All four are useable, and in my opinion [name_m]Theon[/name_m] is the nicest though obviously not the best character!
I love how much traction this thread is getting! I’ve just reread the books and I agree these are some of the most usable GoT names, though Samwell is not my style at all. I agree I love the sound of [name_m]Tyrion[/name_m] and am surprised it didn’t make your list. I think GRRM does a great job finding names. Maybe some of them are made up, but many of them aren’t. In fact, nameberry’s own namehunter tool offered me [name_m]Theon[/name_m] recently! I think if you are seriously considering using a GoT name, it says more about the name than an obsession with a show or story. I say this because my husband and I really enjoy the series The Last Kingdom… but only joked about naming our next kid Utred! The name has to be good or it doesn’t matter who the character is!
Honestly, I think they all are usable! [name_m]Jorah[/name_m] and [name_m]Theon[/name_m] are already actual names although not often used. Samwell is like a cross between [name_m]Maxwell[/name_m] and [name_m]Samuel[/name_m], both known and we’ll liked names. I’m not positive Davos is a real name but it’s close enough to [name_m]David[/name_m] and [name_m]Davis[/name_m] that it feels usable. They all are a little quirky without being too out there. My only thought is that other fans may wonder why you would use [name_m]Theon[/name_m] even though it’s my favorite GoT name.
I think Samwell is the best to use is you want to get away with people not recognizing right away the connection but I do think they’re all usuable, especially [name_m]Jorah[/name_m] because it sounds like it fits in with the current biblical trends. They all sound fine to me for what is considered normal nowadays in the naming styles.
I’m actually really intrigued by this thread because on my shortlist if this baby is a boy is [name_m]Theon[/name_m].
Although I wouldn’t say I’m a huge GoT fan I actually like [name_m]Theon[/name_m]'s character and story arc (at least with the book, and in the show [name_u]Alfie[/name_u]'s a good actor) not as a character that is perfect or even at all honorable but as someone who had a shitty lot thrown at him in life and made bad choices with how to deal with it yet is now growing as a person. Anyone who actually takes the time to do a proper character study on him would realize he’s not the Worst character your kid could share a name with.
[name_m]Even[/name_m] with that said and me being a fan, I wouldn’t be naming my son after the character, not at all.
I simply really like the name and can see myself having a son with the name, which is very rare find for me, it happens to hit a lot of marks for waht I’m looking for in a name.
I’ve been nervous to keep it on my shortlist though, as I’ve got mixed reactions when I’ve casually mentioned (even before I got pregnant) that I was considering the name despite the GoT connection. Some people think it’s too odd, others think it’s a cute variation of [name_m]Theodore[/name_m], and some think that with GoT coming to a close soon enough the kid would give the name it’s own personality and people would stop thinking of and then dwelling on the [name_m]Theon[/name_m] Greyjoy assosiation while others think the character is too faulty and imperfect to be associated with to begin with.
Not sure it’ll stay on my short list though, but only because my DH isn’t sure he’s sold on it.