Zhora

Zhora was a character from the movie Blade Runner. She was a replicant and had superhuman endurance. She worked as a dancer in Taffy's Bar, and had a thing for snakes. She was used in murder squads and Deckard tracked her down, finding her at Taffy's bar. Zhora attacked him, but Deckard got away. She tried to escape, but Deckard shot her, 'retiring' her.

Some baby name sites list Zhora as a male Russian variant of George, but the only notable people I can find that bear the name are Armenian. It could also be a variant of the girl's name Zora. Zhora does not appear in the Social Security Administration's Name Database.

August 2013 Roundup

British Baby Names profiled Archer, known to geeks as the surname of the first Captain of the Enterprise, and Malcolm, the tactical officer that served under him.

Baby Name Pondering gives us Atlas, which is a moon, a star, a comic book, a video game, and much more. They also profiled Axis, from the Wayfarer Redemption fantasy series.

Bewitching Names discussed Ceres, which is a dwarf planet.

Appellation Mountain looked in depth at Melody, the birth name of Doctor Who's River Song.

Nameberry has a post on names from the work of Neil Gaiman.

Once Upon a Time Baby names has a list of Magical Names.

Theseus

In the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Theseus Scamander was the brother of Newt Scamander. He is only mentioned in the film, as he was a famous war hero in World War I.

In the Canadian television show Continuum, Theseus is the alias of Liber8 leader Julian Randol. Along with his father, Julian has an anti-corporate agenda, believing that corporations are controlling our governments. Kiera, the protector from the future, has knowledge of horrific crimes committed by Theseus. When she learns of his true identity, she is faced with a Hitler murder paradox. In the end, she lets Julian live, but fears she may have helped create the monster he is to become.

In the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Theseus was a boy who was sent by his mentor, Ceridian, secure Hercules aid in stopping another student, Cassius, who was about to begin a war.

EAS Theseus was a Omega-class destroyer in Babylon 5.

The Theseus Morpho is a type of butterfly.

In Greek Mythology, Theseus killed the Minotaur in a labyrinth, using a ball of string given to him by King Minos' daughter to find his way out. In Doctor Who, the Fourth Doctor claimed that he had been the one to give the string to Theseus.

In 2012, 41 boys were given the name Theseus.

July 2013 Roundup

It's time for my monthly roundup of other blogs that profiled geeky names for the month of July!

Appellation Mountain profiled Domino and Jubilee who are known to geeks as characters from X-Men.

NameFreak! has a great post on the characters from the movie Pacific Rim.

Naming the Fishes has a list of Names Worn By Elves.

Bewitching Names has a list of names inspired by the constellation Cancer.

Nameaholics Anonymous continues their Harry Potter Name series with H is for Hestia.

Histornamia has found a great name, Jaina, from Star Wars and World of Warcraft.

Atom

An atom is a unit of matter that consists of a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by a cloud of electrons.

Atom is a boxing robot in the movie Real Steel. Charlie Kenton and his son Max found Atom in a junkyard when they were salvaging parts for another robot. Max fell off a precipice, and was snagged on Atom's arm that was jutting out of the side of the cliff, saving his life. Max insisted on digging up Atom and bringing him home. Atom was a simple sparring robot, but with some creative maneuvers from Max and Charlie, he went on a winning streak. In their big showdown with Zeus, the voice controller was damaged. They used Atom's shadowboxing feature so that Charlie, an ex-boxer himself, could control him from the sidelines.

Captain Atom is a comic book hero that has been featured in his own series, but has also been part of the Justice League. Captain Atom was a scientist who was 'atomized' in an accident, which made him atomic powered.

A.T.O.M. or Alpha Teens On Machines, is an animated television series from France. It centers around a group of teenagers who use high tech gadgets and weapons to fight a criminal mastermind.

Arthur Thomson was a science fiction artist that used the name Atom.

Atom is a programming language. It is a domain-specific language (DSL) in Haskell, for designing real-time embedded software. Intel Atom is a name of an Intel CPU (Microprocessor).

I think Atom can work as a name because it sounds similar to 'Adam', and could also be used as a variant of 'Tom'. In 2012, 52 boys in the United States were named Atom.  

Hawking

Stephen Hawking is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist. Hawking suffers from ALS, which caused him to lose his voice. He communicates via a computer that generates speech.

Hawking radiation is a type of radiation theoretically emitted by black holes. It was named after Stephen Hawking, who first theorized it's existance.

There is a main belt asteroid named 7672 Hawking, in honor of Stephen Hawking.

Robert Hawking was a student at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban video game.

In Star Trek, two different shuttlecraft were named Hawking after Stephen Hawking.

Hawking Technology is a company that manufactures Wi-fi hardware.

Hawking fits in well with the current surname trend, and can be shortened to the very cool nickname, "Hawk". It doesn't appear in the Social Security Administration's name database, but the name Hawk was given to 33 boys in 2012. For parents in love with the sound of Hawk... why not add a few letters for a more brainy formal name?

June 2013 Roundup

I took the month of June off from the blog, but plenty of other sites picked up the slack! Here's a roundup of Geeky Names profiled in the month of June.

Appellation Mountain profiled Tanith, first name of Sci-Fi writer Tanith Lee. Tanith was also a Goa'uld in Stargate SG-1.

In Name Only had Stark as their cool baby name of the week.

British Baby names talked about Ismeria, a rare name that has a slightly geek reference in that it's part of the genus name for a type of butterfly.

Baby Name Pondering has two names with a geeky side: Dale, and Fiora.

Nancy's Baby Name's Name Predictions contained a few geeky names, Cypher, Kitai and Tesla.

Bewitching Baby Names had an in depth profile of Ameratsu, which was the name of a Goa'uld in Stargate SG-1.

Nameberry had an awesome list of Celestial Names.

May 2013 Roundup

It's time for my monthy round-up of other blogs that have profiled geeky names!

Once Upon a Time Baby Names had a post on Cedric, which was a character in Harry Potter, and Caspian from C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian.

Naming the Fishes had a great list of werewolf names, dragon names, and minotaur names. I think I like Zylo the best.

Nancy's Baby Names had a post about a baby born in 1971 named after a lunar module, and Atreyu, from the Neverending Story.

Appellation Mountain profiled Mira, which among other things is a star in the constellation Cetus.

British Baby Names had a post on Merewen, which can be found the two fantasy series: Stonewylde, and The Door Within.

Bewitching Names always manages to find something new and interesting, and this time she's discovered Chrysalis.

Baby Name Pondering talks about Cestus, which has some sci-fi references, and Delta, which pops up a lot in mathematics and sciences.

Nameberry has a post of Joss Whedon names. They also have a cool post on Arctic inspired names. They're mostly nature-related, but there are some science inspired choices.

In Name Only had a post on names from the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Nyssa

Nyssa was a companion of the Fifth Doctor in the television series, Doctor Who. Like the Doctor, she was the last of her kind, as her homeworld, Traken, had been destroyed. Her father Tremas, was a Consul on Traken, and she had a privileged life. She specialized in bioelectronics, and possessed a brilliant intellect. Nyssa met the Fourth Doctor when he came to Traken to stop the Master from becoming the Keeper of Traken, a powerful position that her father was heir to. Unfortunately, the Doctor was unable to prevent her father's death at the hands of the Master. The Master released waves of entropy on the universe, which destroyed Traken. After the Doctor was mortally wounded in his fight with the Master, he regenerated. While he was still recovering from his regeneration, Nyssa helped him back to the TARDIS. Since she no longer had a home to return to, she stayed in the TARDIS as his companion. She ended her travels with the Doctor at the space station Terminus, which was a treatment facility for those with Lazar's disease. Nyssa contracted the disease, so she chose to stay behind to help find a cure, which she eventually did.

Nyssa Raatko was a villain in Batman comic books. She was an illegitimate child of Ra's al Ghul, one of Batman's greatest enemies. She was born in Russia in the 19th century. She tracked her father down, and joined him until she became disenchanted by his genocidal plans. When she refused to allow her children to become his heirs, he disowned her, however, he did allow her to keep a Lazarus Pit, which gave her extreme longevity.

Nyssa Damaskinos was a vampire in the movie Blade II. She was a natural born vampire, and daughter of Eli Damaskinos.

In the Star Wars franchise, Nyssa was a planet where the Mecrosa Order arose.

The name Nyssa comes from an ancient Roman town in Turkey, and is the genus name of the Tupelo tree. Nyssa has never been in the top 1,000 names in the U.S. In 2012, 24 girls were named Nyssa.

Firenze

In Harry Potter, Firenze was a centaur that lived in the Forbidden Forest. In the first novel, he saved Harry Potter from Voldemort and carried him to safety. He became Professor of Divination when Professor Trelawney was fired by Dolores Umbridge. His colony banished him because they saw this as servitude. When Trelawney was rehired, they shared the class. Firenze was wounded in the Battle of Hogwarts, and eventually was allowed to return to his colony.

Firenze is the Italian name for the city of Florence. I think it would be a great way to honor someone named Florence. It was also the name of a famous racehorse. Firenze does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Éomer

Éomer was the son of Éomund, who in turn was the nephew of Théoden, King of Rohan in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Théoden's son, Théodred, died young, making Éomer the heir to the throne of Rohan. His cavalry killed the orcs that had captured Merry and Pippin. He was imprisoned by Wormtongue for allowing Aragorn and his companions go free. When Gandalf restored Théoden, Éomer was released. He fought in the Battle of the Hornburg and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. He became king when Théoden was killed in the latter battle. He was known as Éomer Éadig, or "the Blessed" because of the prosperity of Rohan during his reign.

Eomer was a legendary King of the Angles. He appears in genealogy of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and in Beowulf. The name means "Horse-famous". The name does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database.

Hera

In Battlestar Galactica, Hera Agathon was the first Human/Cylon hybrid. She was the daughter of Human Karl Agathon, and Cylon Sharon Agathon, both of whom were officers on Galactica. Previous attempts at reproduction by the Cylons failed, and they decided that love was a necessary component, so they sent Sharon to make Karl fall in love with her to help her conceive. Hera was born premature, and her parents were told that she died. She was then given a new identity and to another woman to raise. This was done to hide her from any Cylons that might be hiding amongst them. After Her adoptive mother died, Hera was taken to the Cylons where she was eventually reunited with her mother. Hera settled on New Earth, and died as a young woman, but 150,000 years later, her skeleton was found, and it was determined that she was the Mitochondrial Eve, the ancestor of all living humans. 

In Disney channel's Star Wars Rebels, Hera Syndulla was a Twi'lek and the owner of the freighter ship, Ghost. She also owned a droid named Chopper. She was an expert pilot and marksman. Her homeworld was Ryloth, and her father, Cham, led the resistance to the Empire there. She eventually left her world and became a member of the Rebellion.

Hera Tuix was a character in a Star Wars Novel, Yoda: Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart. She was a human Padawan during the Clone Wars.

In Star Trek, there was a Federation starship named the U.S.S. Hera. 

There is a main belt asteroid named 103 Hera. One of Jupiter's moons, Jupiter VII was once informally called Hera, but now bears a different name. 

There is a particle accelerator in Hamburg, Germany named HERA. It is short for Hadron Elektron Ring Anlage. 

The name Hera comes from Greek Mythology. She was the wife and sister of Zeus, and she was the goddess of women and marriage. Hera the Goddess was a character in the Marvel Comics Universe, 
and the Goddess Hera was also referred to as an alien of the same race as Apollo in an episode of Star Trek. 

Hera has never appeared in the top 1,000 names in the United States. In 2012, 16 girls were named Hera.

Yvaine

In Neil Gaiman's novel, Stardust, Yvaine was the name of a star that took human form when she fell from the sky. She was knocked down by a necklace sent by the King of Stormhold, as a test for his heirs. She landed in the the land of Faerie. There she encountered Tristran Thorne (Tristan in the film adaption), from the town of Wall, who tried to abduct her to take her as a gift to Victoria, a girl he was smitten with. She was also hunted by witches who wished to cut out her heart and use the magic to live forever, and by the heirs of Stormhold, who were after the necklace that knocked her from the sky. Tristran, her would be abductor, became her rescuer, and the two fell in love.

As far as I can tell, the name was invented by Gaiman, although some baby name websites have unsourced origins. The closest I can find that appears legitimate is the male name Yvain, which is of Welsh origin. Yvain is a form of Owain, meaning 'Youth', the name of a knight in the Arthurian legends. In 2012, 9 girls were named Yvaine.

Rubeus

Rubeus Hagrid was a character in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. His mother was a giant, and his father was a human wizard. He was expelled from Hogwarts when it was believed that his pet acromantula was responsible for the deaths of students, who were actually killed when Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was not allowed to practice magic, but he occasionally did anyway. Hagrid later became gamekeeper at Hogwarts, and he brought Harry Potter to the Dursley's house after Lily & James Potter were killed. He was also chosen to tell Harry that he was a wizard and help him get ready for his first year at Hogwarts. A few years later he was made a professor and he taught Care of Magical Creatures. After Voldemort came back, Dumbledore sent Hagrid as an envoy to the giants, hoping to prevent them from joining Voldemort's army. Hagrid failed, but he brought home his half brother, Grawp, who he kept hidden in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid went into hiding with Grawp during the Second Wizarding War, but returned for the Battle of Hogwarts. During the battle, he was captured by Death Eaters. Hagrid was still teaching at Hogwarts when Harry Potter's children attended the school.

Crimson Rubeus was a Sailor Moon Character, and was a villain of the Black Moon Clan.

Rubeus is the Latin word for 'Red'. It does not appear in SSA's name database, making it a very rare name. Since the character was mainly called Hagrid, it's also a name that doesn't scream 'Harry Potter'. 

Callisto

Callisto is one of Jupiter's moons that was discovered by Galileo. It is Jupiter's second largest moon, and is nearly as large as the planet Mercury. It is composed of equal amounts of rock and ices.

In X-Men, Callisto was a mutant who possessed superhuman senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. She was once a beautiful woman, but became scarred as a result of violent encounters with normal humans. She was the leader of the Morlocks, a group of mutants that lived in the sewers. She lost leadership of the Morlocks when Storm defeated her in a duel.  She later became a servant of the wizard Kulan Gath. When she found herself in a new timeline, she became an ally of the X-Men and even rescued Professor X. 

Callisto was a character in Xena: Warrior Princess and in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Callisto witnessed the death of her mother and sister at the hands of Xena, who killed them during a chaotic attack on her village. As a result of this trauma, Callisto became a ruthless and bloody warlord, who was out to get Xena. She died twice, became an immortal, then a God, then a demon, and ultimately an archdemon. 

The Callisto series was a series of science fiction novels published in the 1970s by author Lin Carter.

In Doctor Who, the Callisto Pulse was a device that could disarm micro-explosives. River Song traded a Callisto Pulse for a vortex manipulator she needed to reach the Doctor.

In Star Trek, the U.S.S. Callisto was a Federation starship, and in a Star Wars novel, Callisto was the name of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

In Greek mythology, Callisto was a nymph of Artemis. She was transformed into a bear and set among the stars. Callisto has never ranked in the top 1,000 names in the United States. In 2012, 7 girls were named Callisto in the U.S.

Alva & Edison

Thomas Alva Edison was one of the most prolific inventors in history. He began his career as a telegraph operator, and his first inventions were for improvements telegraphic devices. The first invention that earned him some attention was the phonograph which he invented in 1877. He created the first industrial research lab in Menlo Park, NJ, and he became known as "The Wizard of Menlo Park." Other notable inventions by Edison were the incandescent light bulb and the kinetescope. 

Balthazar M. Edison was the captain of the U.S.S. Franklin in Star Trek Beyond. 

Edison Po was a character in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He was a former marine who was part of the Centipede Project. He was killed by the John Garrett.

Ethan Edison was a minor character in the television series Eureka. He created Martha, a drone used to test weapons systems, but who developed into an AI.

There are several types of software named Edison. 


Alva has several origins and can be suitable for boys or girls. It is an English variant of Alvah, a male name of Hebrew origin that means 'his highness', a female variant of the Swedish name Alf, meaning 'elf', or an Anglicization of the Irish female name Ailbhe, which means 'noble, or bright.' Alva has not ranked in the top 1000 since 1969. In 2011, 13 girls were named Alva.

Edison is an English name that means 'son of Edward'. In 2011, Edison ranked at #767 in the U.S. 

Arwen

Arwen Undómiel is a character in the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. A member of the Half-elven in Middle-earth, she is neither elf or man, and must choose which to become. Arwen chooses to give up the immortal life of an elf to marry her love Aragorn.

Arwen is a real name of Welsh origin, which can also be spelled Arwyn. The meaning of the Welsh name is 'muse', but in Tolkien's world, it means 'noble maiden or noble woman'. It can be used for both boys and girls. In 2011, 72 girls were named Arwen, and 20 girls were named Arwyn.

Newton

Isaac Newton was an English physicist and mathematician that lived from 1642 to 1727. He is best known for explaining gravity in his law of universal gravitation, and the laws of motion. He also developed infinitesimal calculus. He was a fellow at Trinity College and a professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge. 

There are craters on the moon and Mars named for Newton. 

In Star Trek, there was a starship named the U.S.S. Newton. It was also the name of that particular class of vessel. 

In the Harry Potter universe, Professor Newton Artemis Fido "Newt" Scamander was the author of the textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. J.K. Rowling wrote a real version of the book for charity.

Newton is an English name that means 'New town'. Newton appeared in SSA's top 1,000 names in the U.S. from 1880-1957. It's highest rank was in 1880 at #182. In 2011, only 14 boys were named Newton. I love this name, and the cool nickname "Newt", but it as been totally ruined for me by a distasteful American politician.

Barbarella

Barbarella was a French comic character created by Jean-Claude Forest in 1962. The comic spawned a movie, also called Barbarella, in 1968, and a musical in 2004. The character represented a future where women were sexually liberated. Barbarella traveled to other planets, meeting aliens that she often had sex with. 

Barbarella was the name of a German hybrid rocket launched in the 1970s.

Barbarella is a variant of the name Barbara, which means foreign, or strange. Barbarella only appeared in the Social Security Administration's database for 2 years. In 1969 the name was given to 17 girls, and in 1970, it was given to 8 girls.

Hal

HAL-9000 was an artificial intelligence from 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. HAL was short for Heuristically programmed, ALgorithmic computer. Hal was part of the computer in the Discovery One spaceship. HAL began to malfunction, and when the astronauts decided to disconnect his cognitive circuits, HAL decided to kill them. In the sequel, 2010: Odyssey Two, HAL was restarted, and his previous attempt to kill the astronauts was revealed to be due to a conflict in his programming. HAL sacrificed himself to save the astronauts, but was turned into a non-corporeal being by the monolith.

Harold 'Hal' Jordan was one of several humans to become member of the Green Lantern Corps. He was a member of the U.S. Air Force. When Abin Sur, a member of the Greeen Lantern Corps, crash landed in California, the power ring chose Hal Joran as it's replacement officer. He was one of the founding members of the Justice League. 

Hal Yorke was a vampire in the U.K. television series Being Human. He was born in the late 15th century. He went on a bloody rampage for centuries, and gained such an evil reputation that even the Old Ones were afraid of him. In the 20th century he lived with a werewolf named Leo and a ghost named Pearl. After Leo died, Pearl went with him to the afterlife, leaving Hal with another werewolf and ghost, Tom and Annie.

Halfast 'Hal' Gamgee was a Hobbit and a cousin of Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. 

Hal the Archer, and Hal Korwin where minor characters in the Doctor Who television series. 

Hal is typically a nickname for Harold or Henry. As a stand alone name it is not very popular. In 2011, only 15 boys were named Hal.

Teyla

Teyla Emmagan was a character in the television series, Stargate: Atlantis. Teyla was born in the Pegasus Galaxy on the planet Athos. Her planet was frequently culled by the Wraith, an alien species that consumed the life force of humans. A group of humans from Earth visited her planet shortly after discovering the lost city of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy. Teyla's people were forced to evacuate to Atlantis as well, and Teyla joined the human expedition. Some Athosians had a small amount of Wraith DNA, which gave them the ability to sense the presence of the wraith. In Teyla this ability was unusually strong, and with practice, she was eventually able to make telepathic contact with Wraith minds. Teyla had a relationship with an Athosian named Kanaan. The relationship produced a son named Torren. Teyla stayed on Atlantis when it traveled back to the Milky Way galaxy to stop a Wraith attack on Earth. 

Teyla is an invented name. In 2011, 20 girls were named Teyla.

April 2013 Rounup

Here's my monthly round up of posts from other baby name sites for April!

Baby Name Pondering had a long post on the Doctor's newest companion, Clara. I thought about profiling Clara myself, but I wanted to see how the character developed, since so much about her is still a mystery. They also profiled Khaleesi, from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, aka Game of Thrones. Never having read the books or seen the television show, I found it an enlightening read.

Naming the Fishes talks about the historical origins of Idris, and discusses Lore, which is known to Trekkies as the name of Data's brother from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Nameberry shares a list of inventors, both famous and obscure, as possible namesakes. Some of the choices here are a bit odd. You really have to love coffee to name your kid after the guy who invented coffee filters.

My Name is Pabst introduces their March Madness winner, Severus Danger. Looks like this adorable lad is already working on his namesake's sneer.

Waltzing More Than Matilda has a great in depth post on Thor. I prefer the female version, Thora, myself. 

For Real Baby Names found a girl named Saturn Marie.  

British Baby names profiled Freya, which has several geeky references. In Stargate SG-1, Freya was a woman who as host to a Tok'ra symbiote. There's a character in Final Fantasy IX named Freya Crescent. There is a main belt asteroid named 76 Freia, and a Swedish satellite named Freja.
 

Merry

In the Doctor Who franchise, Merry Galel was an inhabitant of Akhaten. She was known as the Queen of Years, and was a Sun-singer of the long song. The song was continuously sung by various singers to appease the sleeping Old God. The Doctor's companion, Clara, encountered Merry when she was running away because she feared she would make a mistake. Clara convinced her that she would be able to complete her task and convinced her to return. While Merry was singing, the Old God awoke, and took her as a sacrifice. The Doctor and Clara rescued her and convinced her that she did not need to sacrifice herself to appease the Old God.

Merry was the nickname of Meriadoc Brandybuck in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He was a Hobbit and one of the Fellowship of the Ring. At Gondor, he became a squire to Théoden. He helped Éowyn kill the Witch King of Angmar. He was awarded a knighthood for his bravery. 

Merry Pemberton was a character in the D.C. Comics universe.

Merry is an English name that means 'Happy'. Merry appeared in the SSA's top 1000 names for most years between 1920 and 1969, but hasn't ranked since then. It ranked highest in 1954 when it was #468. In 2011, the name Merry was given to just 15 girls.

Tycho

Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer who lived in the 16th century. He observed a supernova in 1592, and unlike most of his contemporaries, asserted that the star was further away than the moon. He coined the term 'Nova' to describe what we now call Supernovas. Tycho lost part of his nose during a duel over a mathematics formula, and often wore a false nose made of various metals, depending on the occasion. There are craters on the moon and on Mars that are named for him.

Tycho Celchu is a character in the Star Wars universe. He was a native of Alderaan, and he lost his entire family when the planet was destroyed by the Death Star. He was a member of the Imperial Navy at the time, but the destruction of his world spurred him to join the Rebel Alliance as a starfighter pilot. He later continued to serve as a pilot for the New Republic. He eventually became a General in the Galactic Alliance Defense Force.

There are characters named Tycho in the computer games Fallout and Marathon, and in the Warhammer 40,000 game.

Tycho is a Greek name that means "hitting the mark". I think the fact that it can be shortened to the modern nickname 'Ty', makes this name a little less archaic. In 2011, 13 boys in the United States were named Tycho.

Quorra

Quorra was a character from the movie, Tron: Legacy and the video game, Tron: Evolution. Quorra was the last known ISO (Isomorphic Algorithm) still alive. She was a friend of Kevin Flynn, and helped his son Sam Flynn after he traveled to the Grid. She eventually escaped with Sam to the real world, becoming a real person in the process.

Quorra is pronounced the same as the name Cora, so it might have been intended as a variant of that name. Cora is an Italian name that means 'heart.' Quorra is another name for the Niger River. It might also derive from the Latin word 'quora', which means 'whose'. In 2014, 26 girls were given the name Quorra.

Kitiara

Kitiara 'Kit' Uth Matar was a character in the Dragonlance series of novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. She was a mercenary who joined the Dragonarmies of Ansalon. There, she rose in rank to become the Dragon Highlord of the Blue Dragonarmy. She was the half-sister of the hero Caramon Majere, and his twin, the sorcerer Raistlin Majere. She was also a lover of the half elven hero Tanis and the knight Sturm Brightblade, whom she later killed. She was killed by Dalamar the Dark, a former apprentice of her brother Raistlin, in the Tower Of High Sorcery in Palanthas.

Kitiara is an invented name. It's unusual, but the sounds are familiar enough to make it a useable name. It would also be an awesome name for a female cat. Kitiara has hovered at the bottom of the SSA lists from 1990 through 2005, occasionally dropping off altogether. In 1993, the highest ranked year, 12 girls were named Kitiara.

Kingsley

Kingsley Shacklebolt was a prominient wizard in the Harry Potter series. Kingsley was a Auror who joined the Order of the Phoenix. After Voldemort was defeated, he became the Minister of Magic.

Doctor Sara Kingsley was a character in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Unnatural Selection'. She led a genetic experiment on children which made them immune to all forms of disease, but also made them deadly to normal humans.

Kingsley's Adventure was a video game created for Playstation in 1999.

Kingsley is an English name that means 'King's meadow'. In 2011, the name Kingsley was given to 196 boys and 33 girls.

Gallifrey

In the Doctor Who franchise, the planet Gallifrey is the homeworld of the Doctor, and his race, the Time Lords. The word Gallifrey means "They that walk in the shadows". It was located in the constellation of Kasterborous. Kasterborous was also known as the Seven Systems, and Gallifrey was sometimes called "the Shining World of the Seven Systems". It was destroyed and recreated multiple times, lastly by the Doctor during the Last Great Time War.

Gallifrey does not appear in the Social Security Adminstation's database. It sounds similar to some surnames, so it might blend in with the current surname as first name trend. I think it's better left to the middle name spot.

Alice

Alice was the main protagonist from the Resident Evil movie franchise. She was a security operative working for the Umbrella corporation. After Umbrella creates a zombie apocalypse, she becomes the enemy of the corporation.

In Star Trek: Voyager, Tom Paris discovers an alien shuttle craft with an A.I. that he called Alice, after a girl he chased while a student at Starfleet Academy. Tom was able to interface with the ship through a neurogenic interface, and gradually, the ship began to control him.  

In the original Star Trek television series, notorious con artist Harry Mudd created a series of android women that he called the Alice series.

In the Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood, Alice Carter was the daughter of Captain Jack Harkness. Jack used her son, Steven, to reverse a signal being sent through the children of Earth by the 456. The process stopped the 456, but resulted in Steven's death.

In the Harry Potter francise, Alice Longbottom was the mother of Neville Longbottom. She was driven mad when Bellatrix Lestrange tortured her with the Cruciatus curse.

Alice was the name of a Pretender Transformer in the movie, Revenge of the Fallen. She took the form of an animatronic figure of Alice in Wonderland from an amusement park.

There is a main belt asteroid named 291 Alice. 

Alice ML is a programming language that is a dialect of Standard ML. 

Alice Eliot was a character from the video game Shadow Hearts. She could hear supernatural voices and later became an exorcist. She could use white magic to heal others and inflict damage on enemies.

Alice 19th was a Japanese manga series published from 2001-2003.

ALICE is an acronym for Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity, and for A Large Ion Collider Experiment.

Alice is a German name that means 'noble'.  Alice has always been in the top 1000 names in the United States. The highest it's been was #8 in the years 1906, 1882, & 1880. In 2011, it ranked at #140.

Temeraire

Temeraire is a Dragon created by author Naomi Novik. Her Temeraire series consists of seven novels that re-imagine the Napoleonic Wars with an aerial squadron of Dragons thrown into the mix. Temeraire is a Celestial dragon, a rare breed that is worshiped in it's native China. While still in his egg, Temeraire was captured from the French by a British ship, and the ship's Captain William Laurence became the dragon's companion. Temeraire's power is the 'Divine Wind', a roar that produces a concussive force that can destroy objects.

Téméraire is a French word that means "rash, reckless, foolhardy." The name wouldn't really work for a person, but I think it would be an awesome name for a rambunctious pet.

Rosha

In Stargate SG-1, Rosha was the host of the Tok'ra Jolinar of Malkshur. She was lovers with Martouf, who was the host of Lantash, who was Jolinar's lover. When Jolinar was being hunted by an Ashrak, a Goa'uld assassin, she abandoned Rosha and took another host in an attempt to evade the Ashrak. The ultimate fate of Rosha is unknown.

Rosha might be a variant of the boy's name Roshan, a Persian name that means light, or bright. Rosha does not appear in the Social Security's name database.

Mitchell

In the television series, Being Human, John Mitchell was a vampire with a werewolf roommate in a flat inhabited by a ghost. Mitchell attempted to go 'dry', and refrained from feeding on humans, in an attempt to live a normal human life. In the end, he failed, and asked his werewolf roommate to kill him so that he would not continue to take human lives. 

Cameron Mitchell was a U.S. Air Force pilot, and later the leader of SG-1 in the series Stargate SG-1. While a pilot, he led the Earth forces at the Battle of Antarctica, becoming seriously wounded. When he recovered, he was given his choice of assignment. He chose SG-1, only to discover that the original team was dissolved, and he made it his mission to get them back together.

Gary Mitchell was a helmsman on the U.S.S. Enterprise in the original Star Trek television series. When the Enterprise traveled into the galactic barrier, Mitchell and Dr. Dehner came into contact with energies of the barrier. When they recovered, they developed powerful god-like abilities. Mitchell's powers corrupted his personality, and with the help of Dr. Dehner, Captain Kirk was forced to kill Mitchell.

Mitchell was a member of Katniss's sharpshooting team in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. He was from District 13, and was killed during an assault by Katniss's team on the Capitol.

American Maria Mitchell was a 19th century astronomer who discovered a comet that became known as "Miss Mitchell's Comet". There is a crater on the moon named Mitchell in her honor.

Mitchell is a surname with several origins. It can be a variant of the name Michael, an anglicization of the Irish surname Mulvihill, which itself comes from Ó Maoil Mhichíl, or it might be derived from the Middle English word meaning 'Big'. Mitchell has appeared in the Social Security Administration's database as a first name since the first recorded year in 1880. In 1994, the name reached it's highest peak at #71. In 2011, it ranked at #418.

March 2013 Roundup

Here's a round up of baby name sites that profiled geeky names in the month of March.

Appellation Mountain took an in-depth look at Éowyn, and some of the character names chosen by Joss Whedon.

Baby Name Pondering talked about Morgana, and listed her favorite names from fantasy movies of the 1980's.

British Baby Names profiled Arthur, which has a ton of geeky references. Arthur Weasley was the patriarch of the Weasley family in the Harry Potter series, Arthur Dent was the main protagonist in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Arthur the Moth was the Tick's sidekick in the comic, The Tick. Arthur Petrelli was a character in the television series, Heroes.  Arthur Penhaligon was the protagonist in The Keys to the Kingdom series. Arthur was an A.I. in The Journeyman Project. And Finally, 2597 Arthur was a main belt asteroid.

Bewitching names examined Equinox.

Nameaholics Anonymous continued their series on Harry Potter names with G is for Gilderoy. 

Waltzing More Than Matilda took an in depth look at Neville. 

Moon or Pepper? I think you can guess that I chose Moon.

Idris

Idris was the name of a woman who became host to the living consiousness of the TARDIS in Doctor Who. Idris lived on an asteroid inhabited by an entity, House, that fed on the artron energy of TARDISes. House tricked the Doctor into coming to the asteroid, then he removed the living matrix of the TARDIS and placed it in the body of Idris. Her body could not live very long with the matrix inside, but the Doctor managed to get Idris back to the control room of the TARDIS before she died. As she died, the matrix was released back into the TARDIS. 

Idris Hopper was also the name of a minor character in Doctor Who. He was the secretary to the mayor of Cardiff who was taken over by the Slitheen. 

Idris was also the name of an operating system available from 1979 to 1988. 

Idris is a name of Welsh origin that means 'ardent lord'. Although it can be used for both boys and girls, it is primarily used for boys. It is also the name of a prophet in the Qur'an. In 2011, 114 boys were given the name in the United States. It did not rank for girls.

Carina

The constellation Carina appears in the southern sky, and it contains the 2nd brightest star in Earth's sky. It is Latin for the keel of a ship, as it formed the keel in the constellation that depicted the ship Argo, Argo Navis. Carina is also the name of a dwarf galaxy and a nebula that appear within in the constellation. The Carina-Sagittarius arm is an arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Carina was a slave of the Collector. She was killed when she tried to take the power stone. In the Marvel Comics, Carina Walters was the daughter of the Collector. She had the ability to fire bursts of energy from her hands, and transfer the consciousness of individuals to other bodies.

Carina was also the name of a civilian ship in Battlestar Galactica.

Carina is sometimes used a a pet form of the Italian name Cara, which means 'Beloved'. Carina first appeared in the top 1000 names in the United States in 1976. It hit it's peak in 1995 at #383. It is currently ranked at # 948.

Cora

Cora is the name of an evil sorceress in the fantasy television show, Once Upon A Time. She's also known as the Queen of Hearts for her penchant of pulling people's hearts from their chests, including her own. This weeks episode gave us Cora's back story, but I won't go into it here because I don't want to give away any spoilers for those who haven't seen the episode yet. An up to date description of the character can be found here. 

Cora Goodbody was a Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings.

Cora is an acronym for "Computer, Oral Response Activated" in Battlestar Gallactica. In other words, it was the voice of the computer in vipers. It often flirted with Starbuck.

Cora is also the name of an experimental rocket designed by the French. 

Cora is a Greek name that means 'maiden'. Cora was ranked at #15 in 1880, the first year of data available in the U.S. It declined continuously until the late 1980s, when it began to climb back up the charts. In 2011 it ranked at #204.

Marvin

Marvin the Martian was a Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Cartoon Character. His outfit was based on the Roman god Mars. He wasn't given the name Marvin the Martian in the original cartoons. His name came decades later when Warner Bros found there was marketing interest in the character. Marvin was often seen attempting to destroy the Earth, which he had been trying to do for 2000 years because it obscured his view of Venus. His weapon of choice was a Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. He could also be seen using a small pistol that fired either bubbles of pliable plastic or energy beams.

Marvin the Paranoid Android was a character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. Marvin has a vast intellect, which he rarely gets to use, and as a result suffers from boredom and depression. He claimed to be 50,000 times more intelligent than a human. He died in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, however in the radio edition of Mostly Harmless, he reappeared with the explanation that he was still covered by his warranty.

Marvin White was a teenaged sidekick of the Super Friends in the D.C. Comics universe. He also appeared in Teen Titans. He had a pet dog named Wonder Dog. In early incarnations, he was clever and resourceful, although sometimes also bumbling, and had no super powers. Later, his fellow sidekick Wendy Harris was made his fraternal twin, and both became technical geniuses.

Marvin is a variant of the Welsh name Mervyn, and means "sea hill". The use of Marvin as a baby name has declined in the United States. While the name appears in the top 1000 names for every year on record, Marvin hit it's peak in 1933 & 1934 when it ranked at #44. In 2011, Marvin ranked at #471, the lowest it's ever ranked.

Kamala

In the Star Trek: Next Generation episode, "The Perfect Mate", Kamala was an empathic metamorph from the planet Krios Prime. As an empathic metamorph, Kamala's personality and interests changed depending on whatever man she was with, becoming his ideal woman. These personality traits would become permanent when she bonded with her mate, but she would still retain her empathic abilities. Kamala was the first of her kind to be born on Krios Prime in 100 years. She was betrothed to Alrik of Valt as part of a peace treaty. The U.S.S. Enterprise was escorting Kamala to Valt when her escort, an elderly ambassador, was injured by Ferengi attempting to purchase Kamala. Captain Picard took over as her escort, giving Kamala a chance to explore her own identity for the first time. Kamala was happier with the person she was when she was with Picard, so she bonded with him instead. She adopted his sense of duty as well, so she still went through with the arranged marriage, relying on her empathic abilities to make Alrik happy.  

Kamala is an Indian name that means Lotus. In 2011, the name Kamala was given to 7 girls in the United States.

Reed

Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic is the leader of the superhero team The Fantastic Four. The Fantastic Four started out as a Marvel series, and has led to two blockbuster films. Reed was a scientific genius. Due to exposure to cosmic radiation, he had the ability to stretch or shape-shift his body into nearly any shape. He is sometimes portrayed as cold and distant to his teammates. He is married to Susan Storm aka the Invisible Woman, with whom he has two children, Franklin and Valeria.

Malcolm Reed was the armory officer on the Enterprise NX-01 in the Star Trek franchise. As such, he was in charge of security. He was one of the principle characters on the last Star Trek television series, Enterprise. Malcolm was from an English family with a long history of service in the Royal Navy, but Malcom suffered from aquaphobia, so he entered Starfleet instead.

In science, the Reed Reaction is a chemical reaction. A reed relay is a relay that uses an electromagnet to control reed switches.

Reed is an English surname that means "red haired". Except for two years in the 1880s, Reed has always appeared in the top 1000 given names in the United States. In 2011, it reached an all time high ranking at #367.

Jadis

Jadis was a character in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. She appeared in The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She was mentioned in some of the other books too. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, she is referred to as the White Witch. She was from the World of Charn, which exists outside Narnia and Earth, and was it's last Queen. She was a powerful sorceress, and fought a bloody war against her sister. When she was about to be defeated, she spoke a curse called the Deplorable Word that ended all life on Charn. She placed a sleeping spell on herself and was awakened by a bell she left behind by Digory Kirk and Polly Plummer of Earth. She followed them to Earth but she could not use her magic there. When they attempted to send her back to the Charn, she ended up in Nardia where she ate a silver apple from the tree of youth and became immortal. She was then banished by Aslan to the north for 900 years. When she returned, she used her magic to create the Long Winter. There was a prophecy that the Golden Age would be brought about by two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve. She tried to use Edmund Pevensie to lure the his siblings to her, but the Beavers helped them flee. Aslan returned and prevented her from executing Edmund. As the two sides prepared for war, Jadis asserted her legal claim on Edmund's life. Aslan offered his own life in place of Edmund's and Jadis accepted. She stabbed him in the heart on the Stone Tablet. After Aslan was resurrected, he killed her in the midst of battle.

Jadis is an invented name. The White Witch of Narnia is not the most appealing namesake, but the name has a modern sound, sharing a first syllable with the extremely popular name Jayden. In 2011, the name Jadis was given to 5 boys and 5 girls.

Update: Thanks to Waltzing More Than Matilda, I've learned that Jadis is the word for 'witch' in Persian. 

February 2013 Roundup

I've decided to do a monthly Roundup feature on the last day of every month. In it, I'll compile links to other name sites that profiled geeky names during the month. I've done these posts before, but I feel it would be better to do them on a more regular basis. So, here are the Geeky names I've found across the web during the month of February!

Bewitching Names profiled Romulus. While she focused on it's historical origins, it's best known to geeks as the home planet of the Romulan race in Star Trek. Romulus was also a super villain in the Marvel universe, and a main belt asteroid is also named 10386 Romulus.

Naming the Fishes listed the names found in the video game Dragon Age 2.

Mer de Noms suggested Benzene as a unique way to get to 'Ben'. It also has that trendy 'z' sound. The more I think about it, the more I like it!

Name Freak profiled Colm, the name of the actor who played Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: Deep Space 9. Colm is also the name of a character in the video game Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. 

I recently discovered Nameholics Anonymous's series of posts on Harry Potter Names. She's going alphabetically, and I didn't find it until recently, so I was a few letters behind! Her most recent post is 'F is For Filius'. Previous posts include A is for Alastor, B is for Bathilda, C is for Cedric, D is for Draco, and E is for. I think she forgot to add a name to the last one!