In the last month, three different friends and family members have had to think of baby names and because they know I'm insane very fond of it, they asked for my help. Swoon.
Between those conversations and my newest favorite blog, I'm totally enjoying thinking of names for other people's kids right now. (Totally my place to do so....ahem)
Current obsession with name-related things: using the names of fictional characters. Apparently, Khaleesi is on the rise. Khaleesi. Now, if you just love the way Khaleesi sounds, then you go, Glen Coco! Really, it's no one's business what name anyone else chooses for their darling offspring (in almost every single situation).
I'm not very into obvious fictional names. I love Dumbledore, but I can't see myself using his name. (Even Albus.) I asked a semi-reasonable friend (we'll call him Joe Smith) this question as well. He said the craziest he'd ever do is name a son Bruce Wayne Smith. Not too bad.
But, in case you don't want to name your son Frodo and risk him being constantly referred to as "Hobbit," (now that I think about it, that's awesome) here are some tamer choices for us lovers of LOTR, HP, GoT, etc.
1. Instead of Khaleesi...
Maybe Katherine, Danielle, Maeve, Regina, or Riegan.
Liz watches Game of Thrones and I asked her about this one. One of her suggestions was Katherine, I believe because it's another K name. But she also told me that Khaleesi isn't the name of the character. It's Daenerys. This can easily be "Danny" or "Dani," so maybe using the name Danielle would work if you want to shy away from Khaleesi while still using the character as inspiration.
Khaleesi, on the other hand, means "queen." (...In a made up language, but you know.)
So, if you're not on the wild side and don't want to call your baby girl "Khaleesi," one possibility is to to give your bundle a more traditional name with the same meaning. Regina is a fairly common name and means queen. According to a quick google search, it's been big since medieval times. Woot!
But I get the feeling that parents who even consider the name "Khaleesi" don't want to go the common route. Fear not! Apparently Maeve means "she who intoxicates" and in Irish tradition it was the name of a warrior queen. BAMF. I don't want to name a child in honor of the GoT character, but if I did, I'd go with this one.
If we want to get really cool - Riegan means "one who talks to dragons" and is pronounced Rye-gan. This name is still too out there for my own taste, but I think it's closest to the character without using "Khaleesi."
Another option, which is actually an option for any of these, is to use it as a middle name. Little Ella Khaleesi. I'm surprised, but I honestly like how that sounds.
2. Instead of Dobby...
How about Robert?
I haven't heard of a growing trend of baby boys being called Dobby lately. I think I've heard it floated as an idea once or twice, and in coming up with this list, I looked at trends and which characters I love but would be hesitant to use as namesakes. As one of my favorite characters in Harry Potter, I can totally see myself saying, "Let's name him DOBBY!" after giving birth to a boy. Especially if I'm full of pain meds. Which I will be when I have kids. Because nope, don't want a ring of fire. -I digress.-
So one, two, buckle my shoe, I typed "Dobby name meaning" into my greatest and sagest friend and mentor, Google. And up popped this thread! Dobby as a nickname for Robert! This is brilliant. I'm tempted to put this on my own list of very far future options. There's Robby and Bobby... why not Dobby?! This is awesome.
I don't think Dobby is a bad name. I just don't think it's a great first name. I'm a fan of formal first names. So throwing "Robert" on the birth certificate but referring to el boy as Dobby sounds reasonable.
Another option? Use Dobby as a nickname for any D or B name. It totally works, and your kid's siblings and friends might be less likely to refer to sweet Dobby as their house elf, as his rrreeeaaalll name is Donald. Or Robert. Or Benjamin. You name it.
I love Lord of the Rings and all of the characters and my nerdier side would totally just name my kids after them. But if you are hesitant to name your child so obviously after the books/movies, there are other possibilities!
3. Instead of Frodo...
Use Sam? Using the more common names from series is still totally honoring the stories, in my opinion. I love Aragorn and I love Gandalf. But I wouldn't name my kids after them, at least not directly. So what other options?
Instead of Frodo, use Frodo's closest friend. Frodo couldn't have made it without Sam. And Sam is one of the loveliest names ever. I love the name Sam. Especially for a boy. Samuel is great and Sam is great and both can work as a tribute to LOTR.
Another option is to use names that sound similar to Frodo. Maybe Frederick? (Also, if using Frederick, Frodo totally makes sense as a nickname to me!) Or maybe you're both a LOTR fan and a tennis fan! You can name your baby Roddick. Or Roderick. Frodo shares the consecutive r-o-d with those names so is a reasonable nickname.
What if you like Aragorn? I've thought of before this because I love Aragorn probably more than any other character.
If you strictly want similar sounding names, then Aaron is probably closest. But, if you are looking for something more symbolic representing the character, what about Arthur, Leopold, or Christopher?
Arthur and Leopold (Leopold is one of my favorite names) are both known as king names in legend and history. Aragorn is the rightful king, so maybe to still use him as inspiration while naming a baby, using another kingly name would work. Again, while everyone has their own preferences, my own instinct would be to stay away from something clearly honoring a character. Arthur and Leopold can still do that while being a little more common.
Why Christopher? Well. I think Aragorn is a Christ-like figure. (As are Gandalf and Frodo.) So I think it'd be fitting to use a Christ name (Christian also works) in this situation.
Or again, if you're hesitant to use a name but really love the character, middle names work! Plenty of traditional names can go in front of Aragorn and sound just fine. Joseph Aragorn. Henry Aragorn. You get the idea.
Okay, so no one is really going around naming their baby daughters "Black Widow." (As far as I know. There are kids named Pilot Inspektor and Jer Majesty though, so it's not like it's an impossibility...) But maybe you want to name your kid after one of the Avengers.
4. Instead of Black Widow...
Use Natalia/Natasha. You'll totally name your kid after Black Widow, but your kid won't be mocked. Naming after the Avengers is pretty easy, though, since most have regular names. Hawkeye is Clint, Cap is Steve, the Hulk is Bruce, Iron Man is Tony. And then there's Thor. Thor is a name that predates the Avengers, so you can get away with using it but... like I said, I wouldn't want to give a name so obvious to my own kid. If your heart is set on the character but you don't want to name your human child Thor, maybe use another Th name like Thomas (I've even seen Thom before) or Theodore. Theodore can totally be shortened to Thor as a nickname. Theodore is on my own list (nutty since I'm single but hey) and I always assumed Teddy as a nickname but now I'm thinking Thor is awesome.
Your genius plan to name your children after the Avengers might be exposed if you have multiple kids, though. People will likely catch on if you've got Steve, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce running around. But that'd be baller, so who cares.
5. Instead of Albus...
Use any name that means "wise."
Albus Dumbledore is one of the most beloved characters of the entire series. He's got loads of good traits that make him a good source of inspiration. But if you're not keen on using his name on your bebe, there are other ways to keep him in mind while finding a name. You could go with the more traditional Albert (which has a host of cute nicknames) or find a name with similar sound/meaning. "Albus" means white and wise. For a combo sound/meaning, there's Alfred or Aldo.
According to this, Alfred's got a really cool history!
"Derived from the Old English Ælfred, a compounding of the elements ælf (elf) and ræd (counsel). Elves were considered to be supernatural beings having special powers of seeing into the future; thus the name took on the meaning "wise counsel."
You know what this means - LOTR lovers can use it too!
But, on topic. So yes! "Wise counsel" is right up Dumbledore's alley. And Alfred has similar sounds to Albus. Between those two things, I think Alfred makes a solid, tamer choice for Albus.
Aldo is another option. It feels a little more hip to me than Alfred, despite being an old name. It means "old and wise." Again, completely fitting for a baby named with Dumbledore in mind.
Other boy names with similar meaning are Shanahan and Conrad. Shanahan is Irish and means "the wise one." Conrad is German and means "brave counsel." It think both of those sound like characteristics of Dumbledore. (Could also be used if you're looking to Gandalf for inspiration as well!)
There are so many more great characters and I think any name - no matter how crazy - can be reined in a bit to reach a less obvious name if that's what you're looking for. Between similar sounds and shared meanings, any character can give insights to great names. (Or we could all just name kids after the Weasleys. Rowling did an excellent job naming them.)
__
Charlotte
No comments:
Post a Comment