Uhura?

Insert cringing emoticon here. :wink:

I wouldn’t want to use it up front, but what about as a middle name? I’m kind of becoming a huge [name_f]Star[/name_f] Trek fan, and I love Uhura. (According to behindthename, it’s a form of a Swahili (name?) meaning “freedom”, which I think is really cool, too.)

I absolutely am not gutsy enough to use it up front, but could Uhura be used as a MN? So far I’m thinking something along the lines of [name_f]Anneliese[/name_f] Uhura or maybe [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] Uhura.

I like [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] Uhura. It is a really cool name. It’s a shame that when franchises nab names for their characters, people suddenly decide that they are unuseable. I disagree, absolutely go for it.

I think it’s usable, especially given that they didn’t make it up. My only word of advice would be to wait a bit and make sure your love of the franchise persists, since you mentioned it’s a new interest! You wouldn’t want to end up with a tribute name you get tired of or lose your emotional connection to.

I was just watching [name_f]Star[/name_f] Trek (like half an hour ago) and thinking about Lieutenant Uhura, but possibly to cosplay as at Comic-[name_u]Con[/name_u] haha. Anyway, I think Uhura’s usable, and I love a good character name, and a cool meaning. I think it probably is Swahili since she did speak it. And I agree that [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] Uhura is lovely!

Thanks, everyone. :slight_smile:

@enwmn - lol, Uhura was created for the series. It was taken from an actual Swahili name, from my knowledge, but it’s not like [name_f]Hermione[/name_f], [name_f]Sansa[/name_f], or whatever that were names and then were stolen for a series and got lots of attention.

@meraud - I guess I could look into the older productions of the franchise more. It’s been around for decades, so I feel like if I still like Uhura at this point, I’ll still love her in ten years’ time. Everything seems to be more remakes at this point. But it is a good point. :slight_smile:

@myosotis - haha, my dad, brother, and I just saw the new film at the theatre on [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] afternoon, which is what has prompted my interest in it in general. There’s something so fluid and flowy about the way Uhura is said! “U” names in general don’t seem to garner a lot of attention, but I find it really cool. I seem to like it with “A” names–I’m sort of considering [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Uhura [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f], too, although I like [name_f]Ursula[/name_f] better, I think–but I’ve been noticing [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] over the past couple days, too. Maybe I’ll give [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] Uhura some more thought. :slight_smile:

Ugh, you’re a Trekkie!? :wink: (Sorry, not sorry. [name_f]Star[/name_f] Wars all the way.)

But to the point, I really don’t like the sound of Uhura. It makes me think of [name_f]Ursula[/name_f], actually. I think that if you’re going to use Uhura, put it in the middle spot with a very common and softer fn (e.g. [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] Uhura, [name_f]Grace[/name_f] Uhura, …).

I would not use Uhura, even as a middle name.

@emmamay - haha, yeah, guilty as charged. :wink: I used to watch [name_f]Star[/name_f] Wars with my dad and brother when I was younger, and even sort of liked the series, but I never connected with it on the level that I did with [name_f]Star[/name_f] Trek lol. I feel like I should, but I really have no desire to see the modern [name_f]Star[/name_f] Wars movies. :frowning:

I do sort of like [name_f]Grace[/name_f] Uhura, and I’ve been thinking of [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Uhura [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f], too, but I don’t think I like it quite as much as [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] [name_f]Ursula[/name_f] [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f].

I think.

lol.

Wow, I haven’t heard Uhura before but that’s definitely the best U name I have heard! [name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_f]Annaliese[/name_f] Uhura and [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] Uhura. Has a beautiful meaning and I agree that it’s better as a middle name :slight_smile:

Thanks, @madehatter! I’m not sure which combo will end up getting it, but I do like Uhura quite a lot. I’m starting to wonder if it might just be too GPish for me, though–even [name_f]Anneliese[/name_f] Uhura and [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Uhura seem incredibly nerdy to me, lol.

I think you like it and you should use it if you want. I would definitely go with [name_f]Annaliese[/name_f] rather than [name_u]Juniper[/name_u]. I feel like [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] Uhura is a lot for a child.

First off, I love U-names and am generally supportive of people using unusual names.

Uhura is difficult though. I personally stay away from franchise names. I’ve used Tolkien names for cats a long time ago, but hesitate to give them to people. I like that Uhura is apparently derived from a real Swahili name (which one? I may go with the original one instead depending on what it is)

For me as a native [name_m]German[/name_m] speaker, Uhura is out because it basically contains the [name_m]German[/name_m] word for “whore.”

It reminds me of a word I’ve loved for a long time though, Uruhia, which if I remember right (would have to look it up again) is Polynesian and means something like “purity” or “under the influence of the spirit” (totally unverified information, don’t quote me on it.)