Thursday, January 31, 2013

Morpheus

Morpheus was one of the main characters in the Matrix franchise. He was the captain of the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar. Morpheus's goal was to find "The One" who would end the war as foretold by the Oracle. He found Neo and taught him about the Matrix.

Morpheus was an alias of Dream, the protagonist of the D.C. comic The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman.

Morpheus was the title of an episode in the 10th Season of Stargate SG-1, during which the team falls ill with a sleeping sickness.

There were two video games named Morpheus. One was released in 1987 and was a shoot em' up style game. The other was released in 1998, and was a first person adventure game. Mopheus D. Duvall was a character in the video game, Resident Evil: Dead Aim.

Two types of software share the name Morpheus: a file sharing program, and a morphing and digital compositing program.

Morpheus was the god of dreams in Greek mythology. He was a winged daemon, but he could take human form, and appear in dreams. The last time the name appeared in the Social Security name database was in 2000, when it was given to 5 boys.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Cypher

Cypher was a character in the X-Men universe. He was telepathic, and could understand any form of communication, spoken, written, an non-verbal. He was also the a hacker, and was X-Men's computer expert. His real name was Douglas 'Doug' Ramsey.

Richard Cypher aka Richard Rahl was a character in Terry Goodkind's fantasy series The Sword of Truth. He was a woods guide in Westland and spent most of his time in the woods. He guided travelers safely through the Hartland forests. He was very handsome and was in love with Kahlan Amnell. He was a Seeker of Truth and the master of D'Hara.

Cypher was also a character in The Matrix. He became disillusioned with the real world and wanted to return to the Matrix. He betrayed Morpheus and conspired with Agent Smith to capture Morpheus in return for being plugged back into the Matrix. After Morpheus was captured, he returned to the Nebuchadnezzar and killed Dozier and wounded Tank. While speaking with Trinity, he confessed his love for her and he unplugged and killed Apoc and Switch. He was about to kill Neo when Tank managed to regain consciousness and killed him.

Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero was a 1967 science fiction cartoon. He had the ability to travel through space and time to different dimensions.

Cypher was a science-fiction/corporate espionage film released in 2002. It starred Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu.

Cypher is a character from the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Cypher would work well as a first name.. It's similar to Cyrus, which is poised for a breakthrough now that Claire Danes used it for her son. It is easily shortened to the nickname 'Cy'. In 2011, five boys were named Cypher.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Luna


Luna is most recognizable from the Harry Potter series. Luna's father was the editor of the newspaper The Quibbler, which often espoused conspiracy theories and unconventional ideas. Her mother died when she was 9, while experimenting with spells. Luna was a member of Dumbledore's Army, and she was a Ravenclaw. Luna was as unconventional as her parents, and was described by J.K. Rowling as someone who would 'believe 10 impossible things before breakfast.'

Luna Maximoff was a minor character in the Marvel universe.

Luna was a character in the Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony.

Luna Inverse was a character in the manga series Slayers.

Luna was the name of a British children's Sci-Fi television series that ran from 1983-1984. It was also the name of the show's main character.

The Luna programme was a series of unmanned robotic missions untaken by the Soviets from 1959-1976.

Luna is the Latin name for Earth's moon.  Luna reappeared on the Social Security Administration's top 1000 names in 2003 after a long absence at #890. It has steadily climbed the chart since then, and in 2011 it was ranked at #278. 

Monday, January 21, 2013

Aslan

Aslan was a character in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan was the only character to appear in all seven of the Narnia books. He was a wise and magical leader, often considered to represent Christ. In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan was killed by the White Witch in exchange for Edmund's life. After he was killed, his body disappeared, and soon after he reappeared, alive. He explains that it was because he offered his life in return for Edmund's, invoking a deeper magic.

The Aslan were a feline alien race in a science fiction role playing game called Traveller.

Aslan was a warhorse in the Red River manga series. 

Aslan is a real name of Turkish origin. The meaning of the name is 'lion'. In 2011, the name was given to 41 boys and 7 girls. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Éowyn


Éowyn was the niece of King Théoden of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings. She fell in love with Aragorn, but he did not return her affection. She disguised herself as a man so that she could fight in the Rohirrim army. She killed the Witch-King of Angmar with the help of the Hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck. She was gravely wounded, but recovered in the Houses of Healing. While she was there, she met Faramir, a Steward of Gondor, whom she later married.

Éowyn was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings. It is based on the Old English for 'Horse Joy'. Eowyn was given to 50 girls in 2011, and the alternate spelling Aeowyn was given to 5 girls the same year.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Pandora


Pandora was the homeworld of the Na'vi in the movie Avatar. Pandora was a moon, with a low gravity that allowed animals to grow large by Earth standards. Much of the plant life on Pandora had bioluminescent properties. Eywa was the deity of Pandora, and was manifest in a biological neural network throughout all life on the planet.

Pandora Pann was also a character in the D.C. Comics universe. 

One of Saturn's moons is named Pandora. A rather large asteroid in the asteroid belt is named 55 Pandora.

Pandora is best known as the first woman in Greek Mythology. The only time Pandora ranked in the top 1000 names was in 1952, when it ranked at #784. In 2011, 52 girls were named Pandora.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Names from around the Web

Here's a roundup of some geeky names from around the web.


Bewitching Names has a great post about Ender, from the novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and Rue, from the Hunger Games.

Mer de Noms talks about Sheldon and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory, profiles a few names from The Periodic Table, and sheds some light on Pi.

Baby Name Pondering ponders Narnia and Phoenix, which is the alter ego of Jean Grey in X-Men. Phoenix is also the name of Zefram Cochrane's first warp drive ship in Star Trek: First Contact.
  
The Name Station defends Ryker

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Gale


Gale Hawthorne was a character from The Hunger Games trilogy. A resident of District 12, Gale was the hunting partner of Katniss Everdeen before she went to the Hunger Games. He survived the subsequent bombing of District 12, and led hundreds of other residents to safety in District 13. He spent time inventing weapons with Beetee in District 13, and was part of a squad sent to assassinate President Snow. After the revolution, he moved to District 2 where he held a job with Panem's new government. 

King Gale was the first Emperor of the Lone Islands and King of Narnia in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia

Gale is also the name of a crater on the planet Mars. It was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer who studied Mars.

Gale was a moderately popular name for boys from 1912 to 1969, when it dropped out of the top 1000 names completely. It peaked from 1932-1952, when it ranked between #300 and #400. In 2011, the name was given to 5 girls, and did not rank for boys.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Trinity

Trinity was the female lead of the Matrix franchise. After She escaped from the Matrix, Trinity became first mate on the Nebuchadnezzar. The Oracle told her that she would fall in love with The One, or Neo. In the first movie, she revived the dead Neo with a kiss. In the Matrix Reloaded, Neo returned the favor and revived her after she is shot in the Matrix. In the final installment, the Matrix Revolutions, Trinity was killed in the real world when she was impaled by power cables.

Trinity Wells was the name of a News reporter in the Doctor Who franchise. She has appeared in Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Trinity was the name of a little known science fiction film from 2001. 

Blade: Trinity was the third film in the Blade triolgy. The triology stars Wesley Snipes as a vampire superhero.

Trinity was also the name of a 1986 video game. 

Trinity was the name of a villain in the D.C. comics universe. She was a android woman that housed a computer virus with three faces which represented Time, War and Chaos.

In the Team Tejas comic, Trinity was a superhero who had the ability to create three clones of herself.

Trinity was the 77th most popular girl's name in 2011. The name also refers to the Holy Trinity of the Catholic church, and most usage probably related to the religion.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Archimedes


Archimedes was born in Sicily, Italy around 287 BC, in Syracuse, a seaport settled by Greek colonists. He is considered one of the greatest mathematicians in history, although he was also a physicist, astronomer, engineer and an inventor. One of his mathematical contributions is the Archimedes Number, which is used to determine the motion of fluids due to differences in density. The Archimedes' screw, a type of pump, is commonly attributed him, but the attribution is uncertain.

He's had a crater on the moon named for him, as well as a home computer in the 1980s.

With the name Archer gaining in popularity, Archimedes would be a more interesting way to get to the nicknames Arch or Archie. In 2011, there were 7 boys named Archimedes.  

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Aeon

Aeon Flux began as an animated short on Mtv in the 1990s. By the third and final season, it grew from a few minutes in length to a full half hour. In 2005, it became a live action film starring Charlize Theron, which spawned a video game and a comic book. Aeon was a secret agent from the nation of Monica, who infiltrated the neighboring police state Bregna, which was led by her nemesis and lover, Trevor Goodchild.

Aeons were a type of creature in the Final Fantasy series of role playing video games. They were powerful creatures that could be summoned and controlled by the player. They were a physical manifestation of the dreams of the Fayth, people whose souls were removed from their still living bodies and sealed into stone tablets. 

Aeon was a Latin transliteration of a Greek word that meant life or lifespan but has evolved into the English word Eon, meaning age, or a long period of time. In 2011, the name Aeon was given to 7 girls.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Griffin

Griffin was the main character in H.G. Well's The Invisible Man. He was a brilliant young scientist who managed to make himself invisible, but he was unable to reverse the process. When he is discovered, he becomes involved in a violent conflict with villagers. He eventually turns to a former professor for help. The professor betrays him, and he is hunted down and killed. After he is killed, he becomes visible again.

Griffin was also a character in the 2008 movie Jumper. Griffin did not appear in the novel that the movie was based on, and was created just for the film. Steven Gould, who wrote Jumper, worked with the film makers to write Jumper: Griffin's Story as a prequel to the novel. There is also video game based on the character. The movie's protagonist was David Rice, who had the ability to teleport anywhere in the world. He, and others like him were considered dangerous and were hunted down by Paladins who wanted to kill all who had the ability. David discovered another jumper named Griffin, who wanted to kill the paladins as much as they wanted to kill him. Griffin tried to kill the paladins with a bomb in the apartment of Millie, David's girlfriend. David trapped Griffin in power lines in a war zone in Chechnya, and that was the last we saw of him.

In Men in Black 3, Griffin was an alien who had the ability to see all possible futures. He also possessed the ArcNet, a shield which was the key to saving the Earth. He helped Agents K and J set the timeline right after Boris the Animal went back in time and changed it.

Griffin can also be a subtle nod to Gryffindor, one of the Houses of Hogwarts, named after Godric Gryffindor.

The classical griffin was a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.

Griffin was the 227th most popular boy's name in 2011. Except for some sporadic use in the late 1800s and the first decade of the 20th century, Griffin made it permanently in the top 1000 names in the US in 1983, and has steadily climbed the ranks ever since.


Saturday, January 5, 2013

Myka

Myka Bering is the female lead in the Syfy series Warehouse 13. Myka is a secret service agent stationed at Warehouse 13 in South Dakota. Myka is smart and focused, and is a strong female protagonist, making her a suitable namesake for any brainy girl. 

Myka is a variant of the Hebrew name Micah, which itself is a variant of Michael. It can be used for boys or girls. The meaning of Myka is "who resembles God". Micah is much more popular for boys, but the Myka spelling works best for girls. Myka was given to 123 girls and 20 boys in 2001. The spelling Micah was the 104th most popular name for boys and the 912th most popular for girls. Mykah was given to 76 girls.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Zefram

Zefram Cochrane was the inventor of the warp drive in the Star Trek Universe. He first appeared in the original series episode "Metamorphosis". In that episode, we learned that the elderly Cochrane wanted to die in space, but he was found by an alien entity called the Companion, who made him young again but kept him prisoner. Cochrane told the Companion he was lonely, so she abducted Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and an ill Federation Commissioner, Nancy Hedford. The Companion merged with Nancy, and Cochrane elected to remain with her. Cochrane also appeared in the movie Star Trek: First Contact. In the movie, the Borg traveled back in time in an attempt to prevent his warp drive experiment, which initiated first contact between Earth and Vulcan. After his ship, the Phoenix, was damaged by the Borg, the Enterprise crew tried to convince Cochrane to continue with the experiment. They told him about how his invention would change with world, and Cochrane resisted, and attempted to run away. Eventually, he was convinced, and carried out the warp drive experiment, keeping the future intact.

Zefram is an invented name. It has a similar sound to the name Zephyr. It does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Morwanneg


In Neil Gaiman's novel, Stardust, Morwanneg is an alias used by the Witch-Queen of the Lilim. When the Witch-Queen encounters Ditchwater Sal, aka, Mistress Semele, she used this alias. In the novel, the name was defined as "wave of the sea". The Lilim were once beautiful queens of a magical kingdom that was lost beneath the sea, and it is stated in the novel that she used the name because her true name was drowned and lost beneath the cold ocean. In the movie, the character was called Lamia, but in the novel her name was not given.

The name was a Welsh sound to it, but I cannot find it in any baby name databases. Perhaps Gaiman created it from Welsh elements. It does not appear in the Social Security name database.