My [strange?] baby name loves

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough for someone who's not even sure if she wants kids (typical bleeding heart - I see myself more likely adopting), I've already got names picked out :)

Lastly, I have pretty strong synesthesia, incase any of my descriptions perplex you :)

Enjoy :D


Girls' names:

Olivia - My favorite, hands down.  It's (not surprisingly) olive green, but with white, ivory and some gold, too.   I picture a tall, statuesque Mediterranean woman, perhaps even with branch-arms, like an Erte painting.

Naomi - desert-like, strong, brunette, motherly are terms that come to mind.  deep, burnt orange, and midnight blue.  twilight.   Makes a great middle name for Olivia, too.

Klea - lavender/pink.  sounds a little new-agey, I know, but I fell in love with it when I learned that it was a common name for Priestesses of Isis.  Hurrah!  Very feminine - powdery floral scents, soft gold curls, long lashes, ivory, marble, sandals, summer mornings.  Also a good middle for Olivia.

Also, nice:  Soleil, Isadora (if only because it means 'love of Isis'), Rachel (sadly over-used, but still gorgeous), Chloe, Noelle


Boys' Names:

Ethan:  Oddly enough, it was actor Embry, not Hawke, who first brought this to my attention.  Brick red, forest green, boyish, playful, honest, loyal, later summer afternoons, amusement parks.  ahhh.

Nathanial/Nate: quite possibly induced by my obsession with Six Feet Under.  Don't like Nathan, because it makes me think of vile, white-trashy hot dogs.  Orange, midnight blue, mature, stone, granite, sand, beach at night, birds, feathers.

Ephram/Efram:  seems to be popular with the indie crowd, it's a great name.  deep reds, indigo, black.  musical, thoughtful, introspective, glossy, onyx, sun parting through dark clouds, and soft cotton.  yeah...

Erik:  brownie points if you can guess where this name & spelling come from (hint: if you couldn't already tell, I'm a geek).  similar imagery to Efram, but with sharp whites and blue-toned reds;  masculine but still sensitive, and nature-oriented, long haired, and willowy.

Also nice:  Nicolas (destroyed by Santa?),  Leo, Joel (love those deep greens and browns)


Love?  Hate?  
What do you think?



- Renee

Comments

[widgetchick.livejournal.com]

I love all those names! I like Ethan but I wouldn't ever use it. I don't know why. But I love Nathanial.

I don't think that Nicolas has been destroyed by Santa. :) I've known a few of them and never once cross referenced the two.

Would it be COMPLETELY inappropriate for me to ask what comes to your mind when you see Alexander Phillip? As a psychology major I was always fascinated by synesthesia, especially when it came to names. And more over, those names of people I know. My son's name is Xander, so I was just wondering. :P If it's not appropriate then don't mind me. :) But I think the names that you like are lovely. :)

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

No, I don't mind at all! There's a cool fusion of pinkish-reds, grays, and turquoise, and kind of that....how do I explain this...the crisp, kind of striated texture of celery...I know that's strange.
I also picture tall, fair-skinned, artistic, and musical for some reason.

Anyway, thanks - glad you loved the names :D

[widgetchick.livejournal.com]

That's so interesting. :) Thanks!!

[lneef.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I think of scents as colors.

I mostly like your taste very much. Olivia is getting way too popular for me to like it. My favorite on your girls' list is Klea, but I'd go with Clea, also a legitimate spelling. I am CRAZY about Rachel.

Erik with a k says Phantom of the Opera to me. I'm quite into Joel.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

Have some brownie points! It's definately Phantom :D

And my love of "Joel," actually came from the character in the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - check it out if you haven't :)

[lneef.livejournal.com]

Joel makes me think of Billy Joel. Which isn't a bad thing. I personally prefer Joseph to Joel but Joel's pretty great too.

Can I ask you your impression of my daughter's name? It's Catherine Juliet.

I've never seen names or words as colors, but I tend toward synesthsia as far as scents and music go.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'm actually really flattered - I was so expecting "oh, what a crock; stop trying to sound artsy," haha, which has been said to me before.

Ok, Catherine Juliet is deep, bright, Aztec golds, with forest and pine green; ivy, moss, long dark hair, creamy skin, late nights, warm and breezy, clear and starry, metallic.

Very pretty name, too, by the way.

[lneef.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

The only images I get for names are associations. Not as interesting.

But whenever I order samples from the Body Perfumery and write about them, my #1 best way to describe a scent is by color. Of course, that doesn't help anyone else to know what it's like, but it helps me remember.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

cool!

aww, little Catherine is adorable :)

[satunian.livejournal.com]

I totally get what you mean by Synesthesia, I get it with a lot of things!

Ever taste a name before?

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

It's not common, but it's happened, usually when a name with red letters, such as E and S are peppery. Blues, like H, W, U, and M, are watery, and sweet like melon.

[the-good-ship.livejournal.com]

Love Naomi and Nathani(e/a)l. Also, love your name.

bananas...in the toilet?

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you notice, Naomi and Nate have very similar imagery, too! Great for twins, lol.

And, thank you! You know, in 1983, everyone thought my mom was nuts - especially since it was influenced by Art Nouveau - MALE - glass artist, Rene Lalique.

Today - it's quite common. Go figure :)

Re: bananas...in the toilet?

[the-good-ship.livejournal.com]

Naomi and Nate would be a good sibset!

I like Rene as a male name, but I think I like just a bit better as a female name.

Oh, and the bananas in the toilet...it was a brand new toilet that hadn't been plumbed in (is that the expression used, I wonder?) yet, and it was just sitting there in the kitchen asking to be messed about with. I have many random pics on my computer featuring this toilet now.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

If you're worried that Rachel's too overused, I would definitely stay away from Ethan.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

I know... I was thinking of that, too.

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Rachel is really nice, though, and I don't think it's as popular nowadays as it once was.

I have synaesthesia as well, so all names have colours/shades/textures, and some of them have tastes.

[glitterberrys.livejournal.com]

I saw names in colors for the longest time. It's fading as I age, though, which makes me sad.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

oohhhh, I hope that doesn't happen with me :(

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

Thanks. and good points about Klea.

[christhiane.livejournal.com]

I used to have a first and middle name ending in the same letter and it still worked wonderfully well together (even if I despised the first name).

[christhiane.livejournal.com]

I canged my name because mum put my 'middle' name first, and it became a thorn in my side.

Klea Olivia doesn't flow too well, no. Perhaps because of what you said.

[febrile-lune.livejournal.com]

LOL!
I love this, I laughed through the whole thing... not AT you. But because I also have synesthesia and this makes such acute sense to me, it's unreal. I usually try to see things like this from a perspective of those who do not have any relation to synesthesia and end up laughing because of how it must sound, but this time I'm just thrilled to read someone else's descriptions based on such a thing.

I love Naomi and I also think of deep burnt orange. I also LOVE olivia but I associate it SO much with the colour (same as yours, or similar) that I wouldn't want to name my child this. Not that anything is wrong with it, but I am wary to name children strictly after colours... maybe.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

Wow, I love that so many more people have this than I originally thought!

And I know what you mean about Olivia - I was hesitant to describe it only because I figured someone would call me out on using associations and calling it "synesthesia."

But sometimes, it's hard when some associations are so ingrained.

[holysheep.livejournal.com]

I adore Nathaniel, but loathe the nn Nate. It seems so... hip/immature. I like older, more traditional names. I also really like Clea -- spelled that way only -- as a middle name.

[christhiane.livejournal.com]

Olivia is muchly over-used these days, too. I imagine a green bird who was very social before she got a mate. I personally call the bird January - anything but Olivia.

I like Naomi.

I prefer the spelling Nathaniel, but that might be because in my native language Nathaniel and Nathanial are pronounced differently.

I think Nicolas works well because people just call him Santa.

I'd say Erik is Scandinavian. The spelling is the one used in Scandinavia, anyway.

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

yes it is Scandinavian, and it's also a reference to the title character in the Phantom of the Opera :)

and...come to think of it, I think I spelled Nathaniel wrong. I meant to put "e," instead of "a." Thank you for pointing it out :)

[kohlminer.livejournal.com]

ahh, is that the correct spelling? Ooops :(

[mystickiwi.livejournal.com]

I don't have synesthesia, but I've always associated names with colors, like I feel that they have certain colors that they should be written in.

That said I like all your names except Ephram, which I've really just never cared for

[bobinwales.livejournal.com]

Olivia - I'm not a huge fan of. I don't like the way it looks!
Naomi - Not one I'd use, but I still like it. It does sound good with Olivia
Klea - Suprisingly I really like it!
Soleil - Not my style, don't really like!
Isadora - I quite like it actually!
Rachel - Love it with an 'a', but like it anyway!
Chloe - Quite like
Noelle - Too christmassy!

Ethan - Like
Nathanial/Nate - LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Ephram/Efram - Don't like at all! Sorry!
Erik - Phantom of the Opera has made me love this name!
Nicolas - Like a lot
Leo - Quite like, but too nicknamey
Joel - LOVE!

[lolzabeth.livejournal.com]

I like Olivia but it's SO popular over here in the UK. In the top 100 names of 2006 it was number 1!
I LOVE Soleil but I could never use it. It's just a bit too out there. I would be scared my kid would get picked on sadly :(
Isadora reminds me of a kids tv show over here called Wizadora. Everytime I hear the name I get the theme tune stuck in my head...there is goes again...
The rest I don't dislike but I don't particularly like either.

I love Leo. My son was going to be Leo but there was already a baby Leo in the family so he is Theo as it was the only other name me and my so could agree on!
Nathanial and Joel have bad connotations for me from school.
Nicholas is out for me as my last name is Nicolson.
I love Erik and Phantom! OMG, I love Phantom. I get goosebumps everytime I hear a Phantom song!

I did psychology at university and there was a bit about synesthesia. It really interested me and being artistic and musical I always kind of wished I could see things the way you do (not you personally but in general, if you know what I mean?!)

I know people have already asked and I really don't want to bug you about it but could you tell me what you see for Theo William Alexandar? I would love to use it a craft project I'm starting for my son. Please ignore me if you'd rather not.

[mountain-nest.livejournal.com]

Ahh, so there is a name for that, and other people have it too? I always thought there was a reason I mentally assigned colors to specific numbers. Hehe :]

I love Naomi, Klea (very cool!), Ephraim with an i in it, and Joel. I loooove Billy Joel :]