[name]Do[/name] you think meanings of names are important? Would a bad (unsuitable) name meaning prevent you from giving your child your favorite name?
Yesterday I had a conversation with an acquaintance who’s pregnant with her first child. It’s a boy and she was going to name him [name]Daniel[/name] until recently when she found out it means “God is my judge”. She’s a convinced atheist and despises everything about God and religion. It was a deal breaker for her, she’s now choosing another name, but is really upstet she ‘had to’ give up on her favorite one.
I have to admit I have been put off so many names by their meanings.
[name]Amelia[/name], [name]Claudia[/name], [name]Dolores[/name], [name]Mallory[/name] just a few names I love but wouldn’t use.
A lovely meaning is definitely a pleasant surprise. A meaning would have to be pretty terrible to get me to dislike a name because of it, but it might sway me to one name over another if I really loved or hated it’s meaning. But there are plenty of names with fantastic meanings that I hate, so I certainly wouldn’t pick a name just for that.
My name has no real meaning and I’ve always found that a tad disappointing.
[name]Mallory[/name], [name]Celia[/name], & [name]Claudio[/name] are some of my favorite names. I don’t care if they mean “unlucky”, “blind”, or “lame”. I love these names! I’m not giving them up because of ancient meanings!
I don’t really care about the meanings. It wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me unless it meant something particularly bad – I’m thinking like “dies-slowly-and-painfully”, not that I know any names with that meaning! My mom’s name is a variant of [name]Cecilia[/name], and she’s never cared that it means “blind one”
Hmmmm…tough one. I see where your friend is coming from. We’re areligious and I would not choose a name strongly associated with religion, the bible etc. That being said, we named our first daughter [name]Maeve[/name], which means intoxicating, and if your read the Irish myth surrounding this name, she was really quite a tramp. Our daughter knows that [name]Maeve[/name] was a mythological Irish warrior queen…and we leave it at that. So, some choose a name because of the meaning and we chose a name despite of the meaning.
While I find the meanings of names very interesting, they would never be a deal-breaker for me. My all-time favorite boy’s name is [name]Calvin[/name], which means “bald.” I find it funny actually. [name]Even[/name] if baldness was rampant through my family, I’m not sure I could give up on the name. Unless the meaning was something really horrible or offensive, I don’t think it should affect your love of the name.
I don’t like the idea of choosing a name based only on the sound. A name should be meaningful to the parents, but there are various levels of meaning. As kala_way said, a lovely intrinsic meaning is a great bonus, but you might also choose a name to honor a family member or friend, a special place, a favorite book…the options for names with external or associated meanings are endless. Meanings are important to me, but some of my favorite names ([name]James[/name], for example) don’t have the greatest intrinsic meanings. I’ve loved [name]James[/name] since childhood and have a great friend named [name]James[/name] whom I wouldn’t mind honoring, so I’d consider it for a son in spite of its less-than-wonderful meaning (“supplanter.”)
[name]Cecily[/name], on the other hand, has no special meaning to me. I just love the sound. [name]Cecily[/name] sounds so sweet and demure, making me think of flower-dotted muslin and fields of wildflowers. But its meaning, “blind,” keeps it hovering just at the edge of my list. I think I would want a concrete, special associated meaning for [name]Cecily[/name] before I would seriously consider it for a daughter.
P.S. It sounds like your friend has given up on [name]Daniel[/name], and if the meaning is going to be constantly in the back of her mind, bothering her, then she should choose something else. But if she, personally, can get past it, I don’t think it’s a problem. [name]Daniel[/name] is a popular, classic name chosen by both believers and unbelievers. Most people probably don’t know its meaning.
It doesn’t bother me. I’d use a name even if it had a bad meaning. I think I already did. [name]Mary[/name] - although its meaning is often described as uncertain - is usually listed as “bitter.”
The sound and flow of a name matter to me a lot, but the meaning is also just as important to me. If it had a terrible meaning I would chuck it the same way I’d chuck a name that didn’t flow or sound right.
A name’s meaning is really important to me–but choosing a meaningful name does not necessarily mean “dictionary definition”. Namesakes–from history, literature, and family can all give positive meaning to a name that has a so-so or even undesirable definition.
I don’t think I would ever use a name that had a meaning that I found to be “offensive”, but there’s a good chance that I would use a name that had a definition I didn’t care for if it were associated with a person I hold in high respects.
Meanings of names have always seemed like kind of a gimmick to me. I have the same predicament with my name, which is a variation of a very old name which means “God is my Oath.” or “Pledged to God.” My family isn’t religious at all, and my parents apparently didn’t even look at the meaning when they chose it. I wouldn’t do that, but I really don’t think meanings are all that important. Besides, half of the meanings out there aren’t even accurate, and the languages that they originated from aren’t even spoken where the name is used. Unless it is the name of an important historical figure or celebrity (I do agree wholeheartedly with the earlier posts about true namesakes), the meaning of a child’s name isn’t very likely to influence their lives, maybe save for a couple of times at school when he/she and their friends decide to look up their names meanings just for fun.
For me, the sound and flow of a name are MUCH more important than the meaning. For the most part, I don’t feel that name meanings come up much in life, in general, and the average person certainly doesn’t know (or ask) about the meaning of a particular name. But you’re going to hear the name on a daily basis, and for that reason, sound is much more important to me.
That said, names with certain strong associations I would avoid. I adore the names [name]Christopher[/name] and [name]Christobel[/name], but would never, ever consider using them because I’m Jewish. So, in a situation like that, I would pay attention to meaning. But someone above mentioned the name [name]Calvin[/name], meaning “bald.” In a case like that, I certainly wouldn’t not use a name or not consider it because of a somewhat awkward or unpleasant meaning. Very, very few people would know.
It really doesn’t bother me. I really love the name [name]Molly[/name], but the meaning of the name is not as lovely - Bitter.
A nice meaning to the name is definitely a welcomed surprise.
I like [name]Kennedy[/name], although it means “misshapen head.” Another one I am very fond of is [name]Mara[/name]. I REALLY like this name, but it means “bitter.” I think that if the name was definitely THE name, the meaning wouldn’t matter as much. But if there were other possibilities that I liked just as much, I’d look at them first.
Depends upon the name. Literal meanings of names (say, [name]Cecilia[/name], meaning “blind”) does not bother me. Associations and connotations bother me more. I would never use a name with that’s offensive or has very sensitive connotations, for example.