I’ll just be honest and say I am having trouble accepting the appeal of the names of tragic characters. Partly I wonder if anyone else feels weirded out by this? Partly I am wondering if others have a different way to look at these names other than, well, bad luck or sad strange namesakes?
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_m]Romeo[/name_m] - teenage suicide
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] - kidnapped & held hostage by her uncle, incest/rape-y vibe
[name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] - adulteress, damsel in distress
[name_u]Tristan[/name_u], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] - adultery
[name_f]Pandora[/name_f] - let evil into the world
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] - went crazy, suicide-ish death
I think most names transcend their namesake once they belong to a living, breathing person with their own personality and quirks. So, when theoretically talking about a tragic name, yes, all the tragedy comes up, because that’s what you have to base your impression off of. If your friend is named [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], that’s just who she is, and [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m]'s [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] rarely enters your thought when thinking of your friend. Those are also very condensed interpretations of who those characters were, and what they meant within the stories they come from. Also, we often judge historical events or stories by modern morality, and morality changes as society does.
Excellent point and well said! I totally agree with you.
[name_f]Jezebel[/name_f] is the only name I’d stay away from. Which is a shame, because it’s actually REALLY pretty.
I think it depends on how strong the association and how you view it. I hate the name [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] because of the association to [name_m]Romeo[/name_m] & [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], but I read it a few years ago for several months in English class; so the association is strong. I love [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], I see it more as she brings spring than the whole kidnapping thing. Its a shame that these names, like [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_f]Jezebel[/name_f] and [name_f]Pandora[/name_f] have such strong associations because they are beautiful names. What some see as too strong of an association may be nothing to someone else. What may be a terrible tale to someone can be beautiful to someone else. It all depends on how you see it. And the name may have a specific significance to someone, [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] could be a beloved uncle’s name or something. [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] could be a sister’s name. Everyone has different experiences with different names.
I agree with what Redwood said, plus I think it’s good to keep in mind that not everyone perceives those names the same. Some alternate interpretations (not all of them are my actual opinon: )
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f], [name_m]Romeo[/name_m] - all but synonymous with “romance”
[name_f]Persephone[/name_f] - symbolic of spring, loving mother-daughter relationships
[name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] - also very romantic (she followed her heart!) and I think we’re living in a liberal enough age to not mind the adultery thing so much–after all, plenty of folks name their sons [name_m]Ulysses[/name_m]. Down with double standards.
[name_u]Tristan[/name_u], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f] - also synonymous with romance
[name_f]Pandora[/name_f] - see the recent [name_f]Pandora[/name_f] thread for my thoughts on this. I will defend [name_f]Pandora[/name_f] to the death!
[name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] - went crazy and died in a really beautiful way. I think for a lot of people the name summons up imagery of flowers and Pre-Raphaelite paintings.
Personally (and this is not meant as an attack on you or anyone else) I think that aversion to some of these names based merely on their tragic associations is reflective of a kind of backwards, victim-blame-y attitude.
(I say that, but I actually have the same problem with people recommending [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f] as ‘a [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] name.’ I’m like, uh, clearly you’ve never read [name_m]Titus[/name_m] Andronicus, friend. It horrifies me that [name_f]Pam[/name_f] and [name_f]Linda[/name_f] have the “she is [name_f]Lavinia[/name_f], therefore must be loved” quote on the name’s page–in context it’s spoken by one of her rapists. I guess that’s the only tragic name I’d personally avoid; all the names from that play, actually.)
A child named [name_m]Gunner[/name_m] became a policeman, along with his brother, [name_m]Ransom[/name_m]
Well, I am glad I am not the only one who avoids a name because the story’s association is too strong, even if we may avoid different names/stories, or have different associations. Also, I can understand how [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] or [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] can simply become your niece or your friend, rather than even dwelling on [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] reference. That’s a good point!
For me, [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] has a very different symbolism. In my mind [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] symbolizes a dark, toughening, unconscious, sexual maturation in the female psyche: losing the innocence of spring, becoming the queen of the dead, gaining new power & status, intra-psychic integration of darkness & loss. She is this story of the feminine power over life & death, the maturation of the female psyche, the painful complexity of adult mother-daughter relations. (Or, I guess, the symbol of spring if one doesn’t dwell on the whole kidnapped, queen of the dead thing, lol!) [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] is a story I adore. But do I want my kid named after her? Um, nope.
@geeknamezyo For me the backward victim-blaming thing simply isn’t true. 
To me [name_f]Pandora[/name_f], [name_f]Persephone[/name_f], [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f] and many other mythic figures are personifications of deeply human impulses or unconscious, specific maturational processes. But since I take it so very seriously, that’s how I get squeamish when it comes to giving the name to a real baby.
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses!
I’m still torn on many of these names - some are very pretty, but it is true that some associations put me off. Not [name_m]Romeo[/name_m] and [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], because, especially for [name_f]Juliet[/name_f], the name is not ONLY associated with the play, but for example [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] I’m not a big fan of (plus in [name_m]French[/name_m], my native language, [name_f]Triste[/name_f] means ‘sad’ so for some reason I find it a little hard for a little kid ; ditto for the otherwise gorgeous [name_f]Dolores[/name_f]).
I guess it depends whether the name has been used beyond its original namesake or the tragic story it’s associated with. So for me, [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] is too much for a little girl ; [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] too ; [name_f]Cassandra[/name_f] is not great either ; [name_f]Elettra[/name_f] I wouldn’t even consider. I met a lady whose two daughters were [name_f]Antigone[/name_f] and [name_f]Iphigenia[/name_f], and I thought it was a little cruel to them…
But even then, when you meet the actual child, it’s his or her name and you get used to it !
Well [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], for example, I first heard while watching [name_m]Pan[/name_m]'s Labyrinth which is one of my favourite movies. The film itself is quite tragic actually, very brutal and you want to look away more often than not but [name_f]Ofelia[/name_f] takes you out it, into this magical world (which is still a bit frightening). I believe this movie is what shaped my image of [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f]: mysterious, adventurous, brave and bright!
The others I just know too little about to have any tragic associations, [name_f]Juliet[/name_f] is [name_f]Julia[/name_f] in [name_m]German[/name_m], [name_f]Pandora[/name_f] is a charm-bracelet brand to me (expensive and rather exclusive), I have little knowledge about Greek mythology, etc.
However, in general I can look past the tragic image if I really like a name, not all tragic characters are the same- to be honest, I find it way more tragic when a character is unbelievably dumb, stupid or ignorant than if they’re evil as the latter seems less likely to describe a real person!