Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Drake

The Drake Equation is an equation used to estimate the possible number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy. It was created in 1961 by Frank Drake. Many of the elements in the equation are unknown, and it was created as a means to inspire a dialogue on the subject.

Tim Drake was the third Robin in the Batman comics.

In the Star Trek series Enterprise, one of the archaeologists who found the debris of a Borg cube on Earth in 2153 was named Drake. He was assimilated. There were also two starships named U.S.S. Drake, and a shuttlecraft on the U.S.S. Voyager also bore the name.

Drake was the name of the Dragon in the movie, Dragonheart: A New Beginning.

There are several Drakes in the Pokémon franchise.

Drake has it's root in several languages, including Old English, Old Norse, and Greek. In all of these languages, the meaning is 'dragon.' In 2015, Drake was the 399th most popular name for boys in the United States.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Gaius

In Battlestar Galactica, Gaius Baltar was used by a Cylon spy to help bring about the holocaust that killed most of humanity. He was rescued from Caprica, and ended up on Galactica. He invented a Cylon detector, and led a monotheistic cult. He was also elected President of the twelve colonies.

In Frank Herbert's Dune, Gaius Helen Mohaim was a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother. She was part of the conspiracy to end Paul Atreides' rule, and was later executed by Alia Antreides.

In Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series, House Gaius is a ruling house of Alera.

In Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Gaius van Baelsar was a general who lead the invasion into Eorzea. He was known as The Black Wolf.

Gaius is a Latin name from ancient Rome, and means 'Happy'. Only 15 boys in the United States were named Gaius in 2015.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Nova

A nova is an explosion on the surface of a white dwarf star. A supernova is a star that explodes.

Nova is a science television program aired by P.B.S.

There are several characters in the Marvel universe that bear the name Nova: Richard Rider, Sam Alexander, and Frankie Rae.

Nova was a human female in the movie Planet of the Apes.

In ABC's Once Upon a Time, Nova was a fairy. She wanted to become a fairy godmother, and had a romance with Dreamy, a dwarf later known as Grumpy.

Nova was a novel by Samuel R. Delaney published in 1968. The Nova Trilogy was a series of novels by William S. Burroughs.

Nova is the latin word for 'new'. In 2014, Nova was the 215th most popular name for girls in the U.S.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Jaylah

In Star Trek Beyond, Jaylah was an alien of an unnamed race that was stranded on Krall's planet. She assisted the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise when they were attacked and stranded there as well. She was a resourceful engineer, and she taught herself English from a database. Simon Pegg stated in an interview that the character was inspired by Jennifer Lawrence's character in Winter's Bone, and that Jaylah was dervied from her nickname, 'J-Law'.

Jaylah is a variant of Jay, which means 'blue crested bird'. In 2015, Jaylah was the 483rd most popular name for girls in the U.S. The alternate spelling Jayla ranked at #238, and Jaylaa was given to 8 girls.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Montgomery

In Star Trek, Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott was the Chief Engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He also often manned the ship's transporter, and he was an expert in transporter technology. He developed transwarp beaming, and when he was stranded in a crash, he stored himself in a transporter buffer until his rescue 75 years later by the U.S.S. Entrprise-D.

Montgomery is the name of a Scottish Clan. The name means "Gumarich's mountain". Gumarich means man of power. In 2015, 102 boys were named Montgomery in the U.S., along with 22 girls.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Riri

In Marvel Comics, Riri Williams was a genius 15 year old who studied at M.I.T. She created her own version of Tony Stark's Iron Man suit using material stolen from the school. While testing the suit, she stopped some prisoners trying to escape.

Some sites claim that Riri is an Indonesian name, but I don't see much backing that claim up. Riri is a nickname used by the pop star Rhianna. Riri does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Nayru

In The Legend of Zelda series, Nayru was the goddess of wisdom. She and her sisters created Hyrule, the mythical kingdom where the series takes place. Nayru created the laws of the universe and magic. The Oracle of the Ages was named Nayru after her. Lanayru Province and Lanayru, The Light Spirit, were also named for her.

Nayru was created for the Legend of Zelda. In the language of Hyrule, it means 'love' or 'wisdom'. Nayru does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database. 

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Theia

Theia is the name of a hypothetical planet. In the early solar system, it is believed that the Earth was struck by a proto-planet about the size of Mars. The theory is that the collision of the two young planets caused the formation of the Earth's Moon.

THEIA is the acryonym for a telescope proposed by NASA called the Telescope for Habitable Exoplanets and Interstellar/Intergalactic Astronomy.

In Greek mythology, Theia was a Titan who was the mother of the moon goddess Selene. The name means "Goddess or Divine". In 2015, Theia was given to 75 girls.

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Sunday, June 5, 2016

Direwolves in Game of Thrones

Six Direwolf puppies were left orphaned when their mother was killed by a stag. They were each adopted by the six Stark children, with whom they each formed an especially close bond. Their names are great inspiration for name your own pet. This post is spoiler free, if you want to know more about each, click the links to their descriptions at A Wiki of Ice and Fire.

Ghost -  Jon Snow's direwolf. Ghost was all white, with red eyes. Ghost was the smallest at birth, but grew to be the largest.
Grey Wind - Robb Stark's direwolf. His fur was the color of grey smoke and he had yellow eyes.
Lady - Owned by Sansa Stark, Lady had grey fur and yellow eyes. She was the smallest of the litter.
Nymeria - Arya Stark's direwolf. She had grey fur and golden eyes. She was named after a legendary Queen.
Shaggydog - Rickon Stark's direwolf. He had black fur and green eyes. He was sometimes just called Shaggy.
Summer - Bran Stark's direwolf. He had silver-grey fur and yellow eyes.

For more inspiration, check out my list of the Dragons of Game of Thrones.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Ashildr

In Doctor Who, Ashildr, daughter of Einarr, was a young woman who lived in a Viking village on Earth in the 9th century. Her village was visited by an aliens called the Mire who posed as the Norse god Odin, in a plot to harvest the strongest warriors. Ashildr had a vivid imagination, perfect for Mire hologram technology, which the Doctor used to dupe the Mire into surrendering. Unfortunately Ashildr was killed in the process. The Doctor then used Mire technology to bring her back to life, but it also made her immortal. Ashildr kept detailed diaries of her life because she had trouble remembering much of her past, including her name. She eventually began referring to herself as 'Me', and in the 18th century, 'Lady Me'. Later, Ashildr traveled with Clara in a second TARDIS stolen from Gallifrey. She was the last living being at the end of the universe.

Ashildr is a variant of the Norse name Åshild, which means 'god battle'. The name Hildr comes from a valkyrie, one of Odin's handmaidens, who chose who would survive a battle, much as the Doctor did by saving Ashildr. Ashildr does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database.