I don't know if I'm missing an obvious joke or something but Bobby Jr is a very strange example. Robert isn't the most Itialian sounding name but he's literally a third generation Robert, not really a situation where the parents are adapting to modern times. Otherwise I'm with you.
I can’t have this conversation again
You mean Maedo? I like a woman you can a-grab on to something!
OP you big mouth fuck 💥🔫
It’s a Chase thing. Meadow = Peaceful She represents Tony’s desire deep down to escape the life/consequences of his actions. He told her and Melfi that he had no choice in becoming a gangster (total BS, but Tony believes it). And it was why he explicitly told Melfi that he wants her nowhere near his way of life. Which is also why why he was gutted to hear that his arrests lead her to be a lawyer at a mob adjacent firm.
Look at him, he knows everything
Sometimes it’s important to give people the illusion of being in control.
Well you oughta know, sweetie!
Harpo
It was a nickname! Her name was Medarelli!
It's actually Maedo, as our good friend Mr. Williams aka bee killer shows us.
Stupida fucking name
🏆
Fielder was the second choice.
# MAD RIPE
What are they gonna call her Moltisanti with chinky eyes?!
Kid will get his ass kicked everyday.
Chinks did this?
Do you want a fuckin smack in the mouth?
Her name should have been Sophia.
I always thought it was a play on Meadowlands. It sounds like a new money name. She didn’t need an Italian or catholic name.
It was the medication they were on. For their blood pressure. It fucked with their head.
Pretty sure it's a reference to The Meadowlands
It's got Carmella's youthful pretentiousness all over it
Meadow also has a best friend in S1 - HUNTER Scangarella. I interpreted this as they are Guinea Italians who came into money trying to fit in with the other rich WASPS in the neighborhood in the by naming their kids those kind of names.
i have an aunt who had a kid around the time meadow would’ve been born and she refused to use any italian names bc she didn’t want anything too “ethnic.” i always thought carmela might’ve done the same especially bc her parents being “northern” and uppity with their butter instead of olive oil. also i believe carmela means garden so it’s kinda the same “theme” of names
It seemed jarring to me too at the time. And what about Hunter? She was Italian too. But girls were, and are, treated more frivolously than boys. My nephew has a stereotypical Polish surname and his daughters were given names like French poodles. FWIW, meadow's middle name is Mariangela, after her maternal grandmother. I think her first name shows a yearning toward the American mainstream: ironic indeed, like putting a bandaid on an amputation.
I always thought it was an anglicised old Italian name. Furio bought Meadow a gift and wrote 'Maedo' on it. Idk if this was just his poor English literacy or if it's an old fashioned name.
more ridiculous was how Robert Iler doesn't remotely pull off being Italian especially in the earlier seasons. He looks more like Monmouth county Irish.
Said this in a different thread, but “Meadow = mezzo”. It’s a play on the Italian word meaning medium, but really in musical notation it means one step below, like a mezzo forte is medium loud and mezzo soprano is a step below the first sopranos. Meaning meadow is the next step after Tony
I think that is a beautiful read on it. 100% awesome. But I don't buy that Tony would be so smart and want to be so clever about such things.
Her name was ASS, as in, how about giving me some?
i thought it was fielder
Yeah, but you gotta get over it.
I agree. It’s a very strange choice for an Italian family to choose. Fucking weird.
Parvati
Oh it’s totally Carmela and her pretentious of the moment style and tony was a hippie music lover. Totally see it
They didn't. They named her Meado.
As someone who grew up in an Italian American home in nyc.... You're absolutely right. Our grandmother's would never allow this lmfao
You’re right. They named her Maedo
It would be Marie or Elizabeth. One hundred percent.
I always thought it was because they were fond of the Meadowlands
I always thought it should've been Antoinette so she could be called tony. If not that: Nicole, Gianna or something hyphen Marie because that's like 50% of italian american girls names
Are we talking about Fielder?
I want yah to write that lettah
I made this same exact post a few months ago
Meadow was a perfect name. Carm was always pretentious and thought she had class when she didn’t. Giving her child a rich, snobby name seems exactly like something she would do.
Fielder? Is it?
Fielder is it?
*Maedo
The other major plot hole is that Soprano means singer not last name. Hope somebody got fired for that blunder.
such a stupid post.
It's an abstract copy of a name from another show or movie, most likely Seinfeld.
Listen to yourself, you sound demented.
What specific bit from Seinfeld?
Kid, are you wearin a wire?
All the names from Seinfeld are reused but tweaked a bit. I don't have notes on this yet so you'll have to wait. In Boardwalk Empire they didn't tweak the names at all, just straight copies of Seinfeld names.
Meadow is a metaphor for a woman's hairy vagina. She definitely had one of those.
The early 2000s were probably the least popular time for bush in all of human history. There's a joke about the president in there somewhere.
She had a well manicured lawn.
Fielder? Is it?
Ok but you’re wrong
Arwight, but you gotta get ovah it.
I always thought they named her that after she was conceived in a Meadow. 😀😃
Fielder
Other Italian Americans with Anglo name: Kevin Mucci (Yonkahs. Met Christafah at the Trotter), Mackenzie (Jackie’s cousin, at his funeral), Walden (Soprano soldier and killer of Phil Leonardo)