Greek mythology names

[Neednameadviceplease]

To go with Iris

The problem with most names from mythology (especially the women) is that they have such horrible stories attached to them.

That said, I do like Penelope who was Odysseus' wife. Her story is mostly about keeping suitors away for 10 years.

I heard a woman call their girl Erys in the park the other day. Apparently a Greek goddess, but not one I'd heard of (2 degrees in classics here 🤦‍♀️)

It's not obviously mythological but my Dd is Melissa and the story of Melissa from Greek mythology very much suits her character.

Eleni
Danae
Electra
Persephone
Athena
Thalia

@Twizbe Do you think they liked the name Eros and just decided to adapt the name and the gender but still tell people it was from Greek mythology? 😂

I love Ariadne - such a beautiful name. Also like Daphne. Athena is pretty, though does remind me of the card shop. I really like Clio too, annoying that it's also the name of a car...

Maybe they meant Eris and just changed the spelling. Although I'm not sure why you would want to name a child after a goddess of strife! She put the whole Trojan War in motion with her apple of dischord.

Eris is the goddess of unrest or arguments i think, from my one degree in classics wouldn't be my choice! I love Danae but again, not a great connotation with the golden shower and all.

I like Penelope though.

I think Eris is the perfect name for my toddler at the moment though

Daphne
Delia
Hebe
Xanthe
Phoebe
Athena

I also find the lack of happy endings troublesome. Cassandra, for example, is a great name, but I'm not sure I could do it...

However, there are some I like either because they don't have a strong negative association (for me), or because they are Greek without a particular myth.

Helena
Zoe
Phoebe
Chloe
Selena
Ariadne

Or I'd go for other mythologies where the women don't get quite so hard done by - Freya, Niamh, Sadhbh, Emer.

I know two lovely women - Electra and Olympia which I think are great names but have no idea of the probably awful stories behind them.

@Mustardbay

Eris is the goddess of unrest or arguments i think, from my one degree in classics wouldn't be my choice! I love Danae but again, not a great connotation with the golden shower and all.

I like Penelope though.

You're right. It's been almost 20 years since I studied and I've forgotten a lot lol

But yeah ... not a name I'd want.

I like Ismene, reckon no one could ever pronounce it right though.

I know a lovely woman called Themis.

Also

Athena
Hera
Phoebe.

And I love Juno, but she's Roman.

Narrowed down to Athena and Phoebe - which better?

Do you have Greek connections? I prefer the meaning of Phoebe and it was on my list but I don't like the Greek pronunciation and how it's written in Greek. Athena is similar in both languages so that would get my vote for that reason. Also I know a young Athena and she's great.

Phoebe is my favourite of the two

I love Psyche, like Emily Wilson's daughter who she dedicated her translation of the Odyssey to.

She might get called Psycho in the playground though, which puts me off. Gorgeous name though and great myth of a mortal girl going on an amazing quest and becoming a Goddess against the odds.

My DD2 has Athene as middle name, rather than Athena. When she was born, we asked DD1 what she should be called and she (being 2 at the time) said “Owl!”. So we discovered that the Little Owl is called Athene Noctua, plus of course the goddess Athene is pretty fabulous.

Also FIL was a classics teacher so he was delighted!

I quite wanted to call a daughter Eris after I watched the animated Sinbad film as a child... she’s an excellent and very glamorous villain

I like Athena best, out of the two of them.

Both are nice, OP. I think Phoebe is prettier, and Athena a bit more intellectual.

Phoebe goes much better with Iris

Leda
Hera
Hero
Pallas
Helen
Persephone
Kore (daughter, girl)
Demeter
Chloe (Green shoot)
Alethea (truth)

Of your two choices, Phoebe fits better with Iris to me - both are more well -known/popular names. But I much prefer the sound of the unusual Athena - it's beautiful.

What about Gaia? - Has both Greek Goddess and nature links like Iris, similar length and syllables but not too "matchy" in sound.

Or Maia? - one of the Pleiades in Greek Myth, and thanks to the "May" link has a slight nature vibe too (like Iris).

Or Lara? - She was a nymph in Greek Mythology, and the name is as well -known/popular as Iris so fits well together I think.

I woud also second pp suggestions of Xanthe, Selene, and Thalia - all have Greek Mythology links but feel a bit less unusual than Athena to me (so fit better with Iris imo.) Xanthe with it's meaning of "golden" fits especially well with Iris to me. Or you could have Ianthe (purple flower and Greek Myth links) if you wanted something very similar to Iris!