Naming the Spunky Princess of Elves

Hello there berries! I’m writing a story and its a retelling of [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Pan[/name_m]. I’ve always done one post about this here. In mine [name_m]Tinker[/name_m] [name_u]Bell[/name_u] isn’t really a main character, but her daughter and son are. [name_m]Tinker[/name_m] [name_u]Bell[/name_u] married an elfin king and had three daughters and two sons with him.

The character who’s name I help with now is one of her two younger daughters(they’re twins). I’d really like to name the one who’s a main character [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], but since its so long I feel like it needs a nickname. She’s a spirited, spunky, slightly sassy girl with curly, medium brown hair, amber eyes, pointed ears, olive/tan skin, dimples, and a spray of freckles across her nose. I’ve come across the nicknames [name_u]Percy[/name_u], [name_u]Perry[/name_u], Sephy, [name_f]Effie[/name_f], [name_f]Eppie[/name_f], [name_f]Poppy[/name_f], [name_f]Posy[/name_f], & [name_f]Nonie[/name_f]. I also like [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] as a nickname. I like [name_u]Perry[/name_u], [name_f]Effie[/name_f], [name_f]Poppy[/name_f], and [name_f]Posy[/name_f], but my favorites are [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] and [name_u]Percy[/name_u]. [name_m]Both[/name_m] fit her very well, but unfortunately I have reservations for each of them.

[name_u]Percy[/name_u]- The only time I’ve ever heard of this name was on [name_u]Percy[/name_u] [name_m]Jackson[/name_m](I’m a huge [name_m]Rick[/name_m] [name_m]Riordan[/name_m] fan) and I’m afraid that there’s too strong of a connection to the books(and movies). Plus, because she has two sisters I’m worried about her possibly being the only one with a boyish nickname. That’s not as much as an issue as the [name_u]Percy[/name_u] [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] thing though because she’d be [name_f]Princess[/name_f] [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] to most people and [name_u]Percy[/name_u] or [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] to her family and friends.

[name_f]Pippa[/name_f]- My issue with this nickname is that I’m afraid its too much of a stretch. With [name_u]Percy[/name_u] the sounds are there (PERS- ef- oh- nEE), unlike with [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]. Plus I looked on the internet and I couldn’t find any information on [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] as a nn for [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], but I did find info for [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] nn [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] which is similar, but to me that’s less of a stretch because [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] has two hard p sounds, while [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] has only one hard p. I think I’m leaning more towards [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] than [name_u]Percy[/name_u] right now.

If it helps I considered the names [name_f]Eulalie[/name_f], [name_f]Calliope[/name_f] and [name_f]Delphi[/name_f] for her. I also like [name_u]Juniper[/name_u]“[name_u]June[/name_u]”, [name_f]Juno[/name_f], [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_f]Marigold[/name_f], [name_f]Minerva/name_f, [name_f]Delia[/name_f], [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f](“[name_f]Nola[/name_f]” or “[name_f]Noa[/name_f]”), [name_f]Theodora[/name_f](“[name_u]Teddy[/name_u]”, “[name_f]Thea[/name_f]”, or “[name_f]Thora[/name_f]”), [name_f]Isadora/name_f, [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], [name_u]Valentine[/name_u], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f](“[name_f]Cleo[/name_f]”, “[name_m]Lemon[/name_m]” or “[name_f]Minnie[/name_f]”), [name_f]Eulalia[/name_f], [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f](“[name_f]Lula[/name_f]” or “[name_f]Lulu[/name_f]”), [name_f]Oona[/name_f], [name_f]Lilac[/name_f], [name_u]Hero[/name_u], & [name_f]Aurelia/name_f for her sisters and [name_m]Valor[/name_m], Revere, [name_m]Bastian[/name_m], [name_m]Stellan[/name_m], [name_u]Zephyr[/name_u], [name_m]Noble[/name_m], [name_m]Atticus[/name_m], [name_m]Apollo[/name_m], [name_m]Augustus[/name_m], [name_m]Ignatius[/name_m], [name_m]Odin[/name_m], [name_m]Atlas[/name_m], [name_m]Magnus[/name_m], [name_m]Viggo[/name_m], [name_u]Florian[/name_u], & [name_m]Titus[/name_m] for her brothers. I plan on doing another post about her siblings’ names after I figure out this nickname situation though. I’ve also noticed that I seem to like unusual, nature, virtue, noun, [name_m]Roman[/name_m], or Greek names for this story(On real children I typically like vintage names)

Basically I’m asking: A) Is [name_u]Percy[/name_u] too tied to [name_u]Percy[/name_u] [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] for me to use it? B) [name_f]Do[/name_f] you like [name_u]Percy[/name_u] or [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] better as a nickname for [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]? C) Is [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] too much of a stretch? D) [name_f]Do[/name_f] you know of any other nicknames for [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]? I’m open to any suggestions you might have. Help me please!

Maybe if you change the spelling of [name_u]Percy[/name_u] to something like Persie it might lose a bit of the connection with the PJ series (I am also a huge fan) and the -ie ending looks more feminine to me
On the other hand, I don’t think [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is much of a stretch for [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]. It’s very cute an I can really imagine a spunky princess wearing it well, BUT it reminds me of [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister.
I think they’re both excellent choices for nicknames and I can’t decide which one I would go with.

A) When anyone hears [name_u]Percy[/name_u], they’re going to think of [name_u]Percy[/name_u] [name_m]Jackson[/name_m]. So what? Take that name and redefine it. Give it a new character. If [name_u]Percy[/name_u] is the name you want, go for it. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t let your character names be typecast; if your characters are vivid enough, it doesn’t matter if their names have been used before!

B) I love [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]. It’s a strong yet girlish nickname for the lengthy [name_f]Persephone[/name_f]. I think it’s a lot better than [name_u]Percy[/name_u], but if you’d prefer [name_u]Percy[/name_u], then don’t let anything stop you. It’s your character, after all. But in my opinion, [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] is better and fits in well with the other names you have.

C) I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch people get weird nicknames all the time. Nicknames don’t always have to do with the name and how many hard Ps there are and whatnot. It’s more the history, like one day her dad said, “Come along, [name_f]Pippa[/name_f],” and it just stuck, or something like that. [name_m]Trust[/name_m] me; over time I have (somehow) received a nickname from practically every person I have ever met. I keep a list of my nicknames, I currently have 42. Out of those, about 10 actually make sense with my name. Nicknames are what they are.

D) I can’t think of any others, really. Keep in mind you can choose a nickname more based on her character than her name, if you want to, or have her go by her middle name. Let’s say you really wanted her to be called Caza. (Not that you do, but for example). You could have that be her middle name, and she could just go by that. Names are really your choice, in the end.

Thanks stardust17 and cheshirekat! You’re comments were very helpful.

cheshirekat- Since I live in the southeastern US the [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] Middleton connection isn’t that strong to me or majority of the people I know (most of them didn’t care when [name_m]Will[/name_m] & [name_f]Kate[/name_f] got married or when [name_m]Prince[/name_m] [name_m]George[/name_m] was born), but I understand that in other parts of the country/world the connection might be stronger. It doesn’t bother me much though because Its not like she’s a main character in a work of literature (one of my issues with [name_u]Percy[/name_u]) and she isn’t really a bad connection to have. I love you’re idea of changing the spelling to Persie, but I don’t think I’m going to do it because it would still come across as [name_u]Percy[/name_u] when heard.

stardust17- I totally love the idea of redefining a name and I agree with you that [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] fits better with the names I’m considering for her siblings.

I think I’m pretty set on [name_f]Pippa[/name_f] now. The only issue is her siblings’ names. I love [name_f]Isadora[/name_f]"[name_f]Sadie[/name_f]", [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f]"[name_f]Aura[/name_f]", [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f]"[name_f]Nola[/name_f]", [name_f]Marigold[/name_f], [name_u]Valentine[/name_u], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u]"[name_u]June[/name_u]" or “[name_f]Juno[/name_f]”, or [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f]"[name_f]Lula[/name_f]" or “[name_f]Lulu[/name_f]” for her sisters. I’m almost certain that her older brother will be named [name_u]Zephyr[/name_u] or [name_m]Apollo[/name_m], but because I’d like their youngest brother to be named either [name_m]Valor[/name_m], [name_m]Stellan[/name_m], [name_m]Bastian[/name_m], or [name_m]Odin[/name_m] I’m leaning towards [name_u]Zephyr[/name_u]. If it helps her older sister is a kind, noble person who is only okay with breaking rules if it is for the good of her family or kingdom. Her older brother is a slightly mischievous, rebellious person. Her twin sister is a very organized, rule following person who is stubborn in her own way because she refuses to accept that there are flaws in their society. Her younger brother is a sweet, childish, innocent little boy.

Does anyone have any ideas for this sibset? I’m open to any ideas, new names, or suggestions. Thanks!

Thanks stardust17 and cheshirekat! I’m going to go with [name_f]Pippa[/name_f]:D.

(A) no. (B) see A. © si. and (D) no, I think you got all of 'em.