Hello lovely people,
I’ve been a long time Nameberry lurker for many years because I love and collect names. I used to just collect names for potential future children but after starting to play DnD (Dungeons & Dragons) two years ago I’ve been enjoying finding more unusual names that I would probably not ever use in real life because they are too out there or would cause too much confusion.
While choosing character names what I’ve been doing a lot is taking a “real” name, change the pronounciation and use it for a different gender than it’s usually used for.
I have this one character who I named [name_f]Lileas[/name_f]. I took this usually feminine name and changed the pronounciation to [name_u]Li[/name_u]-li-us. I love the name and it fits this character very well with its soft and dainty vibe.
I’ve been wondering if this adepted version could actually work as a real boy name.
I probably wouldn’t ever use it because it would feel weird to me to basically name my child after my dnd character.
But I would be interested in hearing how others feel about it.
I have a girls name on my list that is [name_f]Lilias[/name_f] (pronounced LI-lee-us) so on first glance I would assume that [name_f]Lileas[/name_f] was just a different spelling of the same name. (The name [name_f]Lilias[/name_f] is a Scottish girls name that I got from The [name_f]Secret[/name_f] Garden <3) I love [name_f]Lilias[/name_f] on a girl, so for that reason I wouldn’t use it on a boy.
However, I love feminine names on boys-almost every name on my boys list feels feminine to me-so I am a supporter of [name_f]Lileas[/name_f] on a boy! i think it’s sweet and whisical, and the -as ending could be seen as masculine. I think people who weren’t familiar with the name [name_f]Lilias[/name_f] would just think it was a masculine version of the name [name_f]Lily[/name_f]. I find it similar to masculine versions of feminine names like:
Flora------>Florian
Lora------->Lorian
Frances----->Francis
Sylvia----->Sylvan
Lilias----->Lileas
I think it works.
1 Like
I might spell it differently especially since you changed the pronunciation but if its a rare name anyway then I don’t think it will be perceived as too much of a girls name
1 Like
I basically just used the phonetic [name_m]German[/name_m] pronounciation, I’m [name_m]German[/name_m], so here the pronounciation would make sense. I agree though, in [name_f]English[/name_f] that pronounciation in combination with the original spelling might cause confusion.
I think that it can work. I would pronounce it as “lee-leh-as”
I think that it’s rare enough that most people wouldn’t be familiar with it as a girl name either, unless you’re in [name_u]Scotland[/name_u].
[name_u]Lilian[/name_u] is a relatively popular boys’ name in [name_u]France[/name_u], so I think [name_f]Lileas[/name_f] works.
Possibly, but some people will think lil- anything is a girl’s name.
