Names hold great importance to me for some reason. Given names in particular. I just came to think of the fact that I dislike some names to the extent that virtually nothing can make up for them; be it looks, intelligence, kindness or helpfulness; and that some can make me aroused simply by seeing them out of context in a list. What are your favourite first names? Here are mine (I decided on girls' names only for my own list): Ila - I associate it with youth, femininity, beauty and wildness (probably because of the movie Noah) Rebecca - probably because a girl I fancied in school had a similar name Teresa - Teresa Palmer Vanessa - perhaps Vanessa Hudgens and Vanessa Carlton Veronica - Veronica Mars Violet - the flower, the colour, Violet Parr from The Incredibles and Violet Mulligan from Begin Again Hermione - Hermione Granger from Harry Potter Gaia - Gaia Bawden from The Casual Vacancy Keira - Keira Knightley Natalie - perhaps Natalie Portman Allison - there's something about the connotations of the nickname "Ally" that I simply love Samantha - I've always associated it with class, style, beauty and femininity for some reason Savannah - exotic Noelle - because of the film It's Kind of a Funny Story Tiffany - Tiffany Alvord Felicity - Felicity Jones Joy Sophie Suzannah Elisha Ellie Emma Emily Amy Annie Lauren Leah Claire
The one that stands out to me on your list is the last one: Claire. I love that name. I had a favorite babysitter when I was about eight or so and she was named Claire. One of the friendliest and funniest girls I've ever met. In honor of her, the only really major female character in my main novel is named Claire. I think it's a beautiful name.
For guys: - Barry Kevin Brian For the ladies: - Ethel Deidre These names all conjure up images of beauty and vivacity.
Hmmm I don;t know about favorites but I do tend to get drawn to the ones that sound ancient. Especially Gaelic and Hebrew. Sinead Jael Chava Tzipporah Tal Ilan Stuff like that
Well, while it's not been confirmed, we *think* we're going to have a girl and I'd love to call her Chloe. Except my husband thinks it sounds like "claws" I also love the Czech name Eliška - the š is a "sh" sound in English - so it's like Elishka. For boys I like the Czech name Matyaš (equivalent of Matthew) Unfortnately my Chinese parents cannot for the life of them pronounce the Czech names, so they're off the table. Sigh... Anyway, names for girls: Claire Emily Mariana Chloe Eleanor Ellen Eliška Amelia Sky Mizuki - name of my Japanese student, taught her between ages 4-8. Still miss her. Her name in particular meant "beautiful moon" Miku - name of another Japanese student. She's very sweet, hard-working, and pretty lol. If I'm not mistaken I think her name means "beautiful sky". And I don't know, it just sounds so cute. Arlia - my own made-up name, current female protag Akane - another Japanese name, but this time from the anime Ranma For boys: Sky Matthew - name of my first male protag William - name of current protag Takeru Takuya Jan - my husband's name lol, but I liked it before I met him Nathaniel Soren - name of my debut's protag lol Matyaš
I have no favorites. I do have a few I would never use in a story, no matter if the character physically reached up from the written page, took my hand, and begged me. I will leave them un-posted so as not to offend anyone saddled with such. ETA: Other than the list of names that shall not be used, my characters name themselves. It's not a thing I toil over. It just comes to me with their image.
Off the top of my head: Alaric Toby Rupert Thomas Nigel William Charles Svetlana Marie-Claire Tinkerbell Bibyana Lucy Delores
Girls: Claire (I explained this choice above.) Amy (It sounds so sweet! If I meet someone named Amy, I’m inclined to like her immediately.) Siena (The name of a town in Italy that my sister loves. I just like the sound of it.) Diana (It sounds strong. I have the impression that women named Diana kick ass.) Shannon (Again, a name that sounds strong. Also exotic in a way, and I like that.) Boys: Adam (I’ve written a character named Adam and I’ve kind of grown to love him and his name.) Eric (I just like the sound of it.) Alexander (Alex, Sandy, or Xander for short. This name is common in my family. It sends me positive vibes.) Mark (There’s something proud and honest about this name.) Brent (I had a friend in first grade named Brent. I thought it was cool then and I still do.) Jadrien (It just has a cool sound.) Lucas (I didn’t like this name at first, but I wrote a story about a character with that name and it’s grown on me.) Jack (Simple, pure, honest. A boy named Jack will grow up to be a hero.) Brandon (Strong. A Brandon is a champion.)
The only name I can really think of, and one that I've always been drawn to -- Anne. I have no reason. I just love it. Annie, Anna, it doesn't matter what form. If it sounds like Anne, I'm in love.
I like Annie in particular, too. Just sounds like someone who's about to have an adventure. My favourite girl name is Brooke, Annie second, and Samantha third. Boy.. I'd say Felix, Lincoln (Linc), or Mordecai. I wish I had been named one of those.
Spoiler: Meh, there's worse connotations I've never read any Dickens... so this random one will have to do: Okay, fine, Guile is my favourite name then. There's nothing bad there.
Hm. Personally I think Svetlana is one of the worst names. I suppose it's simply because it reminds me of the Norwegian word "svett" and the Spanish word "lana": sweaty wool ...
Sarah, Renee, and Rebecca for the girls. Christopher, Matthew, Mark and Sean for boys. Christopher, Sarah, and Matthew are my kids' names.
Boys: Gabriel, Dante, and James are favorites at the moment. Girls: Alexandra (Ally for short) and Dantea. I'm also in love with the name Nephele (pronoucned Nefaleigh) which I plan to use at some point in the future.
Wow. You explained the pronunciation of a name by using something even more unpronounceable. How do you pronounce Nefaleigh? I remember once asking @Lemex how to pronounce Lemex. He said it's pronounced "Le-mex" and that didn't help me at all! I still don't know which syllable the accent is on and I don't know whether he's using long or short E's. I just let the matter drop. To all who are trying to explain how to pronounce something: Spell it phonetically (fo-NET-ik-lee) or record a sample of your own voice pronouncing it and post that. Help a guy out, already!
I'm assuming it's neh-fah-lee (rather than neh-feel, which is what I would've assumed it was). She's probably comparing it to the name "Leigh", which is a variant of "Lee". I think Leigh is more common than Lee in the UK and as a girls' name. As for Lemex I'm guessing he simply meant that it's leh-mekks rather than lee-mekks, lemm-eks or limm-ekks. PS. I do agree with you that people should do a better job with the pronunciation spelling, however. Not that I'm probably do much of a better job at it myself (I was crap at learning the International Phonetic Alphabet in uni, but then again my opinion is that the IPA is in itself crap). Oh, and, if Cute Cat or Lemex want to chime in and prove my assumptions wrong, I'm all for it.
@minstrel, 'Leh-mekks' is right. 'l-eh' and then the second syllable starts with an m and then ex like ex-wife. Or, now that I think about it, mex as in Mexico.
