Is Luna a weird name?

[Sophpau]

I like the name Luna thanks to Harry Potter but I have been set on Thea for a while. Luna, Thea or maybe even Aurora

I work in boarding kennels and know a lot of dogs named luna

I like all of those names - although biassed as DD is Thea

Thing is, you will get people being rude about any name. I was told here not to name DD Thea as it rhymed with diarrhoea (wtf?) and she would get teased. I also saw an HCP on here slagging off 'wacky baby names they'd heard' using Aurora as an example, clearly not realising it was an actual name

I actually think there is much more awareness of MH issues and insulting people with 'loony' will be basically the same as being a racist by the time our kids are grown up, so if you like it, I'd go for it. It is a beautiful, classical name that is easy to say and spell, and works in many languages.

Oh and for difficulty saying 'Aurora' - DD is almost 2 and has a friend called this - she manages it fine ('A-wo-wa', v cute) so if a 2yo can pronounce it I'm sure adults can.

I've only heard "loony" used affectionately by middle aged people me when my kids are being sweetly and harmlessly daft I don't think it is used as an insult any more and am pretty sure it hasn't been used to refer to people with genuine Mh problems since Victorian times!

Luna's etymology is not lunatic. It is the Latin word for the moon and the name of a Roman goddess of the moon. The teasing argument is weak, because if a child is to be teased, they'll be teased about anything.

It's a lovely name and on our list. But then we also have a Hero so maybe I'm just predisposed towards ancient classical names.

Redcrab is right.

Luna doesn't come from Lunatic, it's actually the other way around. The word Lunatic comes , in part, from Luna.

There was a point in time where they thought the cycles of the moon affected people's mental state. A Lunatic was simply that, affected by the moon.

But I don't think anyone is suggesting the etymology is from lunatic rather than moon goddess, only that lunatic is by far the more commonly-recognised association these days for most English speakers, and that it's exacerbated by the presence of a high-profile character from a widely-read series of children's books and films whose name was clearly chosen to highlight her dottiness.

In fact, from my vague memories of the novels, Luna emerges as an admirable and quietly heartbreaking character, an ethereal eccentric with a core of steel, who deals matter-of-factly with the fact that she's bullied and mocked at Hogwarts (even bossy, swotty, buck-toothed Hermione, herself no queen bee, regards her as a loser), and so lonely that she regards joining Dumbledore's Army primarily in terms of it being a change to have people to talk to. But her name was chosen to highlight her 'weirdness'.

But I guess that argument could be applied to any name used negatively in popular culture? And for me, once a person is named something, it just becomes them - not the association in books or films. To me Luna is really beautiful because I really like Latin and Greek names and words. The fact that it was used in HP is very recent and fleeting in comparison to the ancient history of the word. If we choose to use it, we'll tell her about it's origins and show her the context in history and ancient cultures. Maybe some kids would use it to call her Lunatic but it's hardly the worst thing in the world! She could be bullied for being mixed race or having a big or small nose or being tall or short. Anything at all!

And thanks to my maiden name, I was relentlessly nicknamed Cookiemonster all through school and adulthood. Hardly a complimentary association It happens. It's not the end of the world.

Redcrab, I do in fact agree with you in general, and am a bit taken aback by the seriousness with which grown adults debate on here the often extremely far-fetched possible nicknames anything that isn't Jack or Sophie might inspire, or whether initials that spell a word might be considered weird in the playground.

I just thought of something else - to really evoke the full HP experience, the DD could be trained to say in a really Hermione-esque prissy, know-it-all kind of way "accccctually, Luna is the Roman goddess of the moon. Acthusly."

That should be "actually". Not acthusly

Or she could just flick her radish earrings at people.

Missed your previous post Vagina ( ) - totally agree. You can't protect against anything and unless a name is really, truly offensive or something, the beauty of it is just in the eye of the beholder. A lot of the time we're seeking validation for our choices - especially if your choices are out there. I know I did. My children are Quincy and Hero and I'm 30 weeks pregnant with DD2 - considering Luna, River, Lux and Phoenix so clearly of the out there persuasion!

It sounds like a dogs name to me sorry

LightsLoveLaughter I do like lux a lot but I don't think my husband likes it. With luna HP is where I got the idea but I like it as it means moon and I thought that was quite sweet. I understand people think about there child being bullied but iv herd worse insults then looney

Iv never heard of a dog called Luna 😳

Two families of my acquaintance bought puppies last year and called them Luna Lolly.

Me neither Lolly - it's not the first name that springs to mind when I've thought about naming a dog

But again - what does it matter? I had a cat called Tabitha growing up. See that name come up quite a lot on this board, my friend called her DD Tabitha...what does it matter that I had a cat of the same name?

I really don't like it.

I don't think it's pretty, and I just think of lunar, moons, lunatics, etc.

Love it. When we were picking we decided and didn't discuss with anyone else as I knew some would like and some would not. It's a lovely name and would be great if you gave birth on a full moon too!!

All are lovely names. I don't think Luna is weird. It has put me off slightly that there is an association with the word lunatic. But I still think it's lovely and I think you should go for it if it's your favourite.

All beautiful names op
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I think Luna is a sweet name.

Although I don't get the HP connection (stopped reading the series at around the 3rd book)- take it Luna must be a main character or something?

To be honest, I wouldn't really care if someone thought I named my child after an HP character- the association means nothing to me.

I also really like the name Aurora!

Luna just reminds me too much of Harry Potter.
Thea is nice, but I'd prefer it is a nn for Theodora or something, rather than just Theo on it's own.

Luna cup.

Nope, nope, nope.