Ok, so i was shopping with my sister a while back, when she ran into a friend, and at one point the friend said something about her daughter, Aslan (at least, i thought she said Aslan. I asked my sister later and her daughter’s name Aslynn, which to me seems kind of made-up and trendy, but to each their own)
Anyway, it got me thinking about Aslan as a name. Obviously, it’s the name of a character from [name_f]Narnia[/name_f].
So would Aslan work as a name? Better in the middle slot, and only for super fans of the book? Could it work for a girl, or is it strictly boy since Aslan in the books is male? Since the character of Aslan represents [name_m]Christ[/name_m], would it be awkward for sometime to use it as a name?
*i should point out, I’m not considering this for myself. [name_m]Just[/name_m] thinking about names in general.
I have a bit of a [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] obsession, so I absolutely love the name…for a boy. I would be really upset to see it on a girl. That would be like a Tolkien fan encountering a female Legolas or Gandalf or Aragorn, a HP fan coming across a female [name_m]Harry[/name_m] or a male [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], a Trekkie meeting a female Spock. It’s just weird and wrong and no.
If someone liked the sound and wanted the name for a girl, I would probably suggest [name_f]Aisling[/name_f], which is similar (though a bit softer) and has the most wonderful meaning: dream or vision. But I digress.
I don’t think Aslan is awkward to use as a name by virtue of being a [name_m]Christ[/name_m] figure. Many of the common Biblical names are actually [name_m]Christ[/name_m] figures…the Old Testament contains many stories that foreshadow the coming of [name_m]Christ[/name_m], so names like [name_m]Isaac[/name_m], [name_m]Joseph[/name_m], [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] and even [name_m]John[/name_m] (as in the case of [name_m]John[/name_m] the Baptist, to throw in a NT reference) would be off-limits if [name_m]Christ[/name_m] figures were taboo for namesakes. My personal opinion is that it is a point in favor of Aslan, at least for someone of the [name_m]Christian[/name_m] faith.
I would use Aslan in a heartbeat if it weren’t for these reasons:
my husband would totally shoot it down (as he did with [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] for a girls’ name)
my in-laws would die laughing (they used the example of my [name_m]SIL[/name_m]'s class having a little Aslan in it in their conversation about people giving their children ridiculous names)
I can really only have one Narnian name in my sibset…and I’m already pushing it with [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] and [name_f]Lucia[/name_f] (who will go by [name_f]Lucy[/name_f]). Fortunately for me, [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] is one my husband somehow loves!
Well consdering it is a name, yes, I think it works just fine. C.S. [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] didn’t invent the name Aslan. It’s a Turkish boy’s name that means “lion” (thus why [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] used it as the name for his character). I think if you have Turkish heritage that it works just fine, otherwise it would just be kind of strange.
When I was backpacking in Turkey several years ago my friend and I met a Turk named Aslan (later we found out he spelled it Arslan) and our jaws dropped and he was instantly our best friend, guide and mentor. Haha we were kind of hippies so we were like OH SHIT THIS [name_m]GUY[/name_m] IS ASLAN, WE BETTER FOLLOW HIM AROUND.
I wouldn’t use it as a name, and I love out-there ones. I just think it is a TOO well-known fantasy name & if people choose to name their kids after storybook characters I would either choose more obscure stories or less prominent characters.
What a coincidence, I just found a post on a name board from some lady who supposedly named her daughter after Aslan. But she named her Azlynn, which I consider epic failure in trying to name someone after something. Meh.
I think it’s a cool name for boy, but it sounds too trendy for a girl. I think most people would be tempted to pronounce it like Azlynn as opposed to the actual pronunciation. [name_m]Just[/name_m] from that, it would lose its integrity, in my opinion.
I’ve met a (non-Turkish) guy named Aslan before. I do like the name, but [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] was obviously the first thing that popped into my head (and probably the head of every single other person he’s ever introduced himself to…) He didn’t seem to mind, but I know I would be annoyed having a name with such a ubiquitous connection. Can you imagine how many times he’s heard, “Aslan? Like from [name_f]Narnia[/name_f]?” That would drive me crazy!!
Hahaaa ummm. I’m gonna go with no. I wouldn’t even like it that much on a boy, let alone a girl. I think it’s insane. I mean, naming your daughter [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] after the [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] character, I’m perfectly fine with. But Aslan? That’s too out there.
My parents just came back from Turkey and told me they met an Aslan. They were like “[name_f]Do[/name_f] you know it means ‘lion’?!” Uh yes, name nerd here for 20 years, I’ve known that forever
I also have a [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] obsession ([name_m]Edmund[/name_m] has been my #1 favourite name since grade 3 when our English teacher read The [name_m]Lion[/name_m], the Witch, and the Wardrobe to us) but I can’t take Aslan seriously as an English name… there are some really awesome Turkish names out there, like Evren (“cosmos” WHOA COOL!)
I like the name, I love [name_f]Narnia[/name_f], I like the [name_m]Christ[/name_m]-figure connotation, and I’ve heard of one boy named Aslan (before this thread), but I do think if you’re not Turkish it’s too obvious as a first name. I wouldn’t use Aragorn (which I love) as a first name for the same reason.
And I would hate to see Aslan on a girl.
I like Aslan for a boy. It’s been a long time since I read the [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] books so I’d completely forgotten the connection. It don’t like it for a girl.
Australian sign language is called Auslan - that’s actually the first association that came to mind.
I have met a boy named Aslan. He was a very cute child and he was named after [name_f]Narnia[/name_f]'s Aslan, but it seemed like an odd choice to me because the [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] books have [name_m]Peter[/name_m] and [name_m]Edmund[/name_m] as more accessible namesakes, along with the more unique but less loaded Digory and [name_m]Caspian[/name_m].
