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Azrael
I was reminded of this just now while searching the polls I've made. Quite a while back I created a poll asking about this name.The reason I did so was that a few years ago I knew a woman whose then three-year-old daughter was named Azrael. The mom said she used it just because she thought it sounds beautiful.Well, I'm none too fond of the sound. I don't like the initial syllable at all, but worse to me is the connotation. When I knew this woman, someone told me that Azrael was a demon, which I thought was bad. I just looked it up and discovered that Azrael wasn't a demon, but an angel who separated the soul from the body at the moment of death, and thus was known as the Angel of Death. That's just as bad as being a demon, I think. Also, he was a male, and this is listed as a male name. Actually, I think it said that Azrael is a spelling variation of the original name, but same difference, I guess.So I thought this was an unfortunate name choice for a little girl. What do you think?
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I think for my generation, it would make people think of the evil but wimpy sorcerer/wizard's cat on the Smurfs. Thus, its association would be connected with evil.
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It is an unfortunate name for a child, especially for a girl. It IS the angel of death after all, not something you want to associate a child with.However, I must admit it sounds kinda cool and would make a great name for a cat!
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Wasn't Azrael the name of the smurf's villian? - Oh, I see the answer below...Guess I should read all responses before replying...I see Azrael was actually the Smurf villian's cat.I think of it as a male name, and I'm not too fond of it on a boy, because I think of it as evil regardless. You're right - it's an unfortunate name for a little girl.

This message was edited 10/18/2008, 3:52 PM

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Azrael was Gargamel´s cat /nt/
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I don't think Azrael would be good on any human being.
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I don't mind it on a boy, as more of a GP though. I definitely think it's unusable, especially for a girl.
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I like it on a boy [m]I think it's usable if you want to use it. I wouldn't not the greatest association. Though has a pretty meaning in original form.

This message was edited 10/19/2008, 9:36 AM

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I like it for a boy, but I think it's unusableThe Angel of Death thing is pretty bad. I might use it if it wasn't for the negative connotations, because I do think it sounds nice. It's pretty bad for a girl.
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Ditto to all of that.
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The Angel of Death connotation is actually supposed to be positive-- Azrael doesn't KILL, he separates the soul from the body so it can go on. Which would probably be quite necessary to anyone who believes there's a life after death. I imagine it'd be uncool to spend your afterlife stuck in a corpse. I actually quite like the name, but not on a girl.
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That's the name of the cat from "The Smurfs":)
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