babynames | (no subject)

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GAIUS

1. Does having "gai" in it make it unusable, even though it's not prounounced like Gaylord or Galen?

2. Will it surge in popularity because of Battlestar Galactica, even though the character is so unsavory? Will anyone care or know that it was also Julius Caesar's first name?

3. In terms of its Latin origin, this is really the same name as Caius. Which do you like?

4. WDYT of the name?

My opinion: I love the sound and the idea of this name, but I don't think I'd be able to shake how pretentious it seems.

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That is a Roman character in one of my favorite books, The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley and I love it.

I remember that author :) I don't think I've read that book though.

i actually like the 'other' version; Caius. though both sound nice in my head. :) some people will inevitably pronounce it wrong, though... so in the end, it's really your call. :) obviously!

Thanks!
Not really planning on using it myself, but it *might* be growing on me.

Heck, if you don't, I may just have to add it to my teeny weeny pile of boy names! (My stack of girl names is doing fine, any son I have may wind up with a girl name if I'm not careful! XD)

I like Caius better. Mostly because if he chooses to shorten it later it can be Cai instead of Gai.

And as for the Gaius Caius thing, does this mean that even the Romans were Eweneek er singularis?

LOL! :)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that there were some letters that were interchangeable in Latin. So, Julius would also be spelled Iulius, and so on, and U's and V's were interchangeable. In inscriptions we normally see V instead of U and I instead of J. (also because I's and V's are easier to etch into stone? ;) )

I think that Caius was the more ancient spelling, and then Caius and Gaius co-existed... we find the same person's name spelled both ways in different places.

But yeah, even the Romans were Eweneek sometimes! I remember reading in some book that there was a new fad for a while to use "o" instead of "au" - so someone named Claudius would become Clodius. Weird!

You might find this interesting. There really was a guy named Claudius, but for political reasons changed it to Clodius. I don't know if you were reading something on this guy, but it's good to know:

Publius Claudius Pulcher chose to renounce his patrician rank. After gaining the consent of the Roman Senate, and with the connivance of Caesar, he succeeded in being adopted into the plebeian branch of his gens by P. Fonteius in 59 BC, thus becoming Publius Clodius Pulcher. On December 10, 59 BC, he was elected Tribune of the Plebs, an office for which patricians were ineligible.

Yeah, I think this is the guy who started the "fad"! Cool. Changing the spelling of his name to be in with the common folk! :)

Good point!

I don't like Gaius at all. It sounds like "gross" to me. There is a baby Caius Joseph in our church who is adorable. The family IS a bit pretentious though, because they're both so beautiful and uber-talented and the mom is the pastor's daughter. They have a lot going for (or against) them... lol.

You're funny :)
It IS pretentious, I agree. But about the "gross" thing - I think our accents are totally different ;)

LOL. I feel funny today. My morning blog is about a random guy in Starbuck's.

I wouldn't say it rhymes with gross, but it stars and ends in the same letters, so I think of it.

I'm ROSE, though, and I always think people are saying my name when they're saying "gross" even those the -se in Rose is more like a z... maybe I have bad ears. :S

I normally hate pretentious sounding names but Caius is a great name. Plus, Cai is a good, unpretentious sounding nickname.

Gaius is too wrapped up with BSG in my head. Plus it sounds too much like Gaia, the feminine version, which I really do not like.

I agree that Caius seems more "user-friendly" :)

Yup, BSG is the reason why I even remembered this name. I really wonder if there'll be thousands of baby Gaiuses running around in the next few years!

I knew it was Cesaer's first name but only because I'm a history major currently taking a Classical Culture class. Personally I prefer Caius because I think it looks better. I'm not a fan of G names though in general especially for boys.

Thanks!

I think I'm starting to like Caius better too.

i love it, i really do! and you can have 'Gai' pronounced 'Guy' as a nickname.

i think the only negative connotation to it is Gaius Longinus, the man who speared Christ's side at the crucifixion. i'm not christian, so it doesn't bother me, but. if you are, it might. don't know how the feeling is on that figure, i know he was cursed for it or something.

Oh yeah! I forgot about that guy.

Who cursed him? Because that's silly...he was just fulfilling a prophecy.

i donno. Yahweh, maybe?

i'll be honest, most of my knowledge of the Christian stories comes from World of Darkness/White Wolf tabletop RPGs, and Yahweh gets a little curse happy, in those books.

Hehe...that's not the God I worship, but to each his own. :)

ditto, :)

I didn't even think of Longinus and that wouldn't bother me - it's an otherwise VERY popular Roman name and I really don't think many people would make the connection!

True - "Guy" is a fun nn. Thanks!

It feels too pretentious to me, but I don't think it's unusable. Just not my taste.

I think the "gai" (even not pronounced like gay) combined with the pretension factor makes me unlikely to use it. I don't watch Battlestar Galactica, so I would never make that connection if people didn't point it out. Depending on the character, it could go either way - make it more commonplace or make people say, "Oh, like on that TV show?"

I hope most adults and young adults would know how to pronounce it, but I have bad visions of a kindergarten class looking at the spelling of his name and mangling it.

... or saying "Gay-us" on purpose to be mean.

I prefer Caius. I just don't really like the sound G makes very much. Caius just sounds nicer to me. Otherwise, I think Gaius a nice name. I don't think it's pretentious, personally. And I don't see Gai as being a problem. If someone chooses to tease a kid based on that, they're pretty lame, lol. That's just weak. And last, I know nothing about Battlestar Galactica.

Thanks!

(and, to do a bit of promotion: Battlestar Galactica is the only TV show I watch, and let me tell you, it's pretty darn good ;) )

Would you pronounce it as Gay-us or Gie-us ? For some reason, I think of Gaius as "gay-us" and Caius and "ky-us" sort of. I like Caius better, because I don't like the heavy guttoral sound of G.

I do think Gai will get teased. Where I am, kids use the word "gay" a lot.

Gaius and Caius are pronounced the same way (besides the first letter of course!). But I can see how some people might say "Gay-us." Especially kids, on purpose!

I think I say Gay-us because that's how my ancient history teacher pronounced it, in highschool.

I don't know why people would be okay with naming their son Gaius but not Adolf. I watch BSG too and when I heard the name I first thought Caesar = he must be a bad guy. The man was ruthless.

I think most people wouldn't automatically associate Gaius with Caesar - he's normally known as just "Julius Caesar" so his first name is not as recognizable.

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