Names with negative connotations

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

This post brought to you by the recent obsession with the name Loki.

Does anyone actually read the mythology behind Loki? He is one nasty, evil god. Why would you want to name yout kid that? Even if you just view him as a necessary trickster/badguy in the lore, he still ends up chained to a rock with his son's entrails and venom dripping onto his face. He gets to stay like that until the end of the world, according to the mythology. What a lovely story to tell your kid about his name.

I, for one, could never give a child a name with a historically negative connotation. Juliet even bugs me because she does (spoiler!) kill herself at the end of the play, after all. Ophelia, same sort of issue. Damian, Lucifer, and related names are all awful in my opinion and should doom the parents to a hellion of a child. (Don't anyone get the idea that Hellion's a lovely name.) Same with Adolf.

If Lolita's okay (not that I think so) then why aren't people offering up Humbert as a boy's name? Humbert Humbert is a great literary figure, after all. And Bert is such a nice nickname.

So in conclusion:
1) What's your opinion on using names with negative backgrounds?
2) Any other good examples of names with bad history?

Comments

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

The "a rose by any other name" quote in full context is that Romeo is cursed by his name, since he is Juliet's family's sworn enemy. So Juliet wishes he could cast aside his name, since he would still be the same person without it, and then they would be able to be together.

So, I think it upholds my point, actually. Of course people with awful names aren't automatically awful people, but they certainly are cursed if they are sweet people with a name that makes everyone else think of evil.

[emmala.livejournal.com]

there is also a question of where you draw the line with negative names. i mean all those andrews and andrew jackson what such a bastard of a u.s. pres. my name emma, is a horrible person in austen's book, and a radical anarchist who the u.s. gov hated so much they decided to deport her but who is much beloved in the radical community. but those conotations sometimes tell me a lot about the person i'm dealing with because almost everbody says: emma like--jane austen or emma goldman or emma lazerus (who wrote the poem on the statue of liberty. usually from their responce to my name i can tell if we are going to get along. it's a nice test.

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

I think it comes down to what comes to mind first or what the overwhelming meaning is. There's only one origin for Loki, The Loki, with his surrounding negative mythology. Emma = A bajillion different characters and real people, none of which are "the" Emma.

[swiftheartlu.livejournal.com]

I'm perfectly aware of the full context, I used the quotation in seperation to denote a meaning that I didn't want to bandy round the bush with.




Just had this discussion with my housemates and one is going to call her kids cthulhu, lucifer, demonia and decandence.

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

Okay, the quote just didn't seem to support the rest of what you were saying.

[swiftheartlu.livejournal.com]

Well, imo, even with the full quotation it fits fairly well.
Romeo and Juliet overcame the name, and fell in love. Yeah, they had to kill themselves to be together but the plan was nearly in fruition when Romeo cocked it up.

I think as long as you know all the different ideologies, mythologies and other ologies behind a name, and you can either justify the name, or can overcome the context, then any name is suitable.

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

And here is where we agree to disagree. And agree that our kids would totally make fun of each other on the playground. :) It builds character, they can deal.

[swiftheartlu.livejournal.com]

Nah, my kid will be like David Bowies on the first day...

"Oh, so you're Xowie Bowie?"
"No, my name's Joe."


"Oh, so you're little Pestilence Fedaykin the Second?"
"No...my name's Pete."