[OT] Naming a child Arwen

[Numion]

IMHO it's a bad idea. She'll probably live with it for the rest of her life, and it's just laughable how many people will name their children after LotR. Even here in finland we have a gandalf and such...

Did you name Afton after the swedish newspaper? (Aftonbladet, or what it is?)

 

[Zappo]

I say go for it. It's a beautiful name in sound, it has no bad connotations in general and a good connotation with LotR fans, it's not easy to mock and it's short and easily pronounced. I can't see a reason not to use it.

 

[Sixchan]

I say go for it. It's a beautiful name in sound, it has no bad connotations in general and a good connotation with LotR fans, it's not easy to mock and it's short and easily pronounced. I can't see a reason not to use it.

You could always call her Ixitxachitl. Let's see non D&D people (or even D&D people, too) pronounce that!

 

[tburdett]

I knew a family that named their daughter 'Free' because they were on 'welfare' when she was born and the entire process cost them nothing. They thought that it was extremely witty.

I feel incredibly sorry for children whose parents are unable to make an intelligence check when it comes time for a name to be chosen.

Why would anyone ever choose a name that might subject their child to unnecessary scorn or ridicule? That seems totally selfish and uncaring to me.

 

[ced1106]

I like it but I understand your question. My wife & I are expecting a girl in April (our first kid) and we both like the name Diana, but are afraid that too many "Lady Di" connotations will be drawn. Actually, we were both thinking mythology when we originally considered it (OK, I was thinking "Wonder Woman"...happy!? ). Now I think it would be like naming a boy "Elvis."

Diana's fine. You can say: "We named her after the mythological character, not the divorced celebrity" and leave it at that. Connotating that someone's only interested in the lives of celebrities ought to shut them up quick!


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[Utrecht]

Did you name Afton after the swedish newspaper? (Aftonbladet, or what it is?)

Actually no, I had no clue that there was a Swedish newspaper with the name - the process was pretty simple, we picked names out the various books and wrote down the names we liked. After my wife got done crossing all my names off we were left with Afton as a girl and Duncan as a boy.........

 

[Alomir]

I'm Piratecat's friend (of course he has friends - he's a very charming guy!) and Alomir's wife (using his account instead of creating my own). My actual name on my birth certificate is Arwen. I love my name. My parents aren't gamers or particularly into Fantasy stuff, but they did get the name from Tolkein. My experience of 33 years with the name has been that people who aren't really involved in the whole RPG/fantasy world (i.e. most people) just think it's a pretty name and ask if it's a family name or what nationality it is. People who recognize it as being from "The Lord of the Rings" think it's cool. To be honest I haven't noticed any difference in that since the movies have come out. The only thing is people who don't know the name are at least more likely to have heard of "The Lord of the Rings" than they were before.

As far as kids making fun of the name, kids will find things to tease each other about and the name Arwen doesn't lend itself to that any more than other names. As for your daughter herself not liking it, that's a risk with any name.

One potential negative that hasn't been mentioned is that for some reason people who don't recognize the name tend to assume I'm going to be male.

A positive thing is that I have an instant feeling of sisterhood when I encounter another woman named Arwen. I enjoy that.

I'd say if you'd like to name your daughter Arwen, just do it.

 

[Umbran]

I know of a couple young lads actualy named Boromir and Faramir. The parents and kids all catch some flack for it (though I think it's more the parents). Whether or not naming your kid Arwen will be an issue is probably dependant on what kind of people they eventually have to deal with.

 

[Buttercup]

I think when you are contemplating any name for an infant, you should consider how that name might sound on a grownup. If Arwen grows up to be a lawyer, will her name be a source of shame to her? Not that I think Arwen is a bad name, but kids sometimes grow up to be very different than what we imagine for them. I'm just counselling forethought.

My parents gave me a first name that I think sounds all buttons-and-bows. That was fine when I was a 9 year old, but becomes less fitting with each passing year. I don't hate it enough to change it, but I do wish they would have named me something less cute.

But you know, it could be worse. I went to high school with a girl named Candy Cane. Her parents were lucky she didn't grow up to be a stripper. Hmm. I haven't seen her or heard anything about her since graduation, so I can't swear that she didn't....

(edit: I can't fricking spell.)

 

[GravyFingerz]

My ex girlfriend, during our relationship, wanted to name our son Owen, because my name is Orion and she wanted to keep the whole 'O' thing going.

My only thought was "I'm 8 freaking teen, you're not getting a baby till we get married in 10 years!"