Fandom Names

General Name Discussion
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Hello berries!

I’m curious what your thoughts are on choosing names from a particular fandom.
I’ve been pretty neutral on it and even considered the names [name_u]Austen[/name_u] and [name_m]Bennet[/name_m] (for either boys or girls) to honour my love of Pride and Prejudice.
Recently though, I met two young sisters named [name_f]Tauriel[/name_f] and [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] and I immediately felt bad for them, it felt kinda gimmicky. I recognize that’s judgemental of me, but I can’t help but wonder how these girls will feel forever being connected to these books/movies.
Anyways, it got me thinking and I was curious to know how others felt.
Thanks!

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I don’t see anything wrong with it. I think of it the same as any other honor name someone could give. You may honor your grandma, for example, because she was an influential part of your life, and people would find that sweet. Books, movies, TV, games, music, all types of media are some of the most influential things in a lot of people’s lives. So it only makes sense to honor them the same way we’d honor family members, friends, places that are important to us, etc. I named my son after a character in my favorite show and I love that his name reminds me of something special to me and my relationship.

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Yes to all of this! I totally agree.

I think that some fandom names are, of course, easier to wear than others. Natasha isn’t always Romanoff, and Josephine isn’t always March, whereas Katniss is always Everdeen and Rhyenera is always Targaryen. That’s not to say that any of those names are better or worse than the next, but some are inherently more tied to fandoms and characters than others are. So, that’s something to consider, I think, when choosing an honor name from a fandom!

I’d name my kids after books I love in a heartbeat. Josephine, Alice, and Florence are 3/4 of my top girls names, and they’re all from literature. Same with George, Nathaniel, and Laurence for boys!

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Side note: I don’t love any Marvel-Universe names quite well enough to use for my child, but I’d honestly be psyched to meet a little girl called [name_f]Wanda[/name_f] or a little boy called [name_m]Thor[/name_m] after those characters. I mean… that’s cool. A little wild, a little out-there, and so meaningful! So many stories!! I love it.

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I really like this perspective on it! And I don’t tend to disagree. Although I’m personally hesitant to use fandom honor names because of a (totally a me problem) concern I have about falling out of love with a fandom or something happening like… well, everything with Harry Potter… that could happen just as easily with real people too.

I see nothing wrong with honor names in this way, and I think the names given as examples in the original post are all lovely (and some aren’t super obviously honor names unless given context, which although not necessary for it to work, I actually think helps).

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It’s funny because that’s my reasoning for not wanting to use any honors for any real life people, but I don’t view fandom based honors the same way! I think because, in my personal opinion, a fandom and your relationship with it can be separated from a particular scandal in most situations (like I still love and appreciate the [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] universe and everything it has meant to me for so long despite not being a fan of JKR anymore), but with real people your relationship with that person is much more direct and therefore if you have a falling out with that person then that would be much harder to reconcile if you had honored them.

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I would only choose a fandom-related name if it was common enough/not solely linked to the fandom (for real children. for hypothetical children, fandom names galore!).

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It depends on 1. how well-known/specific the name is and 2. how realistically wearable it is.

Eg. Daenerys or Loki would be a very different choice from Elizabeth (as in Bennet) or Sam (as in Samwise Gamgee).

And there are plenty ‘in the middle’ between those two extremes, like if I met siblings called Lyra and Caspian I’d probably assume they were named after His Dark Materials and Narnia, but the names also exist outside that context. They’re popular enough to be totally wearable and used by parents who aren’t referencing those books.

I don’t think obvious fandom names are necessarily bad options, but I probably wouldn’t choose two names from the same fandom for siblings, particularly such unavoidably identifiable names like Arwen and Tauriel :face_with_hand_over_mouth: and I say this as someone with several Tolkien names on my potentials list!

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For me it really depends on the name. There’s a huge difference between choosing [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] because of P&P and using [name_m]Sherlock[/name_m] because of… well, it’s obvious.

I’m not a fan of really obvious fandom names. There’s no guarantee that your child is going to like or appreciate that particular piece of fiction. [name_f]Tauriel[/name_f] in particular - the name is not even in the actual books and those Hobbit movies were, in my opinion, awful cash-ins.

Not everyone likes fantasy and there’s a good chance that movie or TV show will be dated in twenty or thirty years time. To me it feels, kind of selfish I guess? to choose a culturally loaded name just to show your fan interests.

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Objectively, I see nothing wrong with ‘fandom’ names. People can, and should, derive name-based inspiration from whatever source they wish and this has been happening for many centuries. Literature was the original form of fandom, and for as long as there’s been books, there have been parents who have named their children after the people or characters in said books.

Having said that, I do believe that there is a right way and wrong way to name children after fandoms. [name_f]Tauriel[/name_f] and [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] are the wrong way, in my opinion, for two main reasons:

1 - [name_f]Arwen[/name_f] is a legitimate Welsh name with many years of history, whereas [name_f]Tauriel[/name_f] is something [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_u]Jackson[/name_u] cobbled together for the movie.

2 - It is painfully obvious what the parents are attempting to pay homage to, and I think that’s kind of tacky and gimmicky. But, my own personal tastes aside, I just don’t think that it’s fair! If your kids grow up to be fat, unattractive, insecure etc. then being named after a pair of gorgeous, ethereal elves would really suck. And furthermore, what if your kids don’t like the fandom? Being named after characters that are synonymous with said fandom leaves them no escape from the association. And I just don’t think that’s acceptable.

[name_f]Arwen[/name_f] and [name_f]Marigold[/name_f] or [name_f]Nessa[/name_f] and [name_f]Primrose[/name_f] honour the source material just as well, and their subtlety makes them a more intelligent and advisable choice. Again, in my opinion. Again, I don’t mind people picking names from whatever or wherever inspiration strikes, but do it sensibly!

…

Personally, I love the [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] fandom, and if I had a pair of girls, I think [name_f]Araminta[/name_f] and [name_f]Rowena[/name_f] or [name_f]Queenie[/name_f] & [name_f]Lavender[/name_f] would work well. Whereas a pairing such as [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] and [name_f]Luna[/name_f] or [name_f]Bellatrix[/name_f] and Nymphadora are just… cringe.