I’ve adored Ancient Greek names since college, but I never thought them wearable until seeing The Immortals recently. I realized I could see myself calling my son [name_m]Theseus[/name_m], that it didn’t seem quite as out there as, say, Hephaestus. But when I looked it up on nameberry, just out of curiosity, the description specifically says “would sound pretentious for an American baby.” So that got me thinking…which Greek names are unusable? And what makes them different than [name_f]Helen[/name_f]/[name_m]Hector[/name_m]/[name_f]Athena[/name_f]/[name_f]Iris[/name_f]/[name_m]Damon[/name_m]/etc, which are so widely accepted as “normal names”? Are there any Greek names that you would use? Would you shake your head if you met a little boy names [name_m]Theseus[/name_m] or a little girl named [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]? Let me know
In addition to [name_m]Theseus[/name_m], some other names I think are usable:
[name_m]Apollo[/name_m]
[name_f]Nyx[/name_f]
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]*
[name_f]Hermione[/name_f]*
[name_m]Atlas[/name_m]*
[name_m]Odysseus[/name_m]*
[name_f]Asteria[/name_f]
Atreus*
[name_u]Orion[/name_u]*
[name_f]Hera[/name_f]
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]*
[name_m]Delphin[/name_m]
[name_f]Selene[/name_f]
[name_m]Cadmus[/name_m]
Ares
[name_u]Echo[/name_u]*
[name_m]Achilles[/name_m]
[name_f]Antigone[/name_f]
[name_f]Thalia[/name_f]
[name_m]Perseus[/name_m]
[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]
and place names:
[name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]*
[name_f]Larissa[/name_f]*
[name_f]Arcadia[/name_f]
Syracuse*
[name_m]Cyprus[/name_m]*
Edessa
They are not pretentious, but can come as such. It depends on how to introduce your kid or kid introduce herself. It also depends on your personality. I would use mythological names as my child’s name, but I am bit worried some names I like would be too much. My boy list is much spunkier.
I don’t think these names are unusable, nor pretentious, especially ones you’ll use.
Haha. I love MANY from your list. I love mythology too and I don’t think they are pretentious, though I know I won’t use some of them. Pretentious or not, I think it is very subjective.
I’d be thrilled to meet [name_m]Theseus[/name_m] and [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]. I’ll think their parents have terrific taste, but many will think “pretentious”, I assure you. Something like [name_f]Thalia[/name_f], [name_f]Selene[/name_f], [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] (thanks to miss [name_m]Granger[/name_m]), or [name_f]Larissa[/name_f] are more common. But Atreus, [name_f]Antigone[/name_f], [name_m]Achilles[/name_m], [name_m]Odysseus[/name_m], etc? Welll…
My first son’s middle name will be [name_u]Orion[/name_u]. That’s (almost) fix. If you really love a name, don’t let “pretentious” comments prevent you from using it.
They’re not pretentious but some may be a bit too much. I’d feel different (at least in the first few seconds) to meet a girl named [name_f]Larissa[/name_f] than someone called Syracuse for example.
I don’t know, some of them are “too much”. Not necessarily pretentious, but maybe seem like they are trying too hard? I don’t know… However, I think many from your list would be totally wearable!
The ones I think are wearable for a child today are:
[name_m]Theseus[/name_m]
[name_m]Apollo[/name_m]
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]*
[name_f]Hermione[/name_f]
[name_f]Asteria[/name_f]
[name_f]Hera[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
[name_f]Selene[/name_f]*
[name_m]Cadmus[/name_m]
[name_u]Echo[/name_u]*
[name_f]Thalia[/name_f]*
[name_m]Perseus[/name_m]
[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]*
[name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]*
[name_f]Larissa[/name_f]*
Edessa
*I’ve met people with these names! And I didn’t think it was weird, either! lol
I think whether or not the names seem pretentious has a lot to do with how you introduce your child and whether your tone of voice sounds show offy (if that makes sense?)
I consider many of your names usable (and quite a few are on my list - I love Greek mythology names - such as [name_m]Apollo[/name_m], [name_u]Orion[/name_u] and [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]). The only ones I’m not really sure about are [name_m]Odysseus[/name_m], Ares, [name_m]Achilles[/name_m] (I only think of the tendon), Syracuse.
Short answer: no. There are some that are more versatile than others though. Anyone could be a [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m] or a [name_f]Thalia[/name_f], but it takes a certain type of person to pull off [name_m]Odysseus[/name_m] or [name_f]Antigone[/name_f].
I don’t find them pretenious. What bothers me, and others in the pagan community (the one down here in the south anyway) is when people who don’t believe in or worship the main gods use those names and say to use who do believe and worship “Well it’s just a story so who cares?” It’s the same as if I used [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] for my baby (jee-sus, not hey-zus) and said “Well I don’t believe in him so who cares?” or when you use [name_m]Cohen[/name_m] and say “Well I’m not Jewish, so who cares?” We find that offensive. The ones we would like people to leave alone are the 12 main ones ([name_m]Zeus[/name_m], [name_m]Apollo[/name_m], [name_f]Athena[/name_f] etc) and I realize I can’t stop people, but I thought I’d share the perspective of a Priestess and her community.
As for [name_m]Theseus[/name_m], I wouldn’t mind it at all. He’s an awesome hero. I just would be annoyed to hear it pronounced wrong. It’s not hard – thee-see-us
Now on to your list. These are the ones I think are perfectly usable when used with the proper pronunication:
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]
[name_f]Hermione[/name_f] – this is properly pronounced closer to (h)air-mee-OH-nee(the I is an eta and those say EE and just like [name_f]Hera[/name_f] says hair-ah, that’s how the beginning of [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] is pronounced) but I realize no one will say it right anymore >.< I’d love it if they did though
Atlas
Odysseus
Asteria
Orion
Persephone – I used this one and gotten tons of compliments
Ariadne – air-ee-add-nee
Delphin – but I do prefer Delphine
Selene
Cadmus
Echo
Achilles
Thalia – thay-lee-ah. I love both the people she’s connected to
Perseus
Phoenix
Thessaly
Larissa
Arcadia
Cyprus
Edessa
The ones I didn’t think were usable:
Apollo – As I said, main gods and all.
Nyx – I just find the goddess of night’s name to be a little to short and abrupt on her own
Atreus – ah-tray-us – I just find it odd and close to the metal band Atreyu.
Hera – Love seeing this on here. If people like Juno, why not Hera? It’s the same person. But then, main god and all.
Ares – Why would anyone want to name their child after the god of war, bloodshed and violence?
Antigone – I just think most people are likely to say anti-gone
Syracuse – I find it odd as a name
Nah, greek mythology names are awesome! People can think what they want. I am also a huge fan of epithet names, which aren’t always so obvious as being mythological (especially to non mythology or classics nerds), like Cytheria, which is what I want to name my daughter. It is an epithet of [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f] that refers to her place of birth, Cythera
theoi.com has a pretty good list of poetic and cult titles for many of the gods, titans, and heroes.
I second this. I think it’s okay to look at Greek mythology as stories/literature so if I admired a certain character, yes I would use the name if I loved it enough. Works like the Odyssey or Iliad have become such an established part of the literary canon that to me, using these names is like using a name from [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] or Tolkien or whatever. (I realize not everyone would agree/approve, but whatever names I choose, there’d be people disgusted anyway).
Then again, using it just because it sounds nice without being aware of the meaning/connotation is different. To me that’d be like naming a child [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] if you hated To Kill a Mockingbird.
To be fair, Rowling didn’t invent that pronunciation. It might not be the traditional Greek one, but it’s one that’s often used in an English context. The actress [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] [name_u]Norris[/name_u] was born decades before the first [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] book was written and she uses that pronunciation, and it’s also the pronunciation used in productions of [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m]'s The [name_u]Winter[/name_u]'s Tale.
I think using hero names like [name_m]Hercules[/name_m], [name_m]Achilles[/name_m], [name_m]Perseus[/name_m] or [name_m]Apollo[/name_m] would come off as pretentious, but for some reason I think other names like [name_u]Artemis[/name_u], [name_u]Echo[/name_u] & [name_f]Hera[/name_f] are fine.
I also think some of the lesser known/more difficult to pronounce names would be unusable. I can’t imagine running into a little Andromanche or something.
Maybe a lot of it depends on their stories too & what they did/what they were known for.
I love the name [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f] and was contemplating it the other day!
I don’t think they sound pretentious but some do sound a little over the top. The names you have marked seem reasonable.
I’m Greek, and Greek Myth names are used a lot in my culture. So I hear Greek Mythology names a lot. I know an [name_f]Athena[/name_f] (its pronounced different in Greek though), my Mom is named [name_f]Daphne[/name_f]. I’ve heard of an [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f] and I know a [name_f]Thalia[/name_f]. So, I would use Greek myth names, but I think it’s different to not Greek people. If I met someone who was named [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f], I would automatically think they were Greek, because that is really out there for Greek myth names, same with [name_m]Theseus[/name_m] (even though I love it, I wouldn’t use it). But if I met a [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f] or a [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] or a [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], I wouldn’t automatically assume they were Greek. Does that make sense?
From Your List I think these are usable:
[name_m]Apollo[/name_m]- Maybe
[name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]*
[name_f]Hermione[/name_f]- I would assume her parents were HP fans. My Greek is a bit rusty, but in Greek there is no letter with the H sound. The letter H is called Eta, which is a long e sound. In Greek, it is actually spelled Ε”μιόνη, with an epsilon, an should be pronounced almost like the word air. erh-mee-own-ee. At least that would be its pronunciation in Greek. Names are pronounced differently in Greek than in English. You would only hear it pronounced like that by a native speaker. The English pronunciation isn’t wrong, it just isn’t exactly the same as the Greek one.
[name_m]Odysseus[/name_m]- [name_m]Ulysses[/name_m], but not [name_m]Odysseus[/name_m]
[name_f]Asteria[/name_f]
[name_u]Orion[/name_u]- I would use this
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]- pushing it
[name_f]Ariadne[/name_f]
[name_m]Delphin[/name_m]
[name_f]Selene[/name_f]- One of my favorite names
Ares
[name_f]Thalia[/name_f]
[name_m]Perseus[/name_m]- only because [name_u]Percy[/name_u] is normal nn
[name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]
[name_f]Thessaly[/name_f]*
[name_f]Larissa[/name_f]*
[name_f]Arcadia[/name_f]
[name_m]Cyprus[/name_m]*
I personally think that [name_m]Theseus[/name_m] is a bit out there, but I think on the right child it would be usable. I’ve never met one.
Others I think are usable
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f]
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f]
[name_f]Cassiopeia[/name_f]- maybe I just wish it was usable
[name_f]Calliope[/name_f]
[name_f]Callisto[/name_f]
Hespera- Or I wish it was usable
[name_m]Castor[/name_m]
[name_m]Icarus[/name_m]
