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

[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.