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Help[Opinions] Re: Nausicaä
in reply to a message by Cayden
I stand by my statement and word usage. To me, scouring sources for scarcely used names in order to stand out, especially since there is no element of actual creative originality involved as they are purely derived from said sources, is something that strikes me as tiresome. Such scouring is a practice immediately recognizable to me after spending so much time on this board, where it is the norm.
Secondly, transparently using a name to stand out (deny it if you wish, but no one who would use Nausicaä is trying to blend in) from such a universally analyzed and common source is doubly tedious. I would describe this 'easy research' method of attempting to stand out as unimaginative (pedestrian). If one wants to stand out so much, why not actually use a name that not everyone (who has taken high school English) has come across and avoided, but one that actually piques some level of curiosity?
Secondly, transparently using a name to stand out (deny it if you wish, but no one who would use Nausicaä is trying to blend in) from such a universally analyzed and common source is doubly tedious. I would describe this 'easy research' method of attempting to stand out as unimaginative (pedestrian). If one wants to stand out so much, why not actually use a name that not everyone (who has taken high school English) has come across and avoided, but one that actually piques some level of curiosity?
This message was edited 1/25/2018, 5:54 AM
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I don't know if this is directed at me personally (since I created the post), but I studied Ancient Greek for four years -- it was part of my major -- so there was no tiresome scouring and/or arbitrary adoption on my part. I've studied the Odyssey extensively in Ancient Greek and in translation. :)
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Thank you for presenting this lovely name, and actually for presenting other names as well. I appreciate it. I would also like to encourage you to continue sharing names or naming ideas--etcetera whenever you feel you'd like to share it with the message board.
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Sometimes people aren’t “scouring”. For example, my husband and I both took every elective course on ancient Mythology and History that we could in university. We love mythology-based literature. We watch TV shows about ancient peoples and historical figures. It’s one of the mutual hobbies and interests that brought us together. So although we didn’t really go with a mythological name for our first child, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see us use one for the next. For us it would hardly be “scouring” obscure literature for the most pretentious name we could find so we could “stand out”. It would be something we come across often and don’t think twice about. It would be part of our vernacular. It would be an extension of something that we share with love. People have hobbies. The study of names, the study of mythology and the study of history being among them. Besides, as names go in and out of fashion, some of the current top 10 names probably sounded incredibly obscure to somebody at some point. Somebody had to be first.
As for purely deriving the name from the source without altering it, why on Earth would somebody mess with a name that was clearly already so perfect for them that they just had to use it? What’s the fix here? A tryndee kre8iv spelling so they look illiterate? Then they really would be proving that they’re only using the name superficially and disregarding its history. I truly don’t understand this argument at all.
While I have no love for this particular name because of the sound, there are many with a similar background I do love. And I would never look down on somebody for using it.
As for purely deriving the name from the source without altering it, why on Earth would somebody mess with a name that was clearly already so perfect for them that they just had to use it? What’s the fix here? A tryndee kre8iv spelling so they look illiterate? Then they really would be proving that they’re only using the name superficially and disregarding its history. I truly don’t understand this argument at all.
While I have no love for this particular name because of the sound, there are many with a similar background I do love. And I would never look down on somebody for using it.
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This, exactly
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I actually do value tasteful creativity with names (modified spellings and new inventions) higher than the ability to scour for established rarities (maybe a skill, but less a talent). An example would be Tolkien, who was a brilliant inventor with names. It is difficult not to be tacky, but the ability to create a tasteful non-derivative name is something I view as a celestial gift.
Expressing my opinion toward a name or naming tendency should not be taken as me looking down on someone. If I found someone truly abhorrent, I would not bother replying to their threads at all.
Expressing my opinion toward a name or naming tendency should not be taken as me looking down on someone. If I found someone truly abhorrent, I would not bother replying to their threads at all.
This message was edited 1/25/2018, 7:04 AM
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Pardon everyone's confusion, but using descriptive words like tiresome, tedious, unimaginative and pedestrian lead the average reader to assume you are looking down on the name choice, or more specifically your assumed method of arriving at that name choice.
That is how I read it - but I am glad to hear you didn't mean it that way.
I would not be the first one to like Nausicaä, but I do think that we (as name nerds) can become so versed in naming, trends and etymologies that we put a little too much thought into what people "must" have been trying to do when they chose a name.
To express my own opinion - I don't think that "scouring" is a negative in any way when it comes to naming. It shows effort and deliberation. It is much preferable to indifference or top tens.
As a side note, I totally agree with you on people like Tolkien, who can come up with new names (Miriel is a favorite, but I also love Muriel and Mirielle... which may have some connection). This is probably why Nameberry holds a contest every year to see if anyone can submit a great "new" name.
That is how I read it - but I am glad to hear you didn't mean it that way.
I would not be the first one to like Nausicaä, but I do think that we (as name nerds) can become so versed in naming, trends and etymologies that we put a little too much thought into what people "must" have been trying to do when they chose a name.
To express my own opinion - I don't think that "scouring" is a negative in any way when it comes to naming. It shows effort and deliberation. It is much preferable to indifference or top tens.
As a side note, I totally agree with you on people like Tolkien, who can come up with new names (Miriel is a favorite, but I also love Muriel and Mirielle... which may have some connection). This is probably why Nameberry holds a contest every year to see if anyone can submit a great "new" name.
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Well, for we lowly ungifted ;) a name’s history can have incredible value, and using it unaltered can imbue it with a different sense of fondness than the fondness you feel when you create one yourself. So just like there’s no need to scorn a bride who buys her own veil, there’s no need to scorn a bride who chooses to use an heirloom.
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On variant spellings ; name invention
The thing about names is that they are subjective. There are people who find invented / creatively spelled names like Nevaeh, Aidynne, and Daenerys nice, even though they’re completely against my tastes (and apparently those of most posters here). The people who like names like that aren’t *wrong*, I just have a different perspective than they do.
I do think simply inventing names requires linguistic talent that the average person may not have (not everyone is Tolkien), and variant spellings are sometimes problems for the bearer (spoken from experience!), so caution when doing this would be a good thing here.
The thing about names is that they are subjective. There are people who find invented / creatively spelled names like Nevaeh, Aidynne, and Daenerys nice, even though they’re completely against my tastes (and apparently those of most posters here). The people who like names like that aren’t *wrong*, I just have a different perspective than they do.
I do think simply inventing names requires linguistic talent that the average person may not have (not everyone is Tolkien), and variant spellings are sometimes problems for the bearer (spoken from experience!), so caution when doing this would be a good thing here.
This message was edited 1/25/2018, 7:49 AM
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Plus - we forget that the average person out there is not totally sure what is a "natural" spelling and what is a variant or kre8tive one.
Tons of people assume my DD, Clarisse, is a creative spelling... albeit a simple one.
Tons of people assume my DD, Clarisse, is a creative spelling... albeit a simple one.
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