[OT] Naming a child Arwen

[Roscoe The Blade]

Arwen is a great name. Go for it.

I was picked on for years for being a computer nerd. I got over it. Those years in school were tough sometimes, but in hindsight, it was worth it. If she will be picked on, Arwen will also get over it. And once you're past that, you'll have a great name to enjoy for the rest of your lives. Don't focus on those few years. Go for the big picture.

 

[William Ronald]

Originally posted by Tarrasque Wrangler:
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No one ever got teased for being named Michael or Tom.
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Originally posted by mythago:

Wrong. Ditto John, William or Richard.

As one of the few people on the EN boards who uses his real name, I have to agree with mythago. I have known people named John compared to latrines and people named Richard referred to in a manner that would upset Eric's Grandmother.

Cruel people will find something to hate in others -- whether it is because of such factors as a name, race, ethnicity, religion or appearance. Having a common name or an uncommon one is no protection from the cruelty of others.

Teaching people to treat others with the respect that they would ask for themselves might help. Unfortunately, I have seen parents who encourage children to be cruel to each other.

 

[Moleculo]

The commonality thing is also something to think about. I can't tell you how many other moms I know who've wailed to me "But I thought Megan/Emma/Jacob was a unique name!"

.

When my mom gave me the name Jacob it was one of the least common names on the market, now it seems like every lil kid i encounter sports my first name. At least my last names some what strange.

Also, anyone ever met an elric? That is a really cool first name i think. (edit: someone literally 2 posts above me just said they knew a kid named elric)

 

[dcas]

Listen, I have a slightly odd name (Max), not even that bizarre, and you wouldn't believe some of the insults I got. Kids are cruel. Don't give your kids' bullies any more ammunition than they already have. No one ever got teased for being named Michael or Tom. Just MHO. [/B]

My wife likes the name Max, and we briefly considered naming our son Maximilian. Then I informed her that one of my D&D characters was named Maximilian, and I think the thought of naming her son after a game character left a bad taste in her mouth. . . .

We wound up naming him Leo, which fits him perfectly (he has reddish-blond hair and when he was still eating baby food he ate a lot of carrots, which turned his skin yellow ). Unfortunately, a lot of people mistake it for "Liam" (which seems to be a fairly popular name these days, especially among Irish-Americans) or think it's short for "Leonardo" or something else like that.

 

[WizarDru]

Actually, the most damaging part of my name is the last name. I can't wait to get married so I can change it.

Worked for my wife.

Arwen's a fairly pretty name, and could reasonably be assignated to another source than just LoTR, if you wanted. And in a world where I have encountered a law firm named "Fitzpatrick, Lentz and BUBBA", and a medical practictioner named "Dr. WACKY", I think a girl with a name like Arwen is just fine.

And my little ones are Molly Catherine and Sean Harrison, in case you're curious. (and when they run around the room brandishing sword and shield, yelling "Daddy! The GOBLINS are COMING! We gotta hurry!"....well, how can a father NOT be proud?)

 

[Utrecht]

Re: Re: [OT] Naming a child Arwen

Given the names of the first two children, if the third is named Arwen she's probably going to have less trouble than them...

Are those first two names made up? Or do they come from some particular ethnic group I'm not aware of?

Arwen is a beautiful sounding name that acually -seems- to follow the pattern of the names that come out of the anglo-celtic-irish region of the world.

As Kajamba Lion indicated both are Gaelic in origin - and are actual names - just not common. That being said we are noticing a rather market increase in the number of Aidens that we run into - I suspect that the character on Sex and the City had something to do with it.

Afton is still pretty rare (something like .001% of the population has it), but they are around and have run into 2 others so far.

I suspect that Arwen will be less popular then Aiden, but more than Afton - so it fits our criteria.

As far as children being cruel, that is part of the nature of childhood and my wife and I have already started working on the "sticks and stones may break my bones" routine and hopefully by the time they get to school they will have a marginally thick skin. (ah the joys of parenting... )

 

[Mistwell]

You can check the top 1000 most popular US names going back 12 years from 2001 here:

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/

Surprisingly, Aiden ranks as number 219. Rhiannon, the name I will likely name my upcoming child if it is a girl (I probably find out today in 4 hours in fact!), ranks in at #508. The boy name, Quinn, ranks at #309. So, comparatively, Aiden is a common name

Arwen does not currently show up in the top 1000, nor does afton.

Here are the top ten names for boys and girls for 2001:

Boys:
Jacob
Michael
Matthew
Joshua
Christopher
Nicholas
Andrew
Joseph
Daniel
William

Girls:
Emily
Madison
Hannah
Ashley
Alexis
Samantha
Sarah
Abigail
Elizabeth
Jessica

For Emily and Jacob, it's a repeat appearance at the top of the list. Emily has been the most popular girls' name each year since 1995. Before that, it was Jessica, which sat atop the list from 1992 to 1994. Jacob has been the top boys' name for the past three years. Prior to that, Michael was the most popular name each year from 1964 to 1998.

 

[Pagan priest]

For my son we had discussed the name Brendan Alexander, until I pointed out that his initials would be BAR (and him being Irish!) and that Brendan is Irish for ravan and Alexander is helper. He would have been ravan helper. Is that anything like hamburger helper?

If I have a daughter any time soon, I just might consider Arwen. I like it, but hadn't thought of it before.

 

[Numion]

I still don't think it's a good idea to name a child after a very big movie. For thats what Arwen (and LotR) means for a lot of people: not the books, but they rather remember the blockbuster movies. Not that it was any better to name anyone after a fantasy book, IMHO.

If I can't bring myself to name my RPG characters after fantasy books, sure as hell I wouldn't name my own child after them

Having said that, Arwen is one of the better names name from LotR. I feel sorry for the one in finland who was named after Gandalf (true story, checked from official finnish database.)

 

[Arnwyn]

I wouldn't, but that's only because I don't agree with naming children after fictional characters (especially when it's a non-standard name that figures into an Academy-award nominated/winning blockbuster movie trilogy with the name tied to a fairly recognizable actress). The same goes for US states, locations, or months.

Not saying this applies to you, but is a general warning: Parents, beware your selfish desires and name your kids something reasonable. Some of the warning posts above (especially Mistwell's great post) contain very good advice.

In any case, if your children are surviving with the names they have right now (which seem a little unusual, but interesting) then I don't think Arwen would be a problem.