Name help?

Calling all berries for a character naming!

I ask all you wise namers for some help on this one. I need a name for a female character that is fairy-tale-like. This means it can’t sound modern at all (I will hunt you down if you as much as type anything in the vein of [name]Britney[/name] or [name]Ashley[/name]!), nor can it be at all popular (in the “real world”, though I’d prefer some names that aren’t popular on Nameberry, as well. Sadly, this means that beautiful names such as [name]Isabella[/name] and [name]Sophia[/name] are out. I’d rather not see quickly climbing ones either, but that is negotiable).

The criteria is that the name must be fit for a princess. Give me some gothic-esque treasures that if you were transported into a fairy tale, you would choose for yourself. They must be slightly mysterious and full of a timeless, age-old beauty. Feminine, but not frou-frou. Pretty, but full of substance. The names can’t be strongly affiliated with any other movie/book characters, nor would I like to see that many notorious star-baby names ([name]Seraphina[/name], [name]Cosima[/name], [name]Matilda[/name], [name]Florence[/name]: goodbye. You would be perfect otherwise).

I’d also like to hear some heroic guy names, please! On one end of the scale, I need some non-flashy, but still handsome names–think [name]Jack[/name], versus [name]Theodore[/name]. “Unexpectedly dashing” names are great, too–the ones that might not appear completely breathtaking at first, but on the right person grow on you. On the other hand, I’d also like some masculine, princely and (might I say?) perhaps a little more ornate names, suiting for a…you guessed it…prince! Same as girls, I love old-fashioned names and names that aren’t at all popular. ([name]Edward[/name] is nixed, too. Sorry, but Twilight ruined that for me for any male character.)

Side note: I’m sort of feeling [name]German[/name] and Italian names right now (I think maybe partly because I associate fairy tales with the [name]German[/name] Brothers Grimm? And Italian because I used to have the [name]Paul[/name] O. Zelinsky illustrated Rapunzel book that was very Italian-style), but I am open to names of ALL ORIGINS!

Please pile on the lists! (The more the better, really!) And I’d love to hear any persuasive arguments you have as to why your choices are so befitting! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer, this is a big help. (:

NameGoddess

[name]Jessamine[/name]
[name]Fiorella[/name]
Roswitha
[name]Clementia[/name]
[name]Elodie[/name]
[name]Aurelia[/name]
[name]Adamina[/name]
[name]Odilia[/name]
[name]Sophronia[/name]
[name]Ophelie[/name]
[name]Calanthe[/name]
[name]Alexandrine[/name]
[name]Ariadne[/name]
[name]Genoveva[/name]
[name]Mirabelle[/name]
[name]Crispina[/name]
[name]Flavia[/name]
[name]Vittoria[/name]
[name]Cordula[/name]
[name]Cressida[/name]
[name]Eleonora[/name]
[name]Iliana[/name]
[name]Crescentia[/name]
[name]Maddalena[/name]
Perenelle
[name]Sybilla[/name]
[name]Salome[/name]
[name]Ursuline[/name]
[name]Amaranta[/name]
Calogera
[name]Clelia[/name]
[name]Elettra[/name]
[name]Delfina[/name]
Efthalia
[name]Fiammetta[/name]
[name]Faustina[/name]
[name]Philomena[/name]
[name]Philomela[/name]
[name]Letitia[/name]
[name]Iolanda[/name]
Loredana
[name]Mafalda[/name]
[name]Nerissa[/name]
[name]Oriana[/name]
[name]Olympia[/name]
[name]Tatiana[/name]
[name]Sabina[/name]
[name]Valentina[/name]
[name]Rosamond[/name]
Aliona
[name]Catalina[/name]
[name]Honoria[/name]
[name]Marguerite[/name]
[name]Acantha[/name]
Amalthea
[name]Indira[/name]
[name]Bronwen[/name]
[name]Camellia[/name]
[name]Evadne[/name]
[name]Ismene[/name]

[name]Leander[/name]
[name]Cadmus[/name]
[name]Evander[/name]
[name]Conrad[/name]
Theodosius
[name]Tarquin[/name]
[name]Lysander[/name]
[name]Hadrian[/name]
[name]Edmund[/name]
[name]Alasdair[/name]
[name]Augustin[/name]
[name]Valentin[/name]
[name]Ciaran[/name]
[name]Wilhelm[/name]
[name]Casimir[/name]
[name]Jasper[/name]
[name]Finbar[/name]
[name]Friedrich[/name]
[name]Crispin[/name]
[name]Gareth[/name]
[name]Anselm[/name]
[name]Hans[/name]

That was fun! :slight_smile:

Thank you so much, irisose! Wow, what a great compilation of names.

I’ll talk about the boys first.
[name]Wilhelm[/name], [name]Casimir[/name], [name]Friedrich[/name] and [name]Anselm[/name] were right one with the sort of [name]Black[/name] [name]Forest[/name] fairy tale era I’m thinking of. (Question: I just realized I’ve never known, is [name]Wilhelm[/name] prn [name]Will[/name]-helm, [name]Will[/name]-em, or both?) I’d love to hear some more names like that! I’d have added [name]Crispin[/name], [name]Jasper[/name] and [name]Hans[/name] to the list, but I already have some associations with those names that would make it problematic using them for any characters–I still really like them, though! [name]Leander[/name], [name]Cadmus[/name], [name]Alasdair[/name] (oh! So handsome!), [name]Edmund[/name]–I could see those popping up in my story as well. I love [name]Conrad[/name], but it’s so Bye Bye [name]Birdie[/name] for me. Oh, well. Maybe I’ll get over that. (:

Now onto the girls.
First of all, man! What a list! Thank you for all the effort you put into this.
For my girl I am realizing I am really picky. It’s like my baby. I keep thinking of her as a [name]Virginia[/name] or [name]Catherine[/name] type of girl (I just watched The 10th Kingdom, and also read the book [name]Catherine[/name], Called Birdy), since they’re very feminine, but a little less whimsical than most princess-y names.
Out of your list, I was really digging:
[name]Adamina[/name]. What a shock, eh? Not a name I’d usually go for, but…I think it’s the fact that it’s the feminine ending, deriving from a very masculine name, and that [name]Adamina[/name] is not well known at all, although recognizable.
[name]Sophronia[/name]. But I think I’d call her [name]Sophie[/name] or [name]Sophia[/name]! And that name’s so popular at the moment! Argh…
Perenelle. [name]Even[/name] though it has pretty much THE girliest ending, it has that “olden days” feeling that I really like. I think I might use the nn [name]Nell[/name] with this one. And it has substance–a girl name Perenelle would be quick on her feet. Oh, I might also like it because [name]Petronella[/name] was one of the older names for Rapunzel. Any name that has ties to fairy tales already, without being too obvious ([name]Snow[/name], [name]Ella[/name] for [name]Cinderella[/name], [name]Rosie[/name] for [name]Briar[/name] [name]Rose[/name]) is fab!!
[name]Elettra[/name]. Wow, I’m all over the place, aren’t I? I’m trying to decide if this one’s too sexy sounding or not. I wish there was a saint with this name. If there was a [name]Saint[/name] [name]Elettra[/name], that would totally balance it out in my mind. (On that thought line, saint’s names are good! That is very much the sound I’m going for, I think!)
[name]Delfina[/name], [name]Evadne[/name], [name]Faustina[/name], [name]Genoveva[/name], [name]Flavia[/name]. These are all names I was previously fond of, but I forgot. They will definitely go into consideration.

There were some names, like [name]Mirabelle[/name], [name]Marguerite[/name], [name]Olympia[/name], that I absolutely [name]ADORE[/name], but I think that they might be…too pretty? I want my character to be beautiful, but a very intelligent, inner-beauty beautiful, which would mean no to all the breathtaking names such as those, unfortunately. (Yet I’m still drawn to names such as Fiametta for the character…go figure.) That being said, I don’t want any godawful, clunky names like [name]Gertrude[/name]. Yeah, I’m probably not making a lot of sense here. (:

Weirdly enough, I don’t think I’m leaning towards British royal names for the girls, which is generally not the case. Does anyone know any Swedish/[name]German[/name]/any other country thereabouts royal names?

Thank you again for all of your names, irisrose! They are a super big help. :smiley:
NameGoddess

It’s probably no help because it’s based on associations, but I think of ballet heroine names when you posed your question. So sure there’s [name]Giselle[/name], but also Myrtha, [name]Swanilda[/name], [name]Sylvia[/name], [name]Manon[/name], etc.

For men you have [name]Sigfried[/name], [name]Armand[/name], [name]Franz[/name], [name]Albrecht[/name] etc.

These will have baggage to some people, but probably not many.

Okay, so to sum up that last long post of mine, here are the key factors:

  • It gets a plus if it has an obscure association with a fairy tale (or an association with an obscure fairy tale), a la Perenelle being similar to [name]Petronella[/name]. But all associations must be explained, lest I don’t catch on.

  • I’m interested in hearing some old saint names. (Especially strong, lesser known female saints and saints who earned that title for very weird reasons!)

  • It would be cool to see a little non-British royal names thrown in, like Swedish, [name]German[/name], or especially smaller European countries. [name]Love[/name] it if they have a morbid or interesting, but lesser known, story attached.

*And a couple more names to illustrate the style that I’m looking for for my heroine: [name]Hazel[/name] & [name]Margaret[/name].
A form of [name]Margaret[/name] is already being used for another character, so that one’s out, but I’m feeling a strong pull towards [name]Hazel[/name].

I’m not really liking the -a ending names for girls, which is totally different from what I normally like. If it has an -a ending, it has to be very strong, like [name]Cordelia[/name]. And I’m shying away from -ella names, since that seems so popular right now, but that isn’t to say that I won’t consider any.
I’m sorry to be throwing so much information out, but I’m not sure how to properly explain what’s in my mind!!

NameGoddess

Oh, I just saw yours, chrliegrl! Whoops!

I like your ballet names idea! (I agree that they won’t have too many associations for most people, and if they do, ballets always seem like the translation of fairy tales into dance for me, anayway.) [name]Sylvia[/name] is a name that I always wished was mine, so it would work well, and [name]Manon[/name] has that structured, but feminine, sound I’m going for!

Out of your boys, I think I like [name]Franz[/name] the best. I was thinking [name]Francis[/name], even though it could be argued to be girly, for a boy last night, and [name]Franz[/name] is sort of similar.

You seem well-versed in these sort of names. [name]Do[/name] you have any more? (:

Thank you!
NameGoddess

I don’t off the top of my head right at this moment, but I’ll think on it and if I remember I’ll ask at ballet tonight, see if other people can think of other ballet names.

Thanks, chrliegrl! If you hear any male names, those are some I especially need at this point.

Okay, here’s a family tree of the [name]German[/name] royal families, starting from the 900s: Family tree of German monarchs - Wikipedia

I love so many of them! Here are the ones that I think could maybe fit your characters:

[name]Adelaide[/name]
[name]Beatrix[/name]
[name]Constance[/name]
[name]Claudia[/name]
[name]Eleonore[/name]
[name]Magdalena[/name]
[name]Augusta[/name]
[name]Charlotte[/name]
[name]Leopold[/name]
[name]Albert[/name]
[name]Rainer[/name]
[name]Matthias[/name]
[name]Frederick[/name]
[name]Rupert[/name]
[name]Otto[/name]

Some Swedish and Norwegian royalty:

Estrith
[name]Astrid[/name]
[name]Eugenie[/name]
[name]Agnes[/name]
[name]Teresia[/name]
[name]Maud[/name]
[name]Martha[/name]
[name]Ingrid[/name]
[name]Sonja[/name]
Alstan
[name]Erik[/name]
[name]Gustaf[/name]
[name]Waldemar[/name]
Lazlow
[name]Magnus[/name]
[name]Harald[/name]

Here’s a complete list of Catholic saints: Saints A to Z: A - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online
and here’s another: Female Catholic Saints

Ballet names are a good idea, too… off the top of my head, I can think of [name]Clara[/name], [name]Odette[/name], and [name]Odile[/name].

Names that remind me of [name]Hazel[/name] and [name]Margaret[/name]:

[name]Mabel[/name]
[name]Helen[/name]
[name]Sylvie[/name]
[name]Frances[/name]
[name]Olive[/name]
[name]Opal[/name]
[name]Iris[/name]
[name]Elspeth[/name]
[name]Daphne[/name]
[name]Amabel[/name]
[name]Clio[/name]
[name]Cecily[/name]
[name]Florence[/name]
[name]Joan[/name]
[name]Rose[/name]
[name]Alice[/name]
[name]Saskia[/name]

[name]Hope[/name] this helps! :slight_smile:

I like:
[name]Colette[/name]
[name]Ilana[/name]
Hannelle/Hanneli
Aleida
[name]Christabel[/name]
[name]Floretta[/name]
[name]Greta[/name]
[name]Sidonia[/name]
[name]Tabea[/name]
[name]Calista[/name]

[name]Leander[/name]
[name]Barnabas[/name]
[name]Bertram[/name]
[name]Egon[/name]
[name]Hendrik[/name]
[name]Herman[/name]
[name]Ivo[/name]
[name]Karsten[/name]
[name]Otto[/name]
[name]Rainer[/name]
Torben
[name]Torsten[/name]
[name]Vester[/name]

Sorry for any repeats. Good luck!