To elaborate, I specifically mean bold names that were either created for or became known for their inclusion in a movie.
Ex: [name_m]Anakin[/name_m], [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], [name_f]Katniss[/name_f], & [name_u]Indiana[/name_u] (vs. names like [name_f]Leia[/name_f], [name_m]Ron[/name_m], [name_u]Gale[/name_u], Forrest)
What are the berries thoughts on using iconic movie character names for a baby? Would you use these names?
I probably wouldn’t – names like [name_m]Anakin[/name_m] or [name_f]Katniss[/name_f] are too tied to the stories/movies for me. I’d always worry about myself suddenly loosing interest in the character (Having named my kid after it), or the child facing assumptions about themselves (“You must like [name_f]Star[/name_f] Wars”). Obviously there’s nothing wrong with it and it works for some people, but I’d rather go with a less iconic/strongly tied name if I wanted to honour my favourite movie character.
I’m with you. I don’t think I’d want to risk losing interest in something or having something come out that sours the name and implications for me when my child has that name.
I have a weak spot when it comes to character/movie names!! I’ve always been a movie/television nerd, and if i’m being honest, I’d consider naming my kid any one of these (definitely some hesitation with [name_m]Anakin[/name_m] & [name_f]Katniss[/name_f] though). I’ve become obsessed with the name [name_f]Natasha[/name_f] (and [name_f]Yelena[/name_f], too) after watching the MCU films, and I’d probably name my kid this if I had the chance to. I like that it’s tied to the character a little bit, but also it’s just a normal name that people have! [name_u]Nat[/name_u] & [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] are also adorable nicknames.
I feel the same with [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], though I think it’s a little more tied to [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] [name_m]Granger[/name_m] than [name_f]Natasha[/name_f] is with [name_u]Nat[/name_u] Romanoff.
A lot of my names actually come from pop culture/my favorite tv characters.
this is my inner movie nerd right here
I do have a daughter called [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] but it wasn’t too much about honouring the character and more just because we liked the sound of the name!
I have a son named [name_m]Ferris[/name_m]. This was more after the character as it was one of my favourite films as a teenager!
I also have another daughter named [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]. This wasn’t anything to do with the character (in [name_f]Nanny[/name_f] McPhee) as I don’t think the name is particularly tied to the film or character but it was a nice honour as both DH and I loved the films!
so yes, I would, but for us the actual names aren’t much of an issue as [name_f]Hermione[/name_f] goes by [name_f]Mimi[/name_f] and [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] goes by [name_f]Eva[/name_f]!
Most berries don’t seem to be in favor of it for themselves but I love them. The characters tend to be more meaningful to me than a lot of real people and characters just tend to have better names (imo) in general so I often just like the names and is not always about honoring them.
Out of the examples you listed, Anakin is my favorite and if it weren’t for the association, I feel like it would fit in with the -en names like Dorian. And maybe it’s because I spend too much time on nameberry but I don’t feel like Indiana is that bold and fits in with Dakota. I’ve even seen Hermione on here a couple times with the interest in Greek names though I still feel it’s very tied to HP but I think it’s more common in England and Germany.
Broadning your definition to tv shows and books, one of my favorites is Ahsoka. I also like numerous names in Eragon, A:TLA and TLK as well as names in games I’ve never played and movies that I’m actually not a huge fan of (I don’t hate the movies; they’re just meh)
One thing I find interesting is that there are some character names that I would have thought were bold (Khaleesi, Ophelia) or at least unusual and not frequently used (Arya, Leia, Zelda, Wendy, Primrose) in the Western world before the book / movie /game came out and many of the names still got popular shortly after the release anyways so sometimes it just seems arbitrary of which character names are “too bold” and “strongly tied” to use. Like Arwen doesn’t seem very bold compared to Arya, Zelda, etc and is not a bad character like Anakin yet it’s not in the top 1000
As far as something coming out to ruin the name, that can happen to any name. Wanted to honor a historical figure? New documents were found revealing this person was actually a terrible person. Wanted to honor grandpa and grandma? but then find out they support something that you find morally incomprehensible. Want to use a name just because you like it and don’t have any associations? News just came out that there’s a sadistic criminal with that name on the loose.
I don’t know if I would use [name_f]Katniss[/name_f] or [name_m]Anakin[/name_m] but I would use [name_u]Indiana[/name_u] (though probably for a girl) and I don’t mind [name_f]Hermione[/name_f]. I did use [name_m]Atticus[/name_m] already.
I feel like names like [name_m]Atticus[/name_m], [name_m]Rhett[/name_m], [name_m]Holmes[/name_m], [name_m]Sherlock[/name_m], [name_m]Forrest[/name_m], [name_u]Indiana[/name_u] or [name_m]Huckleberry[/name_m] are super tied to the movie/book but somehow they seem more wearable (okay [name_m]Huckleberry[/name_m] is debatable but I do love it). I think maybe because they are older? Maybe its more an issue when is tied to a very recent iconic name so it just seems like copying the character because its currently popular? Like I wouldn’t have named a kid [name_m]Forrest[/name_m] in the early 90s, but I think its okay now.
This leaves me confused about names like [name_u]Loki[/name_u] or [name_m]Thor[/name_m] which are clearly very old historical names but most westerners would only think of the [name_u]Marvel[/name_u] Avengers.
It’s a yes for me!
I honestly love iconic movie names like [name_f]Daenerys[/name_f], [name_f]Khaleesi[/name_f], [name_f]Katniss[/name_f], [name_f]Primrose[/name_f] and would totally use some other movie names in the future
I wouldn’t use any of the ones you listed, but I have had plenty of book, TV, and movie character-inspired names on my lists over the years. Current loves include [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] (Voyage of the [name_f]Dawn[/name_f] Treader), [name_m]Emrys[/name_m] ([name_u]Merlin[/name_u]), [name_m]Valerian[/name_m] ([name_m]Valerian[/name_m] and the City of a Thousand Planets and the Codex Alera series), [name_m]Iroh[/name_m] (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Baelfire (this isn’t an honor name for the character, but I did find the name through Once Upon a Time), [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] (Stardust, [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] & [name_f]Isolde[/name_f]), [name_m]Tiberius[/name_m] (James [name_m]Tiberius[/name_m] [name_m]Kirk[/name_m] from [name_f]Star[/name_f] Trek), [name_m]Faramir[/name_m] (LOTR), [name_m]Atreyu[/name_m] (Never-Ending [name_u]Story[/name_u]), [name_u]Willow[/name_u] ([name_f]Buffy[/name_f] the Vampire Slayer), [name_u]Alder[/name_u] (Motherland: [name_m]Fort[/name_m] [name_u]Salem[/name_u]), [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] ([name_m]Hamlet[/name_m]), [name_f]Eowyn[/name_f] (LOTR), [name_f]Octavia[/name_f] (The 100), [name_f]Cosima[/name_f] (Orphan [name_m]Black[/name_m]), [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] (Chilling Adventures of [name_f]Sabrina[/name_f]), [name_f]Illyria[/name_f] ([name_u]Angel[/name_u]), Sabriel and Lirael (Abhorsen trilogy), [name_u]River[/name_u] ([name_u]Firefly[/name_u] and [name_u]Doctor[/name_u] Who), and so many more!
Like most things, I think it depends on the name. I was just thinking about this re: Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton’s daughter Zissou. I added it to the database yesterday and now I’m smitten.
Not going to lie I love character names! There’s quite a few that I’d consider using irl
oh do you mean you added [name_f]Zissou[/name_f] to the website? If so how do you go about adding names?
I work here! So I have access to the back end.
I actually love [name_m]Anakin[/name_m] but I couldn’t use it personally. The association is just too strong to me. [name_f]My[/name_f] fiancee would use it in a heartbeat though.
For me, I love getting inspiration from movie/tv/pop culture/celebs but if I or other people associate it with just one thing - like [name_m]Anakin[/name_m] or [name_f]Beyonce[/name_f], I don’t want to use it. We like [name_f]Star[/name_f] Wars, my fiancee is a big fan but I don’t want people to think we named a child after him or anyone with a standout name. For me, pop culture changes and associations can be really strong for people. If I felt like it was THE name maybe I would reconsider but those stand out names you mentioned don’t feel as comfortably usable for me personally.
For me, I’m known for being a huge disney fan so I always worry about the names I like being chosen because they are a disney character and not just because I like the name, but it doesn’t really stop me. So names I have considered that are Disney:
[name_f]Daisy[/name_f] (Daisy Duck)
[name_m]Sebastian[/name_m] (Little Mermaid)
[name_f]Adelaide[/name_f] (Aristocats)
[name_u]Penny[/name_u] (101 Dalmatians, Bolt, and The Rescuers)
[name_u]Sullivan[/name_u] / [name_u]Sully[/name_u] (Monsters Inc)
[name_f]Flora[/name_f] (Sleeping Beauty)
[name_f]Belle[/name_f] (Beauty and the Beast)
[name_u]Dale[/name_u] (Chip and Dale)
[name_m]Roger[/name_m] (101 Dalmatians)
[name_f]Winnie[/name_f] (Winnie the Pooh)
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f] (Princess and the Frog)
[name_u]Milo[/name_u] (Atlantis)
[name_m]Felix[/name_m] (Wreck it Ralph)
etc.
Additionally some literature characters have made me have second thoughts about names
I love the name [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], but not sure if it’s too tied to His Dark Materials and if that is a concern to me
[name_m]Bastian[/name_m] from the Neverending [name_u]Story[/name_u]
[name_f]Winnie[/name_f] [name_m]Foster[/name_m] (Foster is an honor name for me), but it’s also the exact name of the character in [name_m]Tuck[/name_m] Everlasting
Absolutely not to all of these! Lol!
The closest I’d get is Belle as a middle name! Something like Katniss is toooo much for me.
I would use a well-known character name if I loved the name and at least liked the character. There are not many names that meet this criteria for me, but a handful have made my long list.
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[name_f]Lorelai[/name_f] / [name_f]Lorelei[/name_f]
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[name_f]Zelda[/name_f]
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[name_f]Winnie[/name_f]
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[name_f]Minnie[/name_f]