[name_m]Just[/name_m] wondering what people’s opinions are on using ancient deity names as baby names. I like a lot of names from mythology (Celtic, [name_m]Roman[/name_m], Greek, etc) and I was curious as to whether people find it acceptable or not to use these names. For instance, mostly as middles, I really like [name_m]Apollo[/name_m], [name_m]Jupiter[/name_m] (mostly for the planet), [name_u]Neptune[/name_u] (again, for the planet), [name_u]Loki[/name_u], [name_u]Artemis[/name_u], [name_f]Athena[/name_f], [name_f]Nyx[/name_f] & Freyja. Are these names off limits or are they okay to use?
I think it’s fine. There’s plenty of people named Diana, after all, and I’ve never heard anyone have a problem with that.
edit: If you’re concerned with cultural sensitivity, you could see if those names are still being used by Celts/Scandinavians/Greeks/etc. today. A lot of them definitely are.
I think it depends on the gods and whether they/their mythology has been assimilated into the global mainstream, as well as whether the original religion that worshipped the god/goddess is still widely practiced.
I’d say Greek and Norse mythology have definitely been assimilated, so things like [name_f]Athena[/name_f], [name_f]Nyx[/name_f], and Freyja are fair game. But I wouldn’t name my child [name_u]Krishna[/name_u] unless I was a practicing Hindu.
Well if you don’t mind religious sensitivity and do not think it is shirk/blashameby then I would say many European mythology names lost their significance due to less number of practicers today. But I think names from POC mythology is still off limits
I agree with the previous posters. I love quite a few of god and goddesses names from Ancient mythologies (I considered [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] for a second girl for a while) and I think they’re fine to use.
I think it’s definitely okay!
I’m a Greek living in Greece and honestly most people I know would be delighted and proud to hear that foreigners are using Ancient Greek names, so I’m assuming that everyone else would feel the same way. Worst case scenario is that we’ll chuckle at how you pronounce the name, but that’s pretty much it
I think it’s really fine. As pps said there are not many people who practice ancient religions, so I think names like [name_f]Athena[/name_f] are definitely acceptable. However, due to same reason, I don’t think Buddha is a good idea since Buddhism is a popular religion nowadays. (Except for [name_m]Jesus[/name_m], since it’s a traditional name in Latin cultures)
Personally I like ancient mythological names as I enjoy learning about old, pre-Christian cultures. I’m nonreligious and want to avoid any overly Christian connotations in my future kids’ names, and think mythological names are the way to go. While they still come from deities, I think there’s a huge difference between naming your daughter something like Mary, which is still recognised today as a name with strong religious connections, and Freya, which would most likely be seen as a choice based on the parents’ tastes rather than beliefs. (I do have Biblical names under consideration for middles, but those are in honour of relatives)
My grandmother’s name is [name_f]Athena[/name_f], her mother immigrated to the US from Greece. I knew an [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f] as well. There are some names we don’t even realize come from Greek myth, like [name_m]Jason[/name_m]. People use Biblical names all the time too.
I’m not personally a fan, because I feel like it puts a lot of pressure on the child as well? If you named your daughter [name_f]Athena[/name_f] after the goddess of wisdom and she wasn’t particularly smart that could not go down well, or [name_f]Aphrodite[/name_f] and they’re not very pretty, or [name_u]Mars[/name_u] and they wouldn’t hurt a fly… I don’t know, I just think there’s potential for problems. That said, [name_f]Diana[/name_f] and [name_f]Juno[/name_f] have almost completely broken free of their divine connotations so maybe all of them will.
I think it’s absolutely fine, especially for those religions that have virtually no modern adherents.
Personally I think it’s fine. Many of the names of ancient gods and goddesses are already commonplace, like [name_f]Diana[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f] and [name_f]Irene[/name_f], and I’ve never heard anyone complain about them.
If it’s religious sensitivity that you’re concerned about, to my knowledge there is no consensus among modern day Pagans or Wiccans about whether it’s acceptable to use the names of deities or not.
[name_m]Hi[/name_m] there, I am actually involved in the [name_m]Pagan[/name_m] community and can answer this! As far as I’ve encountered, most people are totally fine with it. I’ve met people who actively worship [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] (or the idea of her anyway–it’s complicated) and are fine with people being named that. I think names that have entered the global cultural consciousness are fair game as long as they’re not tied to a rigid religious system.
(As an aside in response to a comment above, there are modern adherents to pagan beliefs including Greek/[name_m]Roman[/name_m]/Norse/Egyptian pantheons, but it’s true that there aren’t many of them anymore. And honestly most of them are pretty chill about this sort of thing. They don’t usually feel they “own” the deity or the use of the deity’s name. I would, however, generally advise that if someone were to use the name of an ancient god, that they understand that god’s mythology well enough to justify it to anyone well educated in the subject that encounters the child throughout his/her life.)
I love such names, as long as we are culturally sensitive with our choices.
I sometimes roll my eyes when one of the main deities of a foreign mythology gets chosen and then becomes trendy… I feel like I’m seeing a lot of Freyas and Artemises among boho people lately, and something about it bothers me. I think it feels a bit like a token and I would be more impressed if the names were a bit more obscure, showing that the parents actually did some research… would love to meet a little [name_u]Echo[/name_u] or [name_f]Eos[/name_f], for example. I feel the same way about people wanting to connect with their Nordic heritage from generations ago and naming their kids [name_m]Odin[/name_m] or [name_m]Thor[/name_m]. It feels a bit cliché to me, I guess. But I know this is a very personal preference.
Definitely okay! [name_m]Even[/name_m] names like [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] and [name_m]Mohammad[/name_m] and [name_u]Ali[/name_u] are acceptable and those Gods/religious figures are actively worshipped today.
My nephew is [name_m]Thor[/name_m] and I have a friend names [name_f]Freya[/name_f]. These ancient names are typically encouraged by the cultures to be used. It’s like historical names. Definitely 100% useable.