Whee, Names

[nefait-rien.livejournal.com]

Hi, y'all.

I've been watching this community for some time now after being pointed this way by a friend, and finally decided that I'd just finally create an LJ of my own and post my own thoughts. While I'm not anywhere near baby-making myself, I've an obsession with names and so this community is absolutely fascinating to me.

My own name is very unusual: Jae Katherine E___. My middle name Katherine is inspired by my grandmother's name (Kathleen) and my mother's (Kathy). But my first name has a better story to it. Most of you probably see it as a feminism of Jay. But my parents arrived at it by taking the initials of my brother's name, Jeffrey Alan E___. He died two years before I was born, when he was nearly twelve, after a lifetime illness, and so my name became a way to remember him. Had I been a boy, my name would have been Jae Timothy, Timothy being what my brother had named his imaginary friend. In this case, while I adore my name and its unique spelling and story, I'm glad I was a girl--I think Jae definitely looks more feminine, though I'm maybe biased. ;) The one drawback to my name is that it is hard for people to spell: I get Jay, J, Jaye, even Jai, on a regular basis. People always expect me to be a boy when they just here the name. The worst, though, is that when people write or type it, and someone else reads it later--they tend to read it as Joe! I've ended up with that written on birthday cakes, and had lots of my teachers call me that when they see the roll. But it's something that I have grown up with my whole life, so I just correct them and go on--no big deal anymore.

I've discovered that I tend to fluctuate between liking modern-sounding names and rather old-fashioned ones, with some oddball names thrown in there. I also like honoring a family member with names if I can, although for me the sound of the name is probably more important, at least for now. I don't have a lot of them paired with middle names, though because those are very hard for me: I don't want to 'waste' a really good name as a middle name that my kid will never be called. ;)

GIRLS
Audrey. I like the name a lot, but I have a frumpy aunt named this, and I wouldn't name a kid after her. I can't quite shed the association, anyway.
Ava. I think this name is beautiful but it's far too popular now for me to name a kid that. Plus, I have a wild great-aunt Avanelle, usually called Ava, who is about my mother's age, and while I like her (in small doses), I wouldn't ever name my kid after her. ;)
Elza.
Felix. I know, I know. A traditionally boy's name being applied to a girl. But it's just always looked more feminine to me, and I love the sound of it, so I think it could be done.
Cailin.
Izzy. I love this nickname, but I don't like Izabelle or any variation thereof, the only long-form of it I know. I did see Izarith in a book once years ago, and while I like that a lot better, it falls kind of flat to me with the -th on the end. I've thought of Izari, but I'm open to suggestions.
Kathleen. After my grandmother.
Katrine. A variation of Katherine that would carry on the Kat- tradition of my family, while still sounding newer and fresher than being just another Katherine. I also like the variation Katrin.
Magdalen, called Maggie.
Mina.
Molly. I knew a very cute girl with this name, and the name's stuck with me ever since.
Severin.
Virginia. My grandmother's middle name, and the full name of one of my cousins, who only goes by Ginny (which I don't care for). Come to think of it, the cousin's not on my list of favorites, either. ;)

BOYS
Aleksy. A rarer spelling of Alexei, which I'm not so fond of the look of.
Amiens. I pronounce it AHM-ee-enn. A very minor character from Shakespeare's As You Like It. I just like the look of it for some reason--I don't know that I would actually name a child this, or that I even pronounce it right.
Amos.
Arizona Truman. A rare name that I have a first and middle name for. Unfortunately I don't care so much for either name independently, though I love saying them both together. And while I have nothing really against calling a child by two names together like that... It's a long name for a little kid.
Bram.
Bryce. Like the national park in Utah.
Cain. A name I like, but with too many bad associations to use it.
Carth.
Charlie. I hate Charles, love Charlie, but would be leery of giving a child a traditional nickname as an actual name.
Damien.
Daniel. As a middle name, a possibility.
Dashiell.
Davy. I don't like David but I love this name. I've actually heard it pronounced the traditional DAVE-ee and, once, DAV-vee, with a short a sound--I don't know which pronunciation I like better.
Dexter.
Dmitri.
Easton. A name I came up with on my own as a child, then realized it was an actual name. I love the name Aaron as a middle name, even though I don't like that name independently.
Ezekiel, called Zeke.
Fletcher.
Floyd. I have an inexplicable fondness for this admittedly old and dated name. I don't know that I could do it to a baby, though (or that my husband and family would let me!)
Gabriel. I don't like Gabe very much, though.
Gavin Gage. First and middle combination, yay!
Jack.
James. Never Jim.
Jaques. Pronounced 'JAKES,' like, well, Jake plural. ;) The name of two minor characters in As You Like It, where I first heard the name and fell in love with it.
Jasper.
Jeffrey Joe Bernard. A name I actually have a middle name for--two, in fact! Not a big fan of that practice, but I am not above being a hypocrite when it suits me, either. ;) Jeffrey is after my brother, Joe is my father Larry's middle name, and Bernard (pronounced, in my family, not like ber-NARD but as BERN-erd, very country ;)) is from my maternal grandfather. I would probably want to call him Joe Bernard in this case, as it just has a certain ring to it to me. Not exactly a terribly sophisticated name, but one I like and one with meaning behind it.
Josiah.
Judas. One of those names I love the sound of, but would never afflict a child with. It just has too strong a negative connotation.
Lassen. This is one of the rare names I love, but would probably use as a middle name. A national park in California, very beautiful.
Lucas. Not so fond of Luke, but I like the longer version.
Lucien. Maybe slightly more fond of this as a middle?
Milo. Probably not a name I would give a kid, but one I like all the same. I have Milo and Otis memories from when I was really young, and of course I can't forget Milo from Heroes these days. ;)
Rafe.
Robby. Hate Robert, love Robby. See Charlie.
Rusty. Yet another nickname I love as a full name.
Ryan. I like this, but it's another of those rare middle-name sort of names.
Shain.
Sylar. I admit, I really love Heroes. I love the character of Sylar. And I love his name, independently of him. Not sure I could do it to a kid, but all the same, the name goes on my list.
Theo. Not Theodore, though.
Thomas. I just don't like any of the nicknames that result from it.
Titus.
Tobias.
Trevor.
Turk. First heard from Snatch, my boyfriend's favorite movie.
Westley. From The Princess Bride, I admit it. I love that movie.
William Jeffrey. William being the first name my grandfather never used, Jeffrey again my brother's name. I'd probably call him Liam, though, for a shorter name that's not quite so... Will. ;)
Josh. I don't like Joshua at all, but I love this nickname from it.
Wyatt.
Wiley. I like the name, hate the coyote association.
Win. I like this nickname a lot, but I don't know of a longer form I do. I originally saw it as the name of the lead singer of the Arcade Fire, who I believe uses it as a nickname for Edwin. I could possibly use Winfred as a longer name, especially as that was my paternal grandfather's name, but as I never met him because of a long-standing family feud, I'm leery of it.

As you can gather, I'm a lot more fond of boy names than girl ones--too many girl names are too frilly for me.

Comments

[moonsparkletear.livejournal.com]

i have a second cousin named Aryzona Sting... his little sister is Tymber Rain... we call Aryzona "Aza" but we say both of his sister's name... so its Tymber Rain and Aza :)

[witchlingchilde.livejournal.com]

You have an incredibly fantastic taste in names, and your own name is lovely. Jae is such a pretty name for a girl, and I have never even considered it till now.

[silver05.livejournal.com]

I like that name Jae, and I especially like how you came by it. Very interesting. You seem pretty proud of it.

[mmmrorschach.livejournal.com]

Refer to my comment in the post above this one for my beef with your name.