July 2015 Round Up

It's time for my monthly round-up of geeky names from other name sites!

Nancy's Baby Names talked about Teela and She-Ra usage in the 1980s.

Bewitching Names profiled Echo. Echo's geeky references include a character in Marvel's Daredevil,
Several characters in the D.C. Comics universe,  a comic book series,  a fantasy novel by Francesca Lia Block, and an asteroid.

Appellation Mountain posted about Joss, from Firefly creator, Joss Whedon, and names from the Wonder Woman comics, and about Vega, which is the name of a star.

S My Name is Sophie had some constellation names.

The Art of Naming had a post on Luna.

Miri

In the original Star Trek, Miri was a child who lived on a planet identical to Earth. The inhabitants of her world invented a virus that would greatly increase their life span. However, it proved fatal to adults. The children of the planet lived for hundreds of years in a long lasting childhood, but when they hit puberty, the virus killed them. Miri was just beginning to reach puberty when the U.S.S. Enterprise found the planet. The landing party became infected with the virus, and Miri developed a crush on Captain Kirk. For awhile she helped them, until she became jealous of Yeoman Rand. She helped the other children kidnap her, but Kirk convinced her and the other children that it was in their interest to help them cure the disease. After Dr. McCoy found a cure, the Federation sent people to provide aid and education to the children.

Miri is a variant of Mira, which is of Latin, Slavic, and Hindi origin. It means 'wonderful, peace and prosperous. In 2014, 27 girls were named Miri in the U.S. 

Antony

In Marvel's Ant-Man, Scott Lang, a.k.a. Ant-Man, used a flying ant for transportation. This ant was originally given only a number, 247, as a designation by Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. When Lang took over control of him, he gave him the name Antony.

In Babylon 5, Antony was a member of the telepath resistance.

Like the name Anthony, Antony is derived from the ancient Roman family name Antonius. Antony hasn't been in the top 1,000 names in the U.S. since 2010. It was at it's most popular in 1970 when it was the 611th most popular name for boys. In 2014, 118 boys were named Antony in the U.S.

Ronan

In Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan the Accuser was a Kree radical. He was part of the Kree military, and he refused to accept the peace treaty between his world and Xandar. He agreed to obtain an orb for Thanos in return for the destruction of Xandar. When he discovered that the orb contained an infinity stone, Ronan broke his deal with Thanos and attempted to destroy Xandar using the stone. He was defeated by the Guardians of the Galaxy.

In Stargate: Atlantis, Ronon Dex was born on the planet Sateda in the Pegasus Galaxy. He was implanted with a tracker and hunted by the wraith for sport. Sheppard's team helped him remove the tracker, and he joined them when he learned that his people had been wiped out by the wraith.

In Harry Potter, Ronan was a centaur that lived in the forbidden forest. He led the centaurs during the Battle of Hogwarts during the Second Wizarding War.

Ronan is a Gaelic name that means "little seal". Ronan entered the top 1,000 names in the U.S. for boys in 2001 and has been steadily climbing ever since. In 2014, it was the 366th most popular name for boys. The name was also given to 9 girls.The alternate spelling Ronon was given to 10 boys.

Orthosie

Orthosie is a moon of Jupiter. It was only discovered in 2001, and is a very small moon, only 2 km in diameter. It is part of the Ananke Group of moons that orbit Jupiter.

Orthosie is from Greek Mythology. Orthosie was one of the Horae, which were the Greek goddesses of the seasons, and nature. Orthosie was the goddess of prosperity. Orthosie does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database. 

I like this name, but I think most people would have difficulty pronouncing it. You can find the pronunciation here. 

Caspian

In The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis,  Caspian was the name of a series of Kings of Narnia. The most prominent of them was Capsian X. Caspian X was orphaned as a small child and was raised by his uncle, Miraz. Miraz had murdered Caspian's father. When Caspian was a teenager, Miraz had his own son. Caspian's tutor urged him to flee on the night of the child's birth, believing that Miraz would kill Caspian to pave the way for his own son to rule.  He encountered the Pevensies, who had returned to Narnia, and Aslan. After the Pevensies returned to their own world, Caspian was made King of Narnia.

In Highlander: The Series, Caspian was an immortal. He was born around 1300 B.C. and was a member of the Four Horsemen, a group of vicious raiders who were active during the Bronze Age. By the 20th century, Caspian had become a serial killer. He was in an insane asylum in Romania until one of the other Four Horsemen broke him out. Caspian was killed when he and another horseman dueled with MacLeod.

Caspian comes from the name of the Caspian Sea, which is derived from the name of the city Qazvin, which in turn takes it's name from the ancient Cas tribe. In 2014, 87 boys were named Caspian in the U.S.

Galadriel

In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Galadriel was an elf and the Lady of Lothlórien. Her husband was Lord Celeborn. She was one of the most beautiful and most powerful elves of Middle Earth. Her daughter, Celebrían, was the wife of Elrond, and the mother of Arwen. Galadriel assisted the Fellowship of the Ring after they escaped from the mines of Moria. Frodo offered the One Ring to her, but she refused it, knowing that it would corrupt her.

The name Galadriel was invented by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the books, the name was given to her by her husband, and meant "maiden crowned with a garland of bright radiance." The name has seen some occasional use, but has always hovered at the bottom of the SSA's name database. The last time it appeared was in 2006, when it was given to only 5 girls.

Cinna

In The Hunger Games, Cinna was a stylist and fashion designer. He was the stylist for Katniss Everdeen in the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. Following Katniss's victory in the 74th Hunger Games, Cinna became very popular. However, he angered President Snow by altering Katniss's wedding gown to turn into a mockingjay gown on stage. For this, Snow had Cinna killed. Before he died, Cinna designed a mockingjay uniform for Katniss to wear as she lead the rebellion against the Capitol.

Cinna is an ancient Roman cognomen, or third name. Cognomens started out as nicknames, but then became hereditary, and were used to identify a particular branch of a clan. Cinna does not appear in SSA's name database.

Eywa

In James Cameron's Avatar, Eywa was a deity of the Na'vi, who lived on the planet Pandora. She was a part of the planet's ecosystem, and was a kind of collective consciousness between all living things. Eywa acted only to keep nature in equilibrium.

Eywa is a variation of the unisex Arabic name Eiwa, which means 'guardian, protector.' Eywa does not appear in the SSA's name database.

Axiom

In science and mathematics, an Axiom is a premise that is accepted as fact.

In Pixar's WALL-E, the Axiom was the name of one of the luxury cruise ships where humans lived after the Earth became uninhabitable.

There is a computer algebra system called Axiom.

Axiom does not appear in the Social Security Administration's name database. I think it would fit in well with other trendy names that contain the letter 'x'.

Mace

In Star Wars, Mace Windu was a Jedi Master who served on the Jedi Council. When Anakin Skywalker interrupted a fight between Windu and Darth Sidious, he stopped Windu from killing Sidious, only to have Sidious throw Windu from a window to his death.

In Game of Thrones, Mace Tyrell was the head of House Tyrell which was an ally of the Lannisters. He was the father of Margery Tyrell, who was Queen of Westeros.

The Mid-Atlantic Convection Expo or MACE, is a gaming convention held yearly in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment Telescope (MACE) is a telescope that is currently being built in India. When completed it will be the 2nd largest gamma ray telescope in the world.

Mace is an English word name referring to a heavy club used in Medieval combat. In 2014, 61 boys were named Mace in the U.S.

Ygritte

In Game of Thrones, Ygritte was a wildling woman that Jon Snow encountered north of the wall. Her scouting party was killed by Snow and the Night's Watch, but Ygritte was spared by Snow. The two had an affair. She was killed while attacking Castle Black with a wildling party.

Ygritte was invented by George R. R. Martin. It does not appear in SSA's name database.

Draco

Draco is a circumpolar constellation in the northern sky. It was one of the 48 constellations defined by the astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Draco is also the name of a dwarf galaxy. It is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy was a student at Hogwarts and a member of Slytherin house. His father, Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater. Draco and Harry Potter were rivals throughout school.

In the Star Wars: Legacy comic books, Antares Draco was the leader of the Imperial Knights in the Second Imperial Civil War.

In Xena: Warrior Princess, Draco was a former lover of Xena. It was through him that Xena met Gabrielle.

Draco was the name of the dragon in the movie Dragonheart.

Draco is a genus of gliding lizards.


Draco is the latin word for dragon. In 2014, 42 boys were named Draco in the U.S.

June 2015 Round Up

British Baby Names had an in depth look at Flynn. Flynn's geek roots include Kevin Flynn from Tron, and his son, Sam Flynn from Tron: Legacy.

The Baby Centre blog had a look at Game of Thrones names

Character Names Galore profiled Moya and Chiana from Farscape.

Hitfix had a post about the popularity of Star Wars names.

Baby Name Pondering had a list of Post-Apocalyptic Names.