Names from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Hello fellow name friends! Long post ahead!

This past Christmas I received The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig, which was delightful because I’ve been looking forward to reading it for years.

It’s a book of poetry, full of words the author created for emotions and experiences common to humanity, which hadn’t previously had words to describe them. He draws inspiration from words and languages from all over the world.

About halfway through the book, I went “dang, some of these would make spectacular baby names?!?!?! Has anyone thought of that!??”

So I compiled a list of words from the book that I think could make for great names. I chose words that sound name-like to me, and also have positive meanings related to nature, beauty, mindfulness, common humanity, or other positive things you might want to impart to a child. Some words work as-is, some might benefit from a bit of editing to make them more name-like.

Some of them might lean toward having a masculine or feminine energy, but I think a lot of them could work well for a person of any sex/gender. Most of them I’d probably put in a middle name slot, but I’d love to see somebody be brave and use one as a first!

I’ve also included page numbers. Most of them had much longer poetic definitions, but I had to abridge them for this post. Please go look them up to experience them in their full glory!!

My thoughts about how a word could work for a name can be found in italics. All other words and definitions are straight from the book.

  • Ambedo : a momentary trance of emotional clarity (p 77) NN Bea or Bo

  • Austice: a wistful omen of the first sign of autumn (p 163)

  • Chrysalism: the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm (p 3) NN Chrys, Sal, Al, Liz

  • Ecury: a conversation that spans huge intervals of time (p 193) I like the idea of being part of s larger conversation, joining one’s voice in community with the narrative conversations present in our world

  • Furosha: the eerie tranquility of fast-moving clouds (p 227)” could be used as a metaphor for wanting to take time to connect to the rhythms of nature NN Ro

  • Gnosienne : the awareness that someone you’ve known for years still has a private and mysterious inner life (p 111) this is one of my favorites, because, if I were to give it to a child, I would mean it say “I will raise you, but I respect the fact that I’ll never be able to fully, truly know the mystery of the experience of your heart and mind moving through the world. I hope to create an environment where we both feel safe to spend time deeply learning from each other, so we can know, love, and respect each other as well as any parent and child could”

  • Lilo : a friendship that can lie dormant for years, only to pick back up instantly

  • Lisolia: the satisfaction of things worn in by time— broken-in baseball mitts, the shiny snout of a lucky bronze pig, of footprints ground deep into floorboards by generations of kneeling monks (p 202) I love the idea that the bearer of this name would have it as a reminder that they are woven into the bigger picture of the story of humanity
    NN Liz, Lia, Ollie

  • Lumus: the poignant humanness beneath the spectacle of society NN Lu/Lou

  • Lutalica : the sense that you’re more than the categories that society puts you in; asking the question “what’s it like, being you?” (p 152) perfect for people who deeply value empathy and self-discovery NN Lu, Tally, Ali, Alic

  • Moledro : a feeling of resonant connection with an author or artist you’ll never meet, but who can still leave behind morsels of their experience (p 87) NN Mo, Eddie

  • Morii: the desire to capture a fleeting experience (p 177)

  • Mornden: the self contained pajama universe that exists between two people on a long weekend morning (p 91) NN Mo, Ned

  • Ringlorn: the wish that the modern world felt as epic as the one depicted in old stories and folktales (p 31)

  • Silience: the brilliant artistry hidden all around you (p 141) NN Sil, Li,/Lee

  • Suerza: a feeling of quiet amazement that you exist at all (p 214) could be a meaningful choice for a rainbow baby, or a child who took a long time to be conceived

  • Sonder: the awareness that everyone has a story (p 123)

  • Vellichor: the strange wistfulness of used bookstores (p 163) perfect for very literary, nostalgic, or historically minded people. NN Vell, Vella, Cory, Cora

  • Xeno: the smallest measurable unit of human connection— a warm smile, a sympathetic nod, a shared laugh about some odd coincidence (p 131)
    NN X, Xe

  • Yeorie: a certain scent that has the power to sweep you back to childhood (p 171)

  • Yu Yi: the longing to feel things intensely again (p 204)

If I were to use some of these for future children, my favorites would be Gnosienne, Moledro, Sonder, and Vellichor/Vellichora
I may use many more than this for story characters and places though!

What are your faves? For those of you who have read the book, any you would add?

16 Likes

Oh this is such a beautiful list! I’m curious to read this book now.

I’d enjoy being called Ambedo, Furosha, Suerza, or [name_m]Yu[/name_m] [name_m]Yi[/name_m], and I love the meanings of Gnosienne and Moledro.

What a beautiful list! I especially love Austice, [name_f]Lilo[/name_f], Lisolia, Silience, [name_m]Sonder[/name_m] (:heart_eyes:), and Vellichor (adding that to my GP list!).

I like Ecury, Lumus and [name_m]Sonder[/name_m].
One that doesn’t work for me is Ambedo - unfortunately, I immediately thought of libido.

These are absolutely excellent. What a fine collection. :heart_eyes:

[name_m]Sonder[/name_m] is one on my personal list of faves. What an absolute amazing meaning. “The notion that ever person to be encountered has a life and story as rich as your own.” Such powerful poetry and thought.

The rest of these are all totally new to me—and so exciting!! Austice, Gnosienne, [name_f]Lilo[/name_f], Ringlorn, Silience, Vellichor, and [name_m]Xeno[/name_m] are striking chords with me deeply today. They’re brilliant.

Thank you so much for compiling this post! I’m really excited about returning to these words/names! :yellow_heart:

[name_m]Sonder[/name_m] and Lutalica are my favourites - I love the way they sound and also their meaning! I’ve heard of this book before but have never read it, it’s fun to get these highlights from it.

I like Austice, Lumus, [name_m]Sonder[/name_m] and Vellichor! Thank you for sharing the list with us :heart:

This is a gorgeous list, thank you for compiling it! [name_f]My[/name_f] favourites are Ambedo, Austice, [name_f]Lilo[/name_f], Lisolia, Lumus, Lutalica and [name_m]Sonder[/name_m].

Such pretty names! I want to read this now. I like Lisolia, [name_f]Lilo[/name_f], [name_m]Xeno[/name_m] and Austice.
I like [name_m]Sonder[/name_m] but wouldn’t use it because I use the word sonder a lot :laughing:
Lumus is also very nice (I first thought of the [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] spell Lumos)

Lutalica is super interesting because it’s actually a word in Croatian. Comes from the verb lutati (to wander aimlessly), so it describes that kind of person, but we also use it for stray dogs.

[name_m]Sonder[/name_m] has a gorgeous meaning and I think it could fit in with [name_m]Skandar[/name_m] and [name_m]Ender[/name_m]!

2 Likes

I love this book!!

Lisolia and Suerza are sticking out to me the most. They’d make good sister names, nn [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] and [name_f]Suzie[/name_f].