For the fun of it...

[justascream.livejournal.com]

Howdy. I've been reading entries on this community for the last hour and having a grand ol' time, and as names and their meanings and connotations delight me a great deal, I figured I'd jump in.

My own name is Katheryn Nicole. I've known only one person in all my life who spelled my first name properly on the first try, and it turned out it was because her niece's name was spelled the same way. I spent my childhood as Katie, even though I loathed it and tried constantly to get people to call me some other variation of my names, or something else altogether. I gave up eventually, but when I moved states and ended up in a new high school with a population bigger than my old home town, I discovered there were at least two other Katies in each and every one of my classes. So when asked to introduce myself, I said "Kate", which was slightly less popular there. Thankfully, it stuck. I like being Kate; it suits my identity. As to my middle name, I rarely ever use it because I happen to know several Nicoles and I don't like it much anyway.

I've had only one nickname unrelated to my given name that stuck: Scream. Don't laugh! Okay, laugh, but quietly! It was given to me by a friend when I was six years old, after I deliberately (though it took a couple tries) shattered glass by screaming. I can no longer perform that feat, and my friend passed away some years ago, but the name has stuck with many of my friends thereafter, even if I do tell them they can call me Kate. On average, I enjoy my nickname. It isn't very common, after all! There are two problems with having the nickname Scream. 1) Often, when people around me use the word "scream" in conversation, I automatically respond with "what?" before I realize they weren't talking to me; and 2) It has become (slightly) annoyingly frequent for one friend to shout "SCREAM!" at me and another to respond by doing so, as if it were a command. They think this is funny, and sometimes I do too, but it can be a bit embarrassing other times.

Incidentally, the friend who gave me that nickname had a unique one herself. Granted, it was given to her by a druggie mother who was quite high at the time, but yes. Born on the 4th of July, she got the name Indypendence Cornflower. I mean, really, wow! We always just called her Indy, which she liked anyway.

I'm currently physically incapable of having children due to damage. I've been assured a few times that if I ever decide I want to, I can have procedures done that will make it possible again. I'm not a fan of much medical invasion though, so I don't think that'll happen. I've had friends who were trapped in the foster system for a long time, though, and having witnessed that misfortune, I know I'd love to adopt. Probably older children, as they tend to have a harder time finding homes. This makes naming them harder, but I can dream! Either way, I have never been completely fixated on a potential name for potential children...

I have a strong interest in "dead" or "endangered" languages, and in etymology - the study of the origins/histories of words. I also am an artist and writer, so I tend to collect names and interesting words for potential use. I like names that were intended for naming, of course, but I also like grabbing up unexpected nouns, verbs, adjectives, and sometimes adverbs, to turn into names. This is assisted by the fact that I own 70+ foreign language dictionaries, my favorites among them Old English, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Old Norse, and Swahili.

Under the cut...


Alphabette Zoope name lists - a fun collection someone had the grace to share on the 'net. Male and female names organized by first letter, labeled with ethnic or national origin, and meanings. Rather extensive! (Hasn't been updated since 1999.)

NAMES I'VE GIVEN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS
Name | Character Gender
Aithne (f)
Angelcita [Angie for short] (f)
Bravyck (m)
Cade (f)
Cannon (m)
Cherry (f)
Cinnamon (f)
Colin (m)
Conzada (f) -- this one is a variation off one of my baby sister's multiple middle names
Delilah (f)
Dicey (f)
Dreor [Dre for short, created loooong before the rise of "Dr. Dre"; it's an abbrevation of an Old English word, the meaning of which I'll refrain from sharing for now] (f)
Egypt (m)
Gabrele (m)
Gooseberry [aka Goose; this one was chosen due to a requirement of a "fruit" name]
Jidara (f)
Karma (f)
Keltry (f)
Kukui [another fruit that's aka candlenut] (f)
Lilac (f)
Lore Lark (f)
Mint [aka Minty] (f)
Pandora (f)
Paprika (f)
Quake (m)
Rue (m)
Saffron (f)
Sway (f)
Trice (f)


RANDOM NAMES
Some of these I made up, some I obviously didn't, most are relatively androgynous.
Kete
Shale
Lash
Blaine
Dru
Briar
Copper
Tanner
Hustle
Risk
Vex
Adan
Arc
Thistle
Fedora
Fable
Dodger
Talalai
Bryne
Aefre
Maicin
Sollúnta - this one is Irish Gaelic for "solemn" but I really just like the sound

NAMES FROM WEAPONRY
A friend asked for names that came from weapons once, and I collected these...
Dart
Javelin
Mace
Sabre
Arbalest
Ballista
Beretta
Katar
Kunai
Scythe
Scimitar
Whip
Lariat
Jitte
Baelin

NAMES OF PETS
When I was young, my parents had two cats my father and grandfather had rescued as kittens along with their mother and the rest of the litter (who were turned over to animal control) from a building as it was being demolished. The female's name was Chitty, for the sound she made when she was excited, and the male's name was Beauford (pronounced quickly byoo-ford).

I, at one point, raised blue heeler dogs and barn cats. For the cats I kept, I developed a naming tradition that started with a cat who, frankly, earned the name.

Cats kept...
Troubles - the first of the tradition, oldest and still with me, my darling
Mischief (aka Missy)
Catastrophe (aka Kissy, for a behavior she developed of "kissing" people)

Other cat names yet to be used...
Bane
Calamity
Disaster (aka Dizzy - I admit I borrowed this from a friend who'd had a cat by the name)
Discord (would be aka Cordie)
Fiasco
Havoc
Hazard (possibly aka Duke, haha)
Malady (would be aka Lady)
Sabotage (would be aka Sabby)
Vandal

Dogs
I have, in my life, only had two dogs that I can remember (there was another when I was a baby). The first was our precious blue heeler Lucy, named in taunting humor after my father's pet name for my mother used when trying to call her attention, which in turn was garnered from I Love Lucy. Later on we also picked up a mutt, who we had some trouble naming. First his name was Dog. Then it was Birdy - he chased birds. Then, when he was about eight months old, in a fit of frustration with his tendency to wreck things no matter how much he was scolded, my mother dubbed him Elroy. Elroy being the name of her uncle, whom she felt also continuously wrecked things despite being admonished, and who, well, seemed to share the random stupidity that the dog did. Elroy the dog has since grown up and proven to be an extremely well-behaved pet with none of the previous issues, but the name won't change.


Lovely community, great fun, enjoying it!