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!

Inara

Inara Serra was a character on the short lived television show Firefly, and it's subsequent feature film, Serenity. Inara was a licensed courtesan to the wealthy, referred to as a Companion. Her services went beyond the physical, and she helped with her client's emotional well-being as well. She leased one of Serenity's shuttle craft which she used to travel to meet clients. Although it was not mentioned in the series or the movie, behind the scenes information revealed that Inara had a terminal illness. 

Inara comes from a deity in Hittite mythology. She was the goddess of the wild animals of the steppe. She was a protective deity, and was involved with the Puruli spring festival. In the Greek pantheon, she was known as Artemis. Some name websites claim that Inara is of Arabic origin and means 'Ray of Light' or 'Heaven sent', but I can't find much else to back up that claim. In 2011, the name Inara was given to 108 girls in the United States.

Delenn

Delenn of Mir was an ambassador from the planet Minbar in the television series Babylon 5. She was one of the leaders of the Grey Council, Minbar's ruling council. After a year aboard Babylon 5, she underwent a transformation inside an ancient device that turned her into a Human-Minbari hybrid. She and John Sheridan, the commander of Babylon 5, fell in love and were married. Together they had a son, David Sheridan. She became the leader of a group of Rangers in the Army of Light. When John Sheridan decided not to run for re-election as President of the Interstellar Alliance, she was chosen to succeed him. 

Delenn is an invented name. It's a few letters off from the Cornish name Dellen, but I think that may just be a coincidence. In 2011, 5 girls were named Delenn.

Apollo

In the original Battlestar Gallactica, Captain Apollo Adama was one of the central characters of the franchise. He was the son of Commander Adama and Ila. He had a sister Athena, and a brother Zac. He was a viper pilot, and the leader of Blue Squadron. Starbuck was his wingman. In the modern version, the character was renamed Leland Joseph "Lee' Adama, and Apollo was his call sign. In this version his parents were William and Carolanne Adama. He only had a brother, Zak. He was appointed the CAG (Commander Air Group) on Galactica, and later the Commander of the Pegasus. He later resigned from the Colonial Fleet to help defend Gaius Baltar. The name can also be found as the name of a Lord of Kobol, and in the Arrow of Apollo, a religious artifact. 

In Marvel's Stormwatch series, Apollo was one of the first openly gay superheroes. He was able to absorb solar energy and convert that energy into strength, speed, flight, and laser blasts from his eyes. 

In Star Trek, Apollo was a member of an alien race with God-like powers. He kidnapped the crew of the Enterprise and tried to force them to worship him. 

In the real world, Apollo was the name of the NASA program whose goal was the human exploration of the moon. 

Apollo's origins come from Greek Mythology, where he is the god of many things, including light, the Sun, music, poetry, prophecy and healing. Apollo has never ranked in the top 1000 names in the United States. In 2011, 142 boys were named Apollo, and 9 were given the alternate spelling, Apolo.

Name Pluto's New Moons

Astronomers have discovered two new moons orbiting Pluto, and the SETI Institute has an online ballot so the public can vote on their names. These names will then be proposed by the SETI Institute to the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Right now there are 21 names on the ballot and you can propose other names with the write in form. If they like your names they may add them to the ballot! More information is on the Pluto Rocks blog: http://www.plutorocks.com/blog

Pluto's three existing moons are Charon, Nix, and Hydra. Charon was the ferryman of Hades. Nix was the goddess of the night, and mother of Charon. Hydra is named after the nine-headed serpent that Hercules battled. Pluto itself is another name for Hades, god of the underworld.

I voted for Cerberus, the three headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld, and his two headed 'brother' Orthrus. I'd love to hear what names you guys have voted for!

The official ballot can be found here: http://www.plutorocks.com/

Ion

In physics, an ion is an atom or molecule that has a net positive or negative electrical charge due to losing or gaining one or more electrons.

In the D.C. Comics universe, Ion was created from the Green wavelength of the emotional spectrum, and was kept secret for eons. It gave the Green Lantern corps a portion of it's power. Ion was set free when Hal Jordan destroyed the Central Battery, and it chose Kyle Rayner as it's host. 

Ion was also a character in the Marvel Comics Universe, where Ion was a super villain.  Ion was the alias of Voletta Todd, a nuclear physicist who was turned into a cloud of ionized gas during an experiment gone wrong.

Ion was also the name of a short lived Japanese Manga published in 1997.

Since Ion is only one letter off from Ian, I think it would work as a first name. In 2011, 5 boys were named Ion.

Dresden

The Dresden Files is a series of fantasy/mystery novels written by Jim Butcher. The novels were the basis of a short lived television series of the same name. It aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2007. The protagonist of the series is Harry Dresden, who is a wizard and a private investigator, specializing in paranormal crimes. He lives and works in Chicago, and occasionally works as a consultant to the Chicago Police Department. His full name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, having been named for Harry Houdini, Harry Blackstone, and David Copperfield. In the novels, he uses magical objects to channel his magical energy, including a staff, blasting rod, a silver ring and a shield bracelet. In the television series, Harry's magical weapons were disguised as ordinary objects, in particular a drum stick that was a magic wand, and a hockey stick that was a magical staff.

The Dresden Codex is an ancient Mayan text that is the oldest book ever found in the Americas. It contains astronomical tables of great accuracy, and is famous for it's Lunar Series and Venus Table. It is housed at the Royal Museum in Dresden, Germany, which is where it got it's name.

Dresden comes from the capital city of Saxony, and would fit in well with the current trend of place names as first names. In 2011, 48 boys were given the name Dresden, as well as 8 girls.