Name meanings, the importance of.

[the-good-ship.livejournal.com]

1. How important is the meaning of a name to you?

2. If you really loved a name, but it had a meaning you didn't like, would you not consider using it anymore?

3. Do you love any names just because of their meanings?

4. Would it bother you/stop you from using a name, if according to naming sites, a name you loved didn't have a meaning?


ETA: Thanks to everyone who replied. I find the range of opinions very interesting!

Comments

[sarahrose.livejournal.com]

1. Not very, especially compared to other things like spelling, flow, sound, etc.

2. No, I wouldn't let it dissuade me.

3. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but yes.

4. Nah.

[kilobites.livejournal.com]

1. It's not super important, but if it has a nice meaning, I like it all the more.
2. It depends on how bad the meaning was.
3. I really like Felix partially for how it sounds, but a lot for what it means "prosperous and happy"
4. No.

[idrinkacidrain.livejournal.com]

1. Kind of important.

2. Probably not. Claudia, anyone?

3. Regarding some names with obvious meanings, like Luna or Leo, I like them for other reasons but the meaning doesn't hurt.
... Does that make sense? I'm a little addled today.

4. Do you mean the name is a) illegitimate, or b) the meaning is not known for certain (e.g. Mary, Katharine)?
a) I like legit names so this would probably not happen
b) I wouldn't mind in this case.

[chirpygirly.livejournal.com]

1. Very.

2. Yeah even if I loved a name, the meaning plays a part. I'm not going to name my child something that has a bad meaning, or one that just doesn't fit. For instance, I wouldn't name a dark haired baby boy Russell, which means red.

3. Yes.

4. No.

I think you could add a no 5 question, "Would the popularity of a name bother you?" I would answer yes. Popular/trendy names deter me.

[idrinkacidrain.livejournal.com]

5. IATWC, completely.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

1. It's probably last or close to it. I'm more concerned with spelling, the flow of a name and historical connotations before meaning.
2. Not really. If I was ambivalent on a name, the meaning *might* sway me.
3. I actually haven't checked the meaning behind too many of my favorite names. I just don't care.
5. Yes, because I'd think that name was made-up. I'm not a fan of those sorts of names.

[rowan-belle.livejournal.com]

1. Not too important, but if it's nice it makes me like the name more.
2. No not completely. It might help me in making a decision if I liked two names equally though.
3. Nope.
4. No I don't really care too much if names do or don't have meanings.

[freezemyazaleas.livejournal.com]

1. Not important at all.
2. No I would still use it.
3. Not really, but I like Brendan and Sarah together as a sibset because they mean prince and princess, respectively. But I like the names anyway.
4. No.

[0o-faerie.livejournal.com]

1. How important is the meaning of a name to you?
A little. I like a name more if it has a nice meaning.

2. If you really loved a name, but it had a meaning you didn't like, would you not consider using it anymore?
No.

3. Do you love any names just because of their meanings?
Well, I love Selene (moon) and Liran (my song) mainly because of their meaning, but I also like their sound.

4. Would it bother you/stop you from using a name, if according to naming sites, a name you loved didn't have a meaning?
If I really loved a name, I don't think it would stop me from using it, but I would find it a pity.

[lilacmermaid.livejournal.com]

1. It's not the most important factor, by any means, but I absolutely take it into consideration after I've decided if I even like the name.

2. I think so. This is something I'm sort of struggling with now myself, because I recently learned that a name I've liked for a long time has a somewhat negative meaning. I remember being interested in names and what my own meant from a young age, and I would hate to have to explain to my child that I chose a name with a meaning like that. That being said, I wouldn't discount a name just because I didn't *love* the meaning. Only if it was overtly negative.

3. Not that I can think of. Or at least, none that I would probably use in real life. Meanings become much more significant to me in my writing, and that's probably where that would come into play.

4. I think it would. I've never really come up against that problem, because the names I like are pretty traditional. I generally don't love names that sound like they might be made up.

[indicinderelly.livejournal.com]

1. The only names I need right now are for stories, and meanings help immensly (sp?) with symbolism, foreshadowing, characteristics...It's very helpful knowing the meanings and kind of fun to see where they came from and such as well.

2. I've actually had this happen before, and I shifted it to a less prominent character, because I still *loved* the name.

3. Occasionally, I love the meanings more than the names, and it completely depends on the story and importance of the character if I use it anyway.

4. Nope. If it doesn't have a meaning listed I try to guess or decide if I love it enough to use it anyway.

edited for early morning spelling errors

[laminy.livejournal.com]

I really don't think that I give a crap about meanings. I don't know the meanings of the majority of the names that I like. And the ones that I do know the meanings of are like, Ruby and Violet. Duh. If I like the way the name looks and the way it sounds, the meaning will probably be the last thing I ever look at. I'd probably have the kid and name them before I found out what it meant.

[emtotherescuee.livejournal.com]

1. Very:]

2. Yes

3. Yes

4. Yes.


I'm really just a sucker for meanings.

[jerseygrits.livejournal.com]

1. How important is the meaning of a name to you?

Somewhat important. Usually, a name is initially interesting to me primarily because of its sound. But if the meaning is a positive one for me, I will like the name more.

2. If you really loved a name, but it had a meaning you didn't like, would you not consider using it anymore?

Yes, but it would depend on the specifics. For example, I'm an atheist, and any names with blatant religious meanings are pretty much out of the running for me.

3. Do you love any names just because of their meanings?

No.

4. Would it bother you/stop you from using a name, if according to naming sites, a name you loved didn't have a meaning?

It depends on what you mean by "not having a meaning." Can you give an example? If a name is just a combination of sounds smashed together to make a new name (e.g., Kaylyn), that's going to be unappealing to me. If the meaning is unknown or disputed, that's ok with me as long as I like the sound of the name and I have positive associations with it generally.

[thejoysofjess.livejournal.com]

1. Not at all.

2. I honestly probably would not even look up the meaning unless someone mentioned it to me. But then, it would not matter. I am all about sound and my personal associations with the name.

[nothingtolose19.livejournal.com]

1) The meaning of a name is not really important at all. I do like finding out the meanings of names that are important to me (ie, my own, my friends, family members, etc, and I do love when they have nice meanings) but if I really liked a name, and it had an unfavorable meaning, I wouldn't reject it because of that.

2) Guess I just answered that question, haha. If it was a name I really loved that had an unfavorable meaning, I would have to say no, I wouldn't reject it.

3) Not really. Sometimes the meanings make me like the name even more, but I have to like the sound, spelling, etc, of a name first before the meaning will make me like it. It could have the prettiest meaning in the world, but if it sounded kind of ugly (at least to my ear) then I wouldn't like it.

4) I might be a little upset, because as a kid, Julianne was never in the baby books that I had, and I didn't like that. I figured it meant the same thing as Julie, but I still wanted to see my name there. But no, it wouldn't stop me from using the name totally.