Would you name your daughter after a mythological creature, like a mermaid, fairy etc?

Our DC both have names from literary backgrounds (Tolkein) so aren't commonly used names by any stretch but both are also legitimate names in their own right, just not England. (Before anyone assumes we have Bilbo and Aragon) 😂😂

We love our choices, are any of the names you're considering also known names elsewhere?

Very pedantic of me but Tatiana is the feminised version of Tatius who was King of the Sabines (area outside of Rome). It’s a popular name in Eastern Europe thanks to the popularity of St Tatiana, a 3rd century saint.
Nothing to do with fairies then.

Tania / Tanya are diminutives of BOTH Titania & Tatiana. The difference is Tatiana has survived to this day as a name & Titania has not.

If you want to go right back, Tatiana derives from Latin & Titania from Ancient Greek; Ancient Greek is considered to be older than Latin so an argument could be made that the name Titania actually came first but to be honest it’s irrelevant because as I said, multiple names can have the same diminutive.

Either way, Titania / Tatiana / Tania / Tanya / Tanja all mean ‘Queen of the fairies’ which is what this thread is about.

That’s where the name Tania / Tanya comes from.

No, the name Tania doesn’t come from Titania. It comes from the Russian name Tatiana. It’s the standard diminutive of that name.

My oldest has a Roman goddess name.

I would definitely name them after someone out of Greek/Roman/Norse etc. mythology.

I would not name them after a Disney/Game of Thrones character.

The only caveat would be if the myth was extremely widely associated with particular characteristics (e.g. Venus, Hercules - what if they aren't romantic/strong) - but this would have to be associations the average person on the street would make, not that you would only know after extensive Googling or if you were a classical scholar.

My cat is called tinkerbell, no I’d not name a child anything too out there but depends what the name is I suppose, I’ve got 4 boys and my girls name was always Katie so perhaps I’m a bit dull

Is it an actual name that happens to be shared by a goddess? Or just purely the name of a goddess?

Aphrodite/Athena - too much
Aurora/Maeve/Persephone - fine

No but someone I used to know did.
Peter pans sidekick with an a added.

Rhiannon/Helen etc yes
Boudicca no

Willy or Flipper?

I would. There are some beautiful names. I love Athene.

Everyday is a school day! I didn't know that @DiscoLightsOnAFridayNight. Although it seems kinda obvious

I wouldn't, no. But plenty of people do.

It really depends on the name/associations/popularity etc

I always thought Titania would be a great name. But it would of course get shortened to Tit so maybe not

Agree that it completely depends on the name. Some gods/goddesses names carry expectation - I wouldn’t want to be an ugly Apollo, Aphrodite or Venus. Nor would I want to name my child after any god/goddess/mythical being associated with evil or witchcraft.

On one hand, I agree you're overthinking it and ; on the other - I grew up with a mythological name and grew very tired of people who felt the need to discuss said myths with child-me as if the name meant I had some sort of innate interest in the topic (even more frustrating when an adult would go on about an entirely different mythological being and I just had to sit there through it). I ended up changing my name as adult.

I did something similar to the above suggestion of Helen - one of my DDs is named after what is believed to have been a real ancient queen but has many legends and miracles attached to her, but the name is also attached to so many other people that no one knows without telling them - so some people in our family know, but I've never said anything to anyone else about who I took inspiration from. I always sought out namesakes for my children, but I never wanted them to be so well attached to one person or mythological being that they'd get stuck with any one as I did as a kid.

Well not if it’s Neptuna, but generally fine - which were you thinking of?

Something like Demeter, Athena, Artemis, Eirene, you could get away with.

Cymopoleia, Leucothea, Urania, Terpsichore - not so much.

Names of famous fairies, mermaids, goddesses then yes.
Actually naming a child Fairy or Mermaid, definitely not.
I wasn't really clear what you meant!

Ariel is my cat.

Sebastian is my other cat.

🐈

Anastasia. Belle.Jasmine Ursula Aurora Leia Anna Elsa Marie. Ariel.
Yes.

Cinderella. Drizella. Tinkerbelle.
No.

Like pp, I agree it really depends on the name -for example ones like Freya, Iris, Thea, Aurora, Diana, Helen, Maia and Lara are now so well used that often people forget the mythological associations.

I think it may be slightly more difficult to get away from the myths for the boys names since they tend to be less popular in the UK - Thor, Orion, Apollo, Atlas etc.

But either way, I think you are overthinking it that using a mythological name will mean your child will think they have to live up to their standards - most people will assume you just liked the sound of the name.