Should a modern connotation really matter?

[Frankiefarr]

I like the name Melisande but several people have pointed out it is similar to a name in GOT, but in the end does it really matter?

GOT will be just another TV series in 10 years.

My friend named her child Alexa 14 years ago. A name that was unusual but easy to pronounce and look what happened there. Should we really care as we can't predict the future of any name.

Most names can be associated with something, I wouldn’t overthink it.

I personally have no idea what GoT is about, and I associate Melisande with the opera, Pélleas et Mélisande, which has been around for 120 years. The original play is even older I believe.

Melisande is beautiful and Mel is lovely as a shortening.

I like Melisande.
I think we shouldn't use outlandish or cruel names but that's about it.
Other people might care though so you have to decide for yourself otherwise you'll call her whatever you call and peoples opinions will sway how you feel.

I think it depends. I wouldn't name my child Karen because of the meme - I know these things can be short-lasting but they can also last longer than you realise and people can still remember them and joke about them.

I wouldn't have an issue naming my child Melisande even now because of the GOT reference. I think a lot of people will still get it, but the worst I'd get is people thinking I'm a massive GOT fan which doesn't bother me. For the peers of the child they are unlikely to know about GOT or care so much about it. So it won't be an issue for them.

I've never watched GOT so no connection there and I don't know how it is pronounced but in my head it exactly like Emeli Sande.

I'm planning to name my baby a name I've loved for years. Unfortunately it's a name I'm now nervous about becoming super common because it's been used in a popular TV show and already shown signs of a big surge in popularity.

I don't care about the actual character/TV show connotation as I don't watch it myself. But I do care about whether it turns my uncommon choice of name into the next fad.

I don't see Melisande becoming a fad name for babies. I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Alexa, Isis and Karen type situations are impossible to predict, so no point in worrying about them.

i have no idea about GOT.
i am very old and melisande to me is the girl in the cousins at mistletoe farm books by enid blyton who they all call smellisande because she wears too much perfume!

Thanks everyone. Like I said previously you never can tell. I was bullied all through school for having Margaret as a middle name as it was so old fashioned and unhip and look at it now! I deleted it from my name and got a deed poll to change it. Way too many bad memories

Melisande is pretty. I wouldn't especially associate it with GOT - not the way I do say Sansa or Cersei. I couldn't use it myself because I dislike the nn Mel (I'd use the similar Corisande instead), but otherwise I think Melisande is fine.

I haven’ heard of the name before so wouldn’t associate it GOT.
If you love the name, use it.

I was pregnant when Tony Blair named his son Leo. I immediately discounted it thinking it would become popular, or everyone would think I named him after Tony Blair’s son. Hardly anyone remembers the link nowadays, so I have a slight name regret.

I’m undoubtedly a philistine/uncultured, so my first thought is not opera, but GOT. Still darkly beautiful! I imagine a mystical, clever woman like Melisandre, but I really like that imagery personally