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I've never read Harry Potter and won't be doing so. I did not know Draco was a character name.

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However, I don't like Draco because it makes me think of Drano, a brand of drain opener.

I don't really have an opinion on it as a name because it is inextricably tied to the character. I can't consider what I think of the name without considering what I think of the character.

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I don't think it is useable, or ever will be in the foreseeable future. What about Drake?

It is way too tied to Harry Potter for me to even think of using. I also honestly don't care much for it.

I think it's a good name. If you have a kid named Draco and he doesn't like the Harry Potter character, he could easily go by Drake and avoid the reference. I do think Draco is a cool name though.

I have to agree with Anneza and Elec Fan. The name sounds dark, brooding, and reminiscent of dragons and Dracula. So it is great for a literary character.

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But it's hard for me to picture an adult Draco being taken seriously in real life. It does sound a little like his parents were trying too hard for a "cool name".

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I can see why you like it though :)

In my opinion, it quite simply isn't a human name at all. It is the Latin word for 'dragon' and as such was used to name a constellation which looked to the namer like the outline of part of a dragon. In the books, the Malfoy family's liking for astronomical names is a way of characterising them as extremely snobbish and full of their own importance. And of course dragons are not exactly role models either - solitary, vicious, man-eating and reptilian. If that is what you aspire to, go ahead, but at least give your child a mn which is less silly, so that he can use it later on if he wants to.

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Or you could explore possibilities like Dragomir, which is pretty remote from most non-Slav people's naming habits but is at least both factual and terrestrial.

There's also Draconian rule, named after the Greek statesman, Draco. I don't think it's usable. But then, it could be like Madison, and become just a name. I read an article that I should have shared. It said that 20 years after the movie was released, people started naming their daughters Madison. For the parents of the Madisons, it was just a name, not a joke in a movie. So maybe for Draco, Lucius, Narcissa, Severus, Albus, Sirius, Remus, et al, we need to wait for the kids who were too little to realize that these are unusual, unusable names to start using them because they are familiar names to them.

I like this name, possibly as a middle name. Draco was never my favorite character, but I like the name quite a lot.

It's not a great name but it's not awful. It should be DRAH-ko, not DRAY-ko... I think DRAY-ko sounds like the name of a plumbing or drapery cleaning service - the CO part bugs me; it's a little gimmicky.

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I predict that it will be a fad, though. A smallish fad soon, and then after about another generation it'll take off. Only after it stops being a HP name and becomes the name of ordinary guys people have met/heard of.

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I think if no pretty films had been made with that striking, boy-faced, big-eyed actor who projected the character as smart and ruthless and brooding and somewhat intimidating - if an actor with a pudgier face had been cast and had projected a more petty and truly sinister character - the name would not have nearly as much appeal as it does.

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But it would still appeal. It's like Drake or Jace, or Orion or Magnus, or Anakin or Ryker, or Nico or Milo - it's like all of those, only much more so, over the top rugged / heroic / sassy. It's too much for me, personally - it's very characterish. If I met a Draco in real life it might seem less like that, but I still would not really like the name. I do like the name Drake, but that is already right at my threshold, on the line between subtly evoking "dashing and aggressive" and being self-consciously "SO Dashing and Aggressive!!!1." Draco is beyond the line for me.

This message was edited 7/16/2014, 5:01 PM

It's a bad name, and furthermore I don't get why anybody would think the character of Draco Malfoy was anything to admire. He was obnoxious, and he wasn't even clever or funny about it. He was so stupid he couldn't do anything without his two goons Crabbe and Goyle tagging along with him.

No. Definitely too Harry Potter. Plus I don't like Draco (he's such a jerk, and yet he's got millions of fangirls).

I love Harry Potter and despite the awful character, I love the name Draco and would totally use it (even DH likes it). The HP association doesn't bother me, nor would the question "Did you name him after the Harry Potter character?" because people name their children after characters in their favorite literature and movies all the time without shame so why should Draco be any different? If you love it, go for it.

I have no idea about the Harry Potter association (not a fan *brick'd*), but I don't really like it anyway. I can't really put my finger on why; I suppose I put it in the same category as names like Zane, Hunter, Ryker, etc., in that they're names that are trying way too hard to sound cool, and, as a result, just fall flat. Plus, I just don't think it has a pleasant sound. I do like the name Dragan, however.

Too associated with HP and not a very nice name anyway. There's a reason Rowlings chose it for a villain.

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Btw, I'm surprised he's your favourite character, he's a villain and not a "nice" villain either, he's a bully and a coward.

Well... firstly, I am not very fond of Harry Potter (please, no one shoot me!) though I am aware that thousands upon thousands of people are. I think no one would really believe that he was not named after the H.P character.

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Draco, as a name, it's edgy and cool. I like it very much. But I think there is no way to escape from the Harry Potter association. I know a woman called Hermione. She was obviously named before the books came out but she still gets, "Like in Harry Potter!!!" all the time.

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Me, I would not use any of the less-usual names that J.K.R uses on main characters because I think the kid would be Harry Pottered to death...

I like Draco. It's cool, unusual, but still well known. I wouldn't use it though since it's too associated with the character. Maybe something like Drake?

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That said, I think Draco would be awesome for an animal. I had baby bunnies almost two years ago, and I named all five of them after Harry Potter characters :)