(no subject)

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

How do you feel about naming kids as homages to characters in a story? Is it an all around bad idea, or a type of geeky chic?

I met a little girl today named Zelda after the Legend of Zelda game. Honestly this name didn't stick out too much from the rest of her class.

My mom said name your kid after a video game is awful, but naming her/him after a book character is fine (like "Arwen").



Related: Do you think Kairi would be a bad name do to video game association?

Comments

[lovebird.livejournal.com]

I have no idea who Kairi is, so I'm going to say no lol.

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Kairi is sort of an honorary Disney princess in the game Kingdom Hearts. She's not a bad character--in fact she's impeccable. I was just worried that the name will forever be tied to a video game, and whether that's acceptable. :S

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

...did the parents tell you it was after the video game?

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Yes, her father was there. The friend I was with at the time was trying to talk me into playing the game, and he struck up conversation with us about it.

Maybe Zelda is a bad example since I think its a name even without the video game?

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the name in question and the exact association. Is the character a good one or someone evil? Zelda is legit name, without the game, so it's not too weird. But naming your child Link or something? Weird. naming your child Renesmee? Awful. Josephine (like in Little Women)? Fine.

I've never heard of Kairi as a video game thing. I'd just assume it's a tragic spelling of Carrie.

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Omg, Renesmee. I would get a restraining order against someone who does that if they were my friend.

Kairi is pronounced like the name Kai (Kye) plus a "ree" sound.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

But at least he has a legit name to fall back on, if he hates being called Lincoln. I think Link is fine for a nickname.

[schexyschteve.livejournal.com]

being called Link*

[rosemere-rat.livejournal.com]

I first think of Zelda as in the videogame, then I think of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Im 'whatever' about it.

[thismakebelieve.livejournal.com]

If someone named their twins Mario and Luigi or something, I think that would be pushing it. But I think Zelda is a pretty normal name.

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Mario and Luigi would be just mean to the kids.

[velkoria.livejournal.com]

I actually don't tend to mind but then I am sort of a geeks myself... to me Zelda, Luke, Arwen, Carrie, etc they are all fine and well some names are okay in my book because they are from literature. Hell... Wendy wasn't a name until Peter Pan was published. I guess it just depends and I am all for legit names and tend to loath on made up names but if your name is Jules Verne and you made up a name... you're mother effing Jules Verne okay? (thought I can't say for certain if he did at the moment) now if you're just whoever then... you're basically whoever and it probably won't go down in history.

I think this train of thought comes from my career too... I can say 'that (insert whatever work of art here) sucks' and unless I can back it up with someone that has some weigh in the industry or something... if I can't back it up then I am talking out my arse.

[solitudete.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's any weirder than naming a child after a character in a book. "Zelda" is going to be a lot easier than "Legolas" or something. I've never played Kingdom Hearts so I don't know about the connotations of Kairi, but it sounds like a nice name.

[bandnerd88.livejournal.com]

I think it's fine, but then I love the name Zelda and I'm exactly the type of geeky person who *would* name their kid after a video game character.

I would immediately think of KH if I heard Kairi, but it's not a *bad* association.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

I would think of KH, but that's me. Also, I googled Kairi and got a few websites saying it's a Japanese name, so you could say that when asked. Don't worry about it, Kairi is a nice name; much better than Arwen, anyway.

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Oh good! :) I've got an excuse now.

I also think that in 10 years time the average person may not remember KH, and not make the association.

I'm more relaxed now about it thanks.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

Just remember that some baby name sites are notoriously stupid when it comes to names in other languages. I do think Kairi is believable as a Japanese name, though.

[mommaalli.livejournal.com]

It's not unlike naming a kid after a book. A lot of hard work and artistry goes into making video games, especially Japanese RPGs. I'm a huge Kingdom Hearts fan myself, and I think Kairi's a great name either way. It doesn't sound too "weird" and it's just plain pretty IMO. Video games are becoming such a big part of our culture, I don't think it would be unacceptable. And really, who cares? If you like the name, do it. Who cares what other people think. I'm naming my daughter after a Poe poem, and I could really care less what people think of it. (I LIKE KAIRI!)

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

I love you for this. I came for honest opinion but boy do I love it when that opinion is one I wanted to hear! lol :)

I think Kairi is lovely, though I would give a western middle name just in case. I was thinking Kairi Ellen Cadence (Ellen is my mom's middle name, and its tradition to give 2 middle names).

[sarahness.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the use of names from characters, so long as they are legitimate names.

[janenx01.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the name. If it's a nice name, I'd do it. Of course my daughter Siobhan is named after an RPG character that I played for years in Ultima Online. I'd probably draw the line at naming a kid Diablo, though.

Siobhan wants to name her daughter Eowyn, so the geek naming tradition will continue. (Unless she changes her mind, she is only eight.)

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Oh my RPG characters are a whole other can of worms haha. I love the name Siobhan and Eowyn! Nice to see the next gen of naming enthusiasts.

[renishas.livejournal.com]

Seeing as Diablo mean devil in Spanish I think that's mean.

[janenx01.livejournal.com]

What is mean? Naming a kid Diablo or me not thinking it's a good idea? :)

[renishas.livejournal.com]

Naming a kid Diablo. Talk about asking for trouble.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

Years of therapy bills...

[starskye.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the name in question and the situation. If the name in question is a legit name, then sure, go for it. Zelda, Mario, and Luigi for example, are all legit names. Would it be a little strange to name brothers Mario and Luigi? I think so, yes. I think that brothers named Mario and Luigi would have everyone saying "Like the video game?", but Mario or Luigi on their own? I'll bet no one would really notice. Same with Zelda. That's why it all depends.

I don't think there's anything wrong with using any name for any reason, as long as the name is legit, and as long as it won't cause too much of a stir (as would naming brothers Mario and Luigi, or like, naming your kid playstation.)
people find name inspiration everywhere. It's only natural that one would read a book, watch a movie, play a game, and feel drawn to a person/character and start to like that name.
Kairi sounds cute. I've never heard of the video game it comes from. I don't play video games. But I suppose it's no different than my good friend being named Carrie after her parents watched the movie.

[lethe-cat.livejournal.com]

Yeah I guess I should have had better context for question. It totally depends on the kind of name instead of where the name comes from.

[starskye.livejournal.com]

I think the name you like is fine :) go for it.

[wolfbane.livejournal.com]

I like both Zelda and Kairi. A guy used to come into the record store I work at with his son, Aragorn. I think certain names are really WTF, because this poor kid has no chance of anyone not knowing this name is from Lord of the Rings. I once asked the guy what Aragorn's middle name is, and it's Legolas. Not even kidding. The kid had such a normal sounding last name too. When paired with Aragorn it just sounded hilarious.

I don't think the names you mentioned are that out there.

[blueberryeyes17.livejournal.com]

Aragorn Legolas is a REALLY ridiculous name.

My name is from Lord of the Rings as well, and after the movies came out a lot more people started making the connection even though it is still pretty obscure - not a main character or anything. My mom named her cat Aragorn, thankfully I didn't have a brother haha.

[stormqueen280.livejournal.com]

I think that if you're going to name your kid after a LotR character (or any other character), you should pair it with a 'normal' name. After all, who knows if your kid will even like LotR. Aragorn Legolas is too much.

[frost.livejournal.com]

Depends on the name. If the name is legit, most people probably won't automatically assume it's after a game/book character.

Kairi probably won't be immediately associated with a video game, but with this spelling, I would automatically assume she's Japanese. With the Kyrie spelling (or if the child isn't Japanese), it's usually people trying to make/use a variation of Kylie.

[blueberryeyes17.livejournal.com]

I'm named after a place in a book, so I'm all for unique names from literature/video games/whatever. It depends on the name, though, because I'm sure it could easily get too bizarre if you take a name out of context and give it to a child.

[mossmade.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the name.
Not being a gamer, Zelda always reminds me of Zelda Fitzgerald. (I'm showing my age, aren't I?)
My best friend named his daughter based on names of two heroines in a fantasy novel.

[harvestlunacorn.livejournal.com]

Getting names from anywhere is fine. I don't think there's a difference between liking a name from a book, tv show, actor, game, some guy on the street. Especially if it's an actual name, you know?

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

I'm actually kind of a fan of naming after fictional folk, I think it's much classier and safer than naming after, say, a movie star or sports figure. After all, your favorite fictional person is never going to get arrested for kiddie porn or otherwise surprise you with reasons to wish you'd picked another name. There are fictional characters who have meant as much to me as any "real" friend, even changed my life. I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to honor them, as long as the name also stands on its own merits.

For instance, although Harry Potter and Harry Dresden have meant a lot to me, I'm not wild about the name Harry, so I won't be using that one. I also loved Mary Stewart's Merlin books, to the point that when I was in high school I thought I would love to name a son Merlin, but now that i'm older I feel that would not be doing the boy a favor. However, I still have some Star Wars names--Luke, Callista, and Mara--on my list, because I like the names as well as the characters.

I'm not a video game fan myself, so that seems a little odd to me, but if the video game & character are important to you and have meaning in your life, (and the name is a decent, non-crazy name), I'd say go for it. (I'm not familiar with the character Kairi. As a name it's a little crazy for my style, but not awful.)

[forthemorrow.livejournal.com]

Like kaori? From SSX. That is my association. She was always my favourite character. And that is no worse than naming a child after a character on tv. My mum named me Samantha after bewitched so it is just an era thing, I think. : )

[chesterismyhero.livejournal.com]

I just joined this community, so pardon the lateness of my response...

My 1 year old daughter's name is Aerith. Yes, I took the name from Final Fantasy 7.

Most people I know don't know where I pulled the name from and they love it.