The character in the story I'm currently working on has Navajo blood, so his parents named him something that has ties to their ancestry. I searched books, online...blah, blah, blah.... and the only name that really stuck out was Queacut. The reason I liked this so much was because he would be in his twenties in this story, and as kind of a taunt my other MC would call him Cricket because it sounds like Queacut. Here's my question: Is Queacut too femi/too much of a mouth-full for a MC? Thanks in advance for your help
How do you pronounce it? It looks like Kwee-ah-kut, but I'm not sure. If you're going to use it, you should have someone mispronounce it quick so that you can explain how it's meant to be said. It's a bit of a mouthful, plus it starts with a "Q" wich is always a bit wierd. It- and this is going to be brutal, bear with me- it feels like a name which has been chosen simply because of its uniqueness. And that's like using the word "asseverated" when you mean "said." It's uniqueness for the sake of uniqueness. I don't know that much about Navajo, though. So, feel free to disregard.
Children are often exposed to cruelty over their name, and it doesn't really matter that much what the name is. It can be character-building, or the character can grow up with a major chip on his shoulder. I'd say stick with Queacut, and decide how he will deal with it.
i've lived among the dine [navajo] and never heard of that either as a first name, or family name... and it's not like any navajo name i've ever come across... in fact, 'QU' is not found in any of their traditional names, nor in any of their words... the 'q' sound would be spelled with a 'k' and 'qu' as 'kw'... where did you find it?... it sounds more like it's from one of the iroquois nations than any southwest tribe...
I just found out its actually a Ute name :redface:. Way to go me for not being thurough and checking my sources... Mia since you lived with them for a while, would you mind perhaps giving me some ideas?
it's a ute last name, though... not a first name... the thing is, most diné/navajo have been using english first names for generations, many took on english last names, as well... as you can see in this list of artists and craftsmen/women: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Native_American_artists you can click on the bios to learn tribal birth names of those who had them... one fairly common male first name is hosteen/hastin... common diné last names are: yazzie begay tsosie you can google those last names to find first names... another way to find tribal names is to google for tribal census rolls... hope this helps some... hugs, m
I'm not trying to be offensive or tasteless here, but the name 'begay' could be pretty hard to live up to...
not a problem for the diné, or other tribes who never had a problem with guys being gay... homosexuality was considered a natural aspect of life by the tribe... gays and lesbians were lovingly accepted and respected as prophets or healers, not seen as anything to be ashamed of...
Oh Maia, you are just full of surprises arent you? to answer the OP bluntly: no and less bluntly: it doesn't appear at all to be a fem name to me, says I, manly man among men...arr arr arr Names like Dana were once common male names before they became feminine names, go figure just whatever you do don't name your boy Sue
Yes, I'm sure; but I assumed from the OP's first post that the MC was not living in a traditional setting (otherwise, why would he be taunted with the nickname 'cricket'?)
