Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Selene

Selene was a vampire in the Underworld franchise. She was born in Hungary in the 14th century. She was turned into a vampire by the Vampire Elder Viktor after he killed her family. Viktor told her that her family had been killed by werewolves, or Lycans. She devoted her life to the extermination of the Lycans until she found Michael Corwin and helped him become the first vampire-lycan hybrid. She and Michael were the parents of Eve, who was born and raised in captivity while her parents were held in cryogenic suspension.

In the X-Men comics, Selene Gallio was a mutant an enemy of the X-Men and a was the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club. She has the ability to drain the life of others in order to extend her own life. She was born over 17,000 years ago.

580 Selene is a minor planet of our solar system. It is located between Mars and Jupiter, and it approximately 46 km in diameter.

SELENE was the name of a Japanese lunar orbiter. It was short for Selenological and Engineering Explorer, but was better known by it's nickname, Kaguya, after a legendary moon princess.

Selene Lindstrom was a character in the Isaac Asminov novel, The Gods Themselves. Adam Selene was a character in the Robert A Heinlein novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. In Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, Selene was an alias used by Lanfear.

Selene is the name of a genus of fish.

In Dungeons & Dragons, Selene was a name for a moon that orbited the planet Oerth.

Selene is of Greek origin and means "moon." Selene only made the top 1,000 names in the U.S. in four different years, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 2006.  In 2014, 193 girls were named Selene.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Ulysses

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ulysses Klaue was a smuggler who sold a large amount of Vibranium to Ultron.

In D.C. Comics, Ulysses was the alias for Neil Quinn, who had the ability to absorb and transfer various forms of energy.

In Marvel Comics, Ulysses Bloodstone was an immortal human born 10,000 years ago in Scandanavia. He became immortal when the bloodstone shattered, and a piece of it became imbedded in his chest.

In the Doctor Who novel, The Gallifrey Chronicles, Ulysses was a time lord who married a human named Penelope Gate, an human from the 19th century.

In the Syfy series, Defiance, Ulysses was a bioman who lived in Defiance and worked for Datak Tarr. Nolan defeated him in a fight by deactivating his switch.

In Babylon 5, the Ulysses was a merchant vessel. In a Battlestar Galactica comic book, the Ulysses was a battlestar that along with Galactica attacked Trinity Base. In Star Trek, the U.S.S. Ulysses was a Federation starship.

In a Stargate SG-1 comic series, Fall of Rome,  Ulysses was a Goa'uld who was in a Unas host. He had lived on Earth in Ancient Greece.

In World of Warcraft, Ulysses Rackmore was the captain of the ship Gallant.

The Ulysses of Greek myth made an appearance in the television show Xena: Warrior Princess. Xena and Gabrielle helped him break a curse placed upon him by Posiedon.

Ulysses is the Latin form of the Greek name Odysseus, who was a hero from myth. Ulysses last appeared in the top 1,000 names in 2005, when it was #983. In 2014, 171 boys were named Ulysses in the U.S.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Vina

In the pilot episode of the original Star Trek, Vina was the sole survivor of the SS Columbia when it crashed on Talos IV. The inhabitants healed her, but in a disfigured form, because they had no idea what a healthy human looked like. The Talosians had strong telepathy, which they used to give her an illusion of beauty. They lured the U.S.S. Enterprise to their planet with a fake distress signal in order to find a mate for Vina. They captured Captain Christopher Pike for this purpose. When Pike demonstrated that humans would rather die than live in captivity, they deemed Pike unsuitable. Vina stayed behind because of her disfigurement. Thirteen years later, after Captain Pike was crippled, Spock brought him back to Talos IV so that he could rejoin Vina and live with her in the Talosians world of illusions.

Vina is a Sanskrit name that means 'lute'. In 2014, 12 girls were given the name Vina.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Bellatrix

In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of novels, Bellatrix Lestrange is a death eater and cousin of Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black. While at Hogwarts, Bellatrix was a member of Slytherin House. During the First Wizarding War, she used the Cruciatus curse on Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom. She was sentenced to life in Azkaban prison for this crime. She later escaped from Azkaban and joined Voldemort just prior to the Second Wizarding War. She was killed during the war by Molly Weasley.

Bellatrix is the third brightest star in the constellation Orion

The name Bellatrix is Latin, and means "female warrior." In 2014, 9 girls were named Bellatrix in the United States.

Although Bellatrix Lestrange isn't the best character to name a child after, it's a much cooler way of getting to Bella if you like that nickname.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Marvel

Marvel is the name of a comic book publisher that has turned into a huge entertainment franchise. Among Marvel's superheroes is Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel's real name was Carol Danvers. She joined the United States Air Force where she worked in military intelligence, and later joined NASA. During a battle, she was knocked into a damaged Kree Psyche-Magnitron machine. It altered her genetic structure, turning her into a half-Kree superhuman. She then became a member of the Avengers.

In X-Men, Marvel Girl was the daughter of Cyclops and Phoenix in an possible future. Her real name was Rachel "Ray" Summers. She was the a member of a group of space pirates known as the Starjammers. Her son, Jay Scott Grey Summers was known as Marvel Boy.

In the D.C. Comics franchise, William Batson was known as Captain Marvel. A wizard named Shazaam gave him the powers of six legendary heroes of Ancient Greece. He had Shazaam also give powers to his twin sister who became known as Mary Marvel and his friend Frederick Freeman, who became Captain Marvel Jr. together they were known as the Marvel Family.

In The Hunger Games, Marvel was a tribute from District 1. Katniss killed him after he killed her ally Rue.

Marvel is an English word name that means "a wonderful thing." Marvel was among the top 1,000 names for girls from 1900 through 1941. It's highest rank was in 1901 when it was #519. It never ranked in the top 1,000 for boys. In 2014, 28 girls and 24 boys were named Marvel. The alternate spelling Marvell was given to 12 boys.

Marvel is a bold choice. It's a name that may be difficult to live up to.

Monday, June 22, 2015

New Blog!

I just started a new blog talking about names from my other fandom.. Disney! It's going to cover anything Disney owned, so there may be a little overlap with this blog now that Disney owns Marvel and Star Wars, but Disney has so much more that I don't think there will be too much duplication. If you love Disney too, head on over to Disney Baby Names!

Quill

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Peter Jason Quill, aka Starlord, was abducted from Earth as a child. He became an outlaw, but later redeemed himself by stopping Ronan the Accuser from destroying Xandar with an infinity stone. In the process, he joined a group of misfits called the Guardians of the Galaxy. In the Marvel comics, Peter was an orphan who became an astronaut. He was given the title Starlord by an alien called the Master of the Sun.   

In X-Men, Quill was a mutant that attended Xavier Institute. He had porcupine quills on his head instead of hair, and he could fire them as projectiles. He was mentored by Gambit and wanted to become a thief. He was killed when William Stryker attacked the school.

In Doctor Who, Mr. Quill was a minor character who was an engineer at a off shore gas rig.

In the Transformers franchise, the Quill was an artifact that had the ability to change the future itself.

Quill was an experimental satellite program in the 1960s to test radar imaging from space.

The Quill was a 1983 computer program that one could use to write computer games. QUILL is also short for Quintiq Logic Language, a Dutch programming language.

Quill is an English word that refers to the hollow shaft of a feather, or a pen made from one. In 2014, 5 boys were given the name Quill. 

If you're looking for a name that reflects a love of the written language, Quill is a great choice.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Jadzia

Jadzia Dax was one of the main characters on Star Trek: Deep Space 9. She was from an alien race called the Trill, and she was host of a symbiont with whom she had a shared consciousness. Trill symbionts were long lived and could have several different hosts. Each new host would have the memories of all previous hosts, and the experience of several lifetimes. Jadzia was the science officer aboard Deep Space 9, and she was the wife of Worf, son of Mogh.

Jadzia is a diminutive of the Polish name Jadwiga, which means "safety in battle." Jadwiga was also the name of a famous Polish ruler. In 2014, 19 girls were named Jadzia in the United States.

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Turing

Alan Turing was a British mathematician, computer scientist, and cryptologist, among other things. He is best known for helping to crack the Enigma machine used by the Germans to encrypt transmissions during World War II. Turing is considered the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. He was a homosexual, which was still considered a crime during his lifetime. He was convicted of the crime and underwent estrogen injections instead of going to jail so that he could continue his work. Unable to cope with the treatment, he committed suicide by cyanide poisoning.

Turing is a surname of Scottish origin, first appearing in the 14th century as the name Turin. I think this name would be best in the middle spot, as an homage to Alan Turing's life. The name does not appear as a first name in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Kent

Clark Kent is the name given to Kal-El, aka Superman, by his human parents. Born on Krypton, he was sent to Earth by his parents to save him from the impending destruction of his home world. Earth's yellow sun gives him abilities far beyond the average human. He lives in the city of Metropolis, and works as a journalist for the  Daily Planet.

In an alternate timeline, Ariella Kent was the daughter of Superman and Linda Danvers. Like her mother, she was also known as Supergirl.

Kent Blake was the protagonist of the 1950's comic book series Kent Blake of the Secret Service.

Kent was a minor character in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Full Alert". He was a member of "The Trust", a group of rogue NID agents.

Kent was a character in the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. He was an administrator of the planet Balmorra.

Kent is derived from the name of a county in England, which itself may come from a word that means 'coastal district'. Kent fell out of the top 1,000 baby names in the United States in 2003, when it ranked at #882. The highest it ever ranked was in 1962, when it was #136. In 2014, 148 boys were given the name Kent.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Melisandre

In Game of Thrones, Melisandre was a priestess of R'hllor, the god of light, heat and life. She supported Stannis Baratheon in his claim to be the rightful King of Westeros, because she believed him to be a reincarnation of a legendary hero, Azor Ahai. Melisandre was born with the name Melony, until she was sold as a slave to the Red Temple. She received visions from R'hllor in flames. She could use magic to create a shadow assassin, and used a sacrifice of King's blood to gain favor from R'hllor.

Melisandre is a variation of the French name Melisande, which itself is a version of the German name Millicent. It means "animal strength." Melisandre does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Kaywinnet

Kaywinnet Lee Frye was a character in the television show, Firefly, and it's movie sequel, Serenity. She was commonly known by the nickname Kaylee. She was the ship's mechanic. Kaylee was sleeping with the Serenity's mechanic, who could not fix Serenity. When Kaylee showed Captain Reynolds that the ship could be fixed, he gave her the mechanic's job. She was in love with Simon Tam.

The name appears to have been invented by Joss Whedon. It could be a combination of Kay, and the surname Winnett. Kay is a short form of Katherine, which means 'pure'. The surname Winnett is derived from Winthrop, which comes from winn, meaning 'friend' and prop, which means settlement. So, a possible meaning could be 'pure friend'.

Kaywinnet has never appeared in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Olokun

In Stargate SG-1, Olokun was a Goa'uld system lord who conducted experiments on humans. After abandoning his experiments, he created the Cursor'va, a group of Jaffa that acted as intelligence agents. His fleet was decimated by Anubis, but he survived, only to later be killed by Ba'al.

Olokun was based on an African god of the sea, worshiped by the Yoruba people.  Olokun does not appear in SSA's name database.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Janus

In Stargate, Janus was an ancient scientist. He lived in Atlantis, and was one of the Lantean survivors who escaped to Earth. Janus used unorthodox methods, and his controversial experiments and inventions were often done in defiance of the Lantean Council.
In I Am Number Four, Janus was a pilot and member of the Lorien Defence Council. He piloted the ship that brought the chosen Garde to Earth.

In Men In Black, Janus was an INS agent that was neuralized by Kay and Dee.

In Warehouse 13, the Janus Coin was used to separate a person's consiousness from their physical form.

The feminist science fiction 'fanzine', Janus, was published from 1975 to 1980.

Saturn has a moon named Janus.

There are two programming languages that bear the nameJanus. Microsoft used the name as a codename for Windows 3.1x, and as a codename for a portable version of Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM). There is a speech recognition program named Janus.

In biology, a Janus-faced molecule can have both beneficial and toxic effects.

Janus particles are nano particles that have two different physical properties.

The name Janus comes from a two-faced Roman God. He looked to the future and the past, and was the god of beginnings and endings. The name for the month of January is derived from Janus. I love this name, but I think the name is problematic for boys because it sounds too similar to the girl's name Janice. It would work well for a pet though. It has never ranked in the top 1,000 names in the U.S., and does not appear in the database for 2014.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Scarlet

Scarlet Witch is a character in the Marvel Universe. Her real name is Wanda Maximoff. She is the twin sister of Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver. In the Marvel Comics, Scarlet Witch was a part of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants before joining the Avengers.

Will Scarlet is a character in the television show Once Upon a Time.

Scarlet Sharp was a witch who was reported missing on Potterwatch in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

Scarlett Adams was a character in the Power of Five series of novels by Anthony Horowitz. At first, it was believed her power was to predict the weather, but it was later determined that she also had the ability to control it.

Skarlet was a character in the Mortal Kombat video game. She was able to absorb the blood of her prey.

The Scarlet Brethren were a group of nine wizards who wore red robes in  the Dragonlance novel, "The Dying Kingdom."

In Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, a Scarlet-Flower was a breed of dragon of Chinese origin. They were red with a yellow crest, and enjoyed fighting.

In the Star Wars franchise, Scarlet was a term used for art that was not approved by Imperial censors.

The name Scarlet is of French origin, and means 'red'. It can be spelled Scarlet or Scarlett. Scarlett was the 30th most popular name for girls in the United States in 2014.

Monday, June 8, 2015

The Dragons of Game of Thrones

Except for a brief introduction, I am going to limit my discussion of these dragons to their physical characteristics to avoid spoilers. If you want to know more about the dragons, click on the links to visit their full descriptions on 'A Wiki of Ice and Fire', my source for this article.

At the start of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and the popular television series based on it, dragons were considered extinct. However, they had existed in the past, and were a part of the history of the world. That changed when Daenerys Targaryen hatched three eggs and became the Mother of Dragons.

Daenerys named her three dragons Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion. Drogon was believed to be a reincarnation of another dragon, Balerion. He was black with red horns and spines. His eyes were red, and his blood was black. Rhaegal had green and bronze scales. His eyes were bronze and his teeth and claws were black. Viserion was cream colored, with gold on his horns, wing bones and spinal crest. His eyes were gold and his teeth were black. He was called the white dragon.

Other dragons mentioned in the books are:
Arrax
The Cannibal - A wild dragon that was the color of coal. As his name suggests, he ate his own kind.
Caraxes - Also called the Blood Wyrm, he was a huge red dragon.
Dreamfyre
Grey Ghost - A grey white dragon, the shade of a morning mist.
Meleys - Also called the Red Queen, she was red with touches of pink and copper.
Meraxes - This dragon had silver scales and gold eyes.
Moondancer - A female dragon, she was pale green with pearl colored horns, crest and wingbones. She was as small as a warhorse.
Morghul
Seasmoke - A pale, silver-grey colored dragon.
Sheepstealer - This dragon was the color of mud.
Shrykos
Silverwing
Stormcloud
Sunfyre - This dragon was gold and pink. He was called Sunfyre the Golden, and was regarded as the most beautiful dragon ever.
Syrax -  This was a yellow colored dragon.
Terrax
Tessarion - Also known as the Blue Queen, she was cobalt blue and copper. Even her flames were blue.
Tyraxes
Urrax
Vermax
Vermithor - Also known as the Bronze Fury, he was bronze and tan.
Vhagar


For more inspiration, check out my list of Direwolves in Game of Thrones.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Jarvis

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, J.A.R.V.I.S. was Tony Stark's A.I. computer system.  Jarvis was named for the Stark family's butler, Edwin Jarvis, but was also shorthand for "Just A Rather Very Intelligent System". In the Marvel Comics, Edwin Jarvis was retired, but still worked with the Avengers.

In Tron, Jarvis was a program who was an officer in Clu 2's regime.

In Star Trek, Crewman Jarvis was a member of the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager.

Nina Jarvis was a character in the television series, The 4400. She was temporarily the director of NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command).

In Mathematics, the Gift wrapping algorithim is also known as the Jarvis algorithim, after R. A. Jarvis.

Gregory Jarvis was a U.S. astronaut that was killed when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. There is an asteroid, 3353 Jarvis, and a rocket design called Jarvis that were both named in his honor.

Jarvis is a variant of the French name Gervaise. It's been in and out of the Top 1,000 names from 1902-2007. It's highest rank was in 1988 when it was #347. In 2014, it was given to 153 boys.


Saturday, June 6, 2015

Furiosa

In Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa was from a group known as the Vuvalini of Many Mothers. She was born in a fertile area of the Wasteland known as The Green Place. She only has one arm. She was kidnapped by Immortan Joe and became an Imperator, one of his most trusted warriors.

Furiosa is the feminine version of the word 'furious' in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. It's not a great name for a kid, but it would be a cool name for a pet. It does not appear in the SSA name database.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Lyanna

In Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, Lyanna Stark was the sister of Eddard Stark. She died before the beginning of the stories. She was bethrothed to Robert Baratheon, but she was kidnapped by Rhaegar Targaryen. When her father demanded justice from King Aerys II, the King had him and her brother Brandon Stark executed. In retaliation, Eddard and Robert joined with other houses to overthrow the Targaryens. 

Lyanna Mormont was named after Lyanna Stark, and was the Lady of Bear Island, and cousin of Jorah Mormont. In the television series, she pledged what few men she had to support Jon Snow and Sansa Stark in their bid to take back Winterfell from the Boltons. 

Lyanna is also the name of a character in The Chronicles of the Raven by James Barclay. She was the daughter on Erienne Malanvai and the mage Denser.

Lyanna could be a variation of Liana, which has origins in multiple languages. In 2014, 58 girls in the United States were named Lyanna.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Niobe

In the Matrix franchise, Niobe was the captain of the Logos and Logos II. At one time she and Morpheus were a couple. She then dated Jason Lock, but she was still in love with Morpheus. She was the best pilot in the Resistance.

In Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Niobe was a princess. When Iolaus posed as King Orestes, she married him without knowing his true identity. They two fell in love, and she remained married to him after she learned the truth.

71 Niobe is a main belt asteroid. It was discovered in 1861 by German astronomer Robert Luther.

Niobe is a Greek name that means 'fern'. In Greek mythology, Niobe was a queen of Thebes. After her children were killed by Apollo, she wept so much that she turned into a stone from which water constantly flowed. In 2014, 6 girls were given the name in the United States.

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Falcon

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Falcon is the code name for Sam Wilson. He was a test pilot for the EXO-7 Falcon mechanical wings. He left the military after losing his wingman, Riley. He became friends with Steve Rogers and helped him and Natasha Romanoff defeat the hydra agents taking over S.H.I.E.L.D. In the Marvel comics, Falcon was criminal brainwashed by the Red Skull to attack Captain America. In the comics, he had the ability to communicate telepathically with birds, and had a bird of his own, named Redwing. Captain America managed to shake him of the Red Skull's programming, and Falcon became a member of S.H.I.E.LD. He temporarily took over the identity of Captain America when Steve Rogers briefly stepped down.

In Star Wars, the Millennium Falcon was the name of Han Solo's ship.

In Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Falcon was a holodeck character in a secret agent program used by Dr. Bashir.

In the Resident Evil Franchise, Falcon was a former Army ranger, anti-Umbrella activist, and member of Charlie Team.

The Falmouth Falcons are a Quidditch team in Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling.

The Falcon Clan were a tribe of Elves in the Dragonlance novel, Time of the Dragon.

Falcon is an English word name for a type of bird. In 2014, 18 boys were named Falcon.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Elara

Elara is the name of one of Jupiter's moons. Prior to 1976, it was officially known as Jupiter VII, although it was sometimes informally called Hera. It is a very small moon, being only 43 km, or 26.7 miles in diameter.

There is a character called Elara Dorne in the Star Wars: The Old Republic video game.

There is an elf named Elara in the Great Multiverse video game.

Like many astronomical names, Elara comes from Greek Mythology. Elara was a human princess that Zeus seduced. She died giving birth to Tityos, son of Zeus and a giant. In 2014, 22 girls in the United States were named Elara.