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Original poster

To not understand why people call their baby...

570 replies

smellfunny · 15/01/2018 08:20

Not to be goady, but I don't understand why people give their babies names with negative connotations or meanings. Examples from the top of my head being:

Cain (murdered his brother in Old Testament)
Hector (hector also being a synonym for bullying someone)
Tristan (this one is a bit contentious because it can either mean 'tumult' or correspond to 'sadness')

Is it just that people don't think about the meanings behind the names? Feel free to add more names to the list...

Bonus name: 'Claudia' coming from the Latin word for 'lame'. I gave this one a pass because it's so established and the connotation is generally unknown...

OP posts:
MsHarry · 19/01/2018 15:08

Never heard of those meanings for Hector and Tristan.

MsHarry · 19/01/2018 15:11

Hector has occasionally been used as a given name since the Middle Ages, probably because of the noble character of the classical hero. It was historically common in Scotland, where it was used as an Anglicized form of Eachann.
This is what I found when I googled.

Tristan is a character in medieval French tales, probably inspired by older Celtic legends, and ultimately merged into Arthurian legend. According to the story Tristan was sent to Ireland in order to fetch Isolde, who was to be the bride of King Mark of Cornwall. On the way back, Tristan and Isolde accidentally drink a potion which makes them fall in love. Their tragic story was very popular in the Middle Ages, and the name has occasionally been used since that time.

Andrewofgg · 19/01/2018 15:17

Mr and Ms Thomas who call their son John, Mr and Ms House who call their daughter Wendy . . .

lizzieoak · 19/01/2018 16:08

Noeffing - but lots of people are aware of who Cain was and what he did. Some are not, but many are.

I’d wager a bet most people in western countries know who Judas and Jezebel are, or at least the connotations.

SumAndSubstance · 19/01/2018 16:31

I think the whole "meaning of names" is a load of bollocks - akin to horoscopes and numerology. If you like the sound of a name, who cares what supposed meaning somebody made up a gazillion years ago.

I don't think you really understand about word and name derivations. People didn't make up the meanings of names a gazillion years ago, though there are quite a few names websites who are currently making up the meaning of names.

RebelRogue · 19/01/2018 16:35

though there are quite a few names websites who are currently making up the meaning of names.

Well of course. They wouldn't get many hits if next to the name they had "this is stupid and made up"

NinjaLeprechaun · 19/01/2018 16:42

"What happened to Orion?"
He was a companion to Artemis. She spent so much time with him that it made her brother, Apollo, jealous, so he tricked her into killing him.
My point was that people who choose that name don't think of the way he died, either because they don't know or because they don't care, but like the association of him being a great hunter. (I'm in the US, it might be more popular here I don't know. I grew up with an Orion so don't think of it as unusual. Then again, I also grew up with a Lichen and a Rain. Fuckin' hippies.)

TheHandmaidsTail · 19/01/2018 16:57

All of my DC's first names and 1 middle name has been mentioned.

They have all limbs, no lameness and are generally happy.

Sadly despite my name, I am not a princess. Yet.

FrancisCrawford · 19/01/2018 17:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RhodaBorrocks · 19/01/2018 17:28

My parents named me entirely based n the name meaning. I was born prem in the early 80s so they felt the meaning "victorious" was fitting. It's not Victoria though!

I chose my DS name because liked it and it was a family name. Having lookwd up the meaning just now, it definiteky suits hin!

NotnOtter · 19/01/2018 17:31

Cameron
Bent nose

Bluffinwithmymuffin · 19/01/2018 17:42

I had a shit for brains neighbour many years ago who wanted to name his baby boy Lucifer, thinking it would make him “well hard”. The registrar refused to accept it apparently, so they called him Jack instead.

Ontopofthesunset · 19/01/2018 17:43

I still maintain a distinction between the historical derivations and meaning of names (eg Claudia meaning 'lame' in Latin), which frankly I don't care about as the word doesn't mean that to me, and names which have a literal meaning in English or are strongly associated by me with particular individuals with negative meanings.

Cain is such an archetypal 'murderer' name and is used proverbially to mean that. So I can't get that association out of my head. Additionally the homophone 'cane' is at best neutral (a stick) or at worst negative (to beat someone). On the other hand I've known several older adults and many children and young women called Madeleine, so I don't associate that name with any one person bearing it.

Ophelia is forever tainted in my mind by the old 'Ophelia Dick' gag and other unfortunate puns, but I don't think her watery grave in Shakespeare would be sufficient to put me off. Though I did have a hamster I called Ophelia because she peed everywhere ("Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia...")

MrsKoala · 19/01/2018 20:08

But Ninja what about naming someone Artemis, the friend who killed him? A lot of mythical characters met their deaths and killed others - that's part of their tragic romantic charm.

When i think of Ophelia I always think about poor Lizzie Siddal laying in a freezing cold bath heated by a few lamps for hours and hours till she got pneumonia .

NinjaLeprechaun · 19/01/2018 21:10

It's odd that some people apparently don't consider Orion a "real" name when presumably they don't have the same problem with other names from Greek myths, like Persephone or Cassandra. It makes me wonder why.

"But Ninja what about naming someone Artemis, the friend who killed him?"
I like Artemis, both the goddess and the name. Although I suspect that Diana, which is the Roman name for essentially the same goddess, is more common. Artemis isn't known for being particularly friendly towards men in general by the way, and in Greek myths she's responsible for the deaths of a fair few of them (and a few women as well). But I'm not the one who has a problem with names with a little bit of romantic charm (to use your phrase).
For instance, Persephone may have been abducted but she also became a queen. Which could be seen as a woman who makes the absolute best of the situation she finds herself in, and in that context is certainly a name to live up to.

Originalfoogirl · 19/01/2018 21:13

I don't think you really understand about word and name derivations.

I think I understand it perfectly well. And even with that full understanding, it still is utter bollocks.

noeffingidea · 19/01/2018 21:20

Lizzieoak well I guess those who don't know don't really care. It probably depends on your social group and enviroment. I don't think any of the people that I associate with would give a second thought to anything in the bible. My son had a friend called Kane (I think that's how he spelt it) and it was treated like any other name.

noeffingidea · 19/01/2018 21:24

I think I agree with you, Originalfoogirl.

SingaSong12 · 19/01/2018 21:42

Haven't RTFT so this may have been mentioned. Asked relatives who said there was a time in India when there wasn't as much media so people might not know just how infamous people wer - there is an elected politian called Adolf Lu Hitler Rangsa Marak.

FrancisCrawford · 19/01/2018 23:05

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BertrandRussell · 19/01/2018 23:41

Considering that there have been about 100 Orions in the 30000000 baby boys born in the past 10 years it's not really surprising that not many of us have ever met one!

NinjaLeprechaun · 20/01/2018 00:13

"It is perfectly valid to have never met anyone called Orion simply because it isn’t a popular name."
And I'm wondering why it's not a popular, or at least reasonably common, name. That's what I think is odd, not that anybody who doesn't see it as a proper name (and my apology, obviously my brain misremembered 'proper' as 'real', I don't always word very well) is odd.
And I've personally known several Orions, enough to think that it's unusual but not odd, I think it's a lovely name. I don't think any of them would be under 10 today though.

My point seems to have been missed in an apparent cultural misunderstanding though, and has derailed the conversation somewhat, so I'll rephrase my question...
If you were to meet an Orion would your first thought be to question why his parents had named him after a character who had met such an unfortunate fate, or would your mind automatically go to the constellation and the mythical hunter? Ignoring for a moment that your actual first thought would apparently be to wonder why they had used such a weird name in the first place.

Inthenightsea · 20/01/2018 00:20

The whole no limb thing is terrifying. I would be horrified if i googled my name and that came up.
I'm guessing the parents didn't know it was a.desease at the time.

whosafraidofabigduckfart · 20/01/2018 00:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Carouselfish · 20/01/2018 01:00

A friend called hers Ophelia....as in, went mad and killed herself character. Hmm.
But on the flip side, I think it's funny when people get uppity about the crossover of names and nouns ie. Summer when actually, all names, pretty much, meant something, were a noun or verb or derivation in some language.
I love thinking of names in those terms. My daughter is Garden Song I'm Pleasant Praise.