Wag the dog

Earlier I wondered about the spelling of "Jaime" Sommers, the main character in the Bionic Woman. Is "Jaime" a new twist (post–Jaime Pressly) on the more phonetically clear "Jamie," or was it ever thus? (Our "j'aime/je n'aime pas" contest got me thinking about it in the first place.) Check out what Dizzies chief of research Hannah dug up:

According to the Immediate Past President of the American Name Society, Lindsay Wagner's Bionic Woman was indeed a J-A-I-M-E. Ms. Pressly was born in the middle of the show's run. He adds, "Some people have speculated that the spelling Jaime was a deliberate alteration so that the name looks like the French phrase 'J'aime,' which means 'I love.' But it may just be an arbitary [sic] respelling of Jamie. Though not quite as common a practice as it is today, there were plenty of people back in the 1970s who would respell names to make them more 'unique.'"

Hannah wonders: "Might all this qualify as a ouroboros? Or is it more akin to a puppy chasing its own tail?"

(Image taken from here.)

Jamie's crying

Dizzyhead Hannah finds a likes/dislikes list...

Take a look at ELOISE. She's got those lists galore....For instance, from an early edition: "Here's what I like to do Make things up. Here's what I hate Peter Rabbit." [sic] and stuff, although I don't know if it is the website or the girl herself.

...and offers some insights into the Jaime/Jamie controversy:

[Here are] the relevant entries in THE OXFORD NAMES COMPANION, reordered for dramatic purposes --

Jamie (m.), occasionally (f.) 1. (m.) Scottish: pet form of JAMES, used especially among Lowland Scots, in contrast to the Highland form HAMISH, which is derived from a Gaelic form. 2. (f.) English (esp. U.S.): recent adoption as a feminine equivalent of JAMES, influenced by the fact that -ie has come to be regarded as a characteristically feminine ending, except in Scotland.

Jaime (m., f..) 1. (m.) Spanish form of JAMES. 2. (f.) English (esp. Canadian): apparently a respelling of the female name JAMIE.

J'aime meme

Poet Ange Mlinko picks up the j'aime/je n'aime pas meme at the Harriet blog—a sample:

J'aime: All sweets, Alsatian Pinot Gris, Calvados. Peasant fare: minestrones, bourguignons, bouillabaisses, borschts. Paprika. Butter. Having someone else cook....

Je n'aime pas:

Crowds, arenas. Hiking, camping, wilderness. Sports. Onion/garlic powder. Takeout. Skyscrapers, corporate buildings, commercial parks. Midtown Manhattan.

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J'aime has got me thinking about Jaime—specifically, "Jaime Sommers," the titular Bionic Woman. The current show stars Michelle Ryan as Jaime Sommers; but wasn't Lindsay Wagner, in the '70s original, playing "Jamie" Sommers? I was going to attribute the new spelling to the rise of My Name Is Earl Star Jaime Pressly...but now I wonder, have people always spelled "Jamie" as "Jaime"? To me, Jaime wants to be pronounced the Spanish way, High-may...Answers, please!