When I think of honouring people close to me, I mostly think of how to “update” their name (especially for family member who have quite dated names) and do a direct honor. However, the only name I have on my list (so far!) as an indirect nod is [name_f]Fig[/name_f]. It’s not a name I’d ever use IRL (because it’s in [name_f]English[/name_f], and the Croatian version would be just… no. Wouldn’t make a nice name) , but I think it’s cute. [name_f]Fig[/name_f] serves as a nod to almost my entire mom’s side of the family (the immediate family, that is). [name_f]My[/name_f] grandpa actually built a house one of the prettiest islands in Croatia, and my mum and her family had been going there since the 90’s. As my mum and her brothers grew older and had their own kids, they kept coming to the island and now all of us spend our summers together. We planted a fig tree a few years back and now get to enjoy its fruits every [name_u]August[/name_u]. [name_f]Fig[/name_f] just reminds me of those happy moments when you pick a fig from the tree before going down to the beach, or in the evening after we all had dinner together and are preparing to play cards.
@krijesnica [name_f]Fig[/name_f] sounds like such a meaningful one for you, and it has such a joyful vibe
i’m glad to see other people also have obscure ways of honoring people!
october - this is a name i just like, but it kind of, sort of, in no way really, doubles as an honor for spencer reid. he was born in october and it’s agreed that halloween is his favorite holiday, so the name reminds me of him! plus it’s such a warm, cosy, and slightly nerdy name which are all traits i associate with reid!
solstice - this honors a book series which i love dearly! one of the main characters was born on the winter solstice, and i think it’s such a cool name.
catrin - my favorite fictional character is named nesta, and in the book focusing on her she becomes best friends with a girl named gwyneth. gwyn’s twin sister was named catrin, and her death resulted in all of the actions leading to nesta coming out of the horrible state she was in. she found happiness and love because of this. so, catrin honors nesta in some twisted way!
i’m sure there’s more, but i can’t think of them at the moment!
I agree, I would never use an honor name directly. I just think that there are so many hundreds of names I love, I would never want to settle on using a name I don’t like just because someone else just happens to have that name. I also want to be cautious because no matter how well you know someone, people have falling outs or things come to light that makes you lose respect for someone, and it would be really hard to come to terms with if I named my child after someone and then later in life regretted honoring them. That’s exactly what happened with my middle name and now I feel ashamed that my middle name is what it is and that I am associated with people through my name who I have no respect for.
Anyway, I do love the idea of an indirect honor. That way if you no longer wish to honor that person in the future, at least it is something other people would not know it is an honor and would not directly associate your child with that person. I also think it’s more meaningful anyway because it shows that you care about the person enough to have a special connection and there’s something that reminds you of them. Everyone knows their name, but only a few people know the things they love (or maybe even just you and them have a special thing that only you would know about). It makes it more meaningful and special.
So some that I’ve considered are…
Honey - my parents love bees and tried out beekeeping for a little bit, their house is decorated with a bee theme and they’ve had multiple bee themed parties, so I think this would be a sweet (no pun intended) nod to them
Rooster - my parents also have always had chickens, this one’s a little more “out there” but since Roo/Rue is so popular right now I think I could get away with it
Scout - my mom’s favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird
Marnie - a nod to my sister and I watching Halloweentown together every year
Kira - my sister used to be obsessed with Shakira as a kid so this is a very obscure nod to her
Liliana - my dad nicknamed my sister Lilybert as a child (no idea why since her name is not similar to Lily at all)
Cache / Pixel / Arcade - all nods to my SO who is very much a computer/video game guy
Commack - my SO grew up on Long Island and this is a town there. It’s not necessarily an honor for any one person but just to honor where she came from (she didn’t actually come from Commack specifically but it’s the only LI town name that I love)
There aren’t many because I would never use a name unless I truly love it, the meaning doesn’t matter to me as much as sound, so there aren’t a lot of names that I love that also remind me of people. But overall I do love the idea of an indirect honor.
Dew - my grandmother’s maiden initials were DEW
Gem - my mother’s nickname spelled backwards
Jean - a combination of my grandmothers’ names
Meg - very direct honor of my mom but also to honor Megalodon and Megaptera novangliae
Lupine - my grandmother used to read me Miss Rumphius so it reminds me of her but also a nod to Remus Lupin
Maple - sounds very similar to my great aunt Mabel’s name
Golden - to honor a great grandmother Aurelia but also a few songs from a few of my favorite bands
Emmy (possibly as a nickname for any name with initials ME) - to honor Maine which is where my whole family is from because the abbreviation for Maine is ME
Marigold - to honor my grandmother Mary and great grandmother Aurelia and the songs from my favorite bands and also my best friend whose birthday is in October
Esmae - to honor a grandmother and my best friend’s middle name
Otto - a nod a friend who passed away who named his dog Otto
Draco - obviously Draco Malfoy but also a nod to my favorite animal of the five animal techniques we focus on in karate
Evander - to honor an Alexandra, two Evangelines, an Evan and an Evelyn
Talmadge - Tal means dew in Hebrew and Madge is a diminutive of Margaret which is my mom’s name
Aslan/Haidar/Lion - both of my grandfathers had names meaning lion in their names
I don’t like direct honor names, mostly because sharing a name with too many people is a grievance I’ve had for much of my life, but also partly because no one I want to honor happens to have a name that I even remotely like. I also don’t set out to honor people in general. All of these are names I like first and honors last.
[name_u]Cleo[/name_u] - its meaning “glory” is a subtle reference to Sporting [name_u]Kansas[/name_u] City, my favorite soccer team, as well as my family’s and best friend’s. The club’s motto is “for the glory, of the city”, and it’s also a chant that fans do at the games
[name_u]Fable[/name_u] - I’m a writer, as was my great-grandmother. She published a children’s book full of stories that could be considered fables
[name_f]Amaia[/name_f] - my family makes a trip out to Montauk every summer, which is known as “The End” (of [name_m]Long[/name_m] Island), which happens to be Amaia’s meaning
[name_f]Reyna[/name_f] - my dad and I love to watch soccer, especially the US national teams, which [name_m]Claudio[/name_m] and [name_u]Gio[/name_u] [name_f]Reyna[/name_f] both have played/are playing for (Gio is also on my list)
[name_m]Weston[/name_m] - same as above, but the player is [name_m]Weston[/name_m] McKennie
[name_m]Kylian[/name_m] - another soccer player, but for [name_u]France[/name_u]
Then some character names from shows/books/movies that I share with friends/family: [name_f]Amity[/name_f], [name_f]Luz[/name_f], and [name_u]Willow[/name_u] (The [name_u]Owl[/name_u] House), [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] (Amphibia), [name_f]Mara[/name_f] and [name_f]Adora[/name_f] (She-Ra), [name_u]Lazuli[/name_u] and [name_f]Peridot[/name_f] ([name_m]Steven[/name_m] Universe), Kricket (Big City Greens), [name_u]Hazel[/name_u], [name_u]Piper[/name_u], [name_u]Nico[/name_u], [name_u]Percy[/name_u], [name_f]Reyna[/name_f] (Heroes of [name_m]Olympus[/name_m]), [name_f]Suki[/name_f], [name_f]Azula[/name_f], and [name_f]Lua[/name_f] (Avatar: The Last Airbender), [name_f]Eska[/name_f] (The [name_u]Legend[/name_u] of [name_f]Korra[/name_f]), [name_u]Marvel[/name_u] (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorites:
[name_m]Boaz[/name_m] - for my grandma [name_f]Ruth[/name_f]! I think it’s so clever, hahaha, but I suppose those unfamiliar with the story of [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] and [name_f]Ruth[/name_f] wouldn’t “get” it.
[name_f]Lily[/name_f] - I received a lily from a bouquet at my grandmother’s funeral; it seems like her last gift to me, and much less used in my family than her first or middle name, which between the two, have been used half a dozen times at least!
I’ve entertained [name_u]Waverly[/name_u], too - it’s such a fun name, and my mom’s favorite [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] movie is White [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]! I also like [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] names (especially [name_u]French[/name_u] ones) since my sister and I can both claim a [name_u]French[/name_u] [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] name each - [name_u]Marie[/name_u] and [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]! I’m sure there are others but those are the most interesting honor names I’ve got on my list.
@readingreverie ooh I love these!! October makes sense to me!!
That’s a really good point and I’m sorry it happened to you 
Honey and Kira are lovely!!
@shanade213 love the idea of the spelling ones! Dew and Gem are great. Golden, Emmy, Draco, Talmadge and Evander are brilliant
@SparkleNinja18 yeah, the sharing names in general bothers me too and using a name i don’t totally love just because it’s an honour isn’t right for me either. Fable is such a lovely idea as is Amaia! The show ones are great too!!
@ashthedreamer ooh, Boaz is cool in that way! and Lily is so sweet!