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.

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.

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.

Ara

Ara is a constellation in the southern sky. The constellation name comes from the Latin for 'altar'. It was first described by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. There are 8 main stars in the constellation. The Stingray Nebula is in Ara.

In Stargate Atlantis, Ara was a member of the Satedan military who was captured by the wraith, and eventually became a wraith worshiper. She was killed by Rakai, one of her fellow wraith worshipers.  In Stargate SG-1, Ara was the name of a platform in the shape of the Ori symbol for Origin, upon which heretics were burned.

In Dragonlance, Ara Kano was a leader of the town Pirim.

Ara Tribe is a tribe in the StarCraft Universe.

Project Ara is a Google initiative to create modular smartphones.
Ara is a genus of macaws.

Although the constellation name is derived from Latin, Ara is also a female Persian name that means 'brings rain', and a male Armenian name from a legendary King, Ara the Beautiful. Ara is sometimes used as a nickname for the Russian name Avrora. It can also be used as a nickname for Arabella.

Ara appears in the SSA's top 1000 girl names from 1900-1918. It's highest rank was in 1901 when it reached #559. It has never reached the top 1000 for boys. It was given to just 49 girls and 7 boys in 2014. Although it's unisex, I think Ara works best for girls due to it's similarity to Ada and Ava. It would be a good choice for parents who like those names but want something a little different.

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia is a constellation named for a queen in Greek mythology.  Cassiopeia was the mother of Andromeda. She incurred the wrath of Poseidon by boasting about Andromeda's and her own beauty.

In Battlestar Galactica, Cassiopeia was a medtech, and former prostitute.

In Transformers, Cassiopeia was a reporter for Around Cybertown.

Cassiopeia was a mage in League of Legends video game.

In the Harry Potter series, Cassiopeia Black was the daughter of Cygnus Black II and Violetta Bulstrode.  She was the grand-aunt of Sirius Black.

The name is Greek in origin, and means "cassia juice." In 2014, the name Cassiopeia was given to 12 girls in the United States. Cassiopeia is a more unique way to get to the nickname 'Cassie'.

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.

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.

Andromeda

Andromeda was the first geeky name that I fell in love with. Andromeda is a name from Greek mythology, so it has some very non-geeky roots. Andromeda was a princess that was rescued by Perseus. The story should be familiar to anyone who has seen either of the Clash of the Titans films. 

Andromeda is both a constellation and a galaxy, making her a fitting name for star-gazing parents. 

For Sci-Fi fans, there is the Andromeda television series that starred Kevin Sorbo. In that series, Andromeda was the ship, and the A.I., nicknamed Rommie, that controlled it. The Andromeda Strain was a novel by Michael Crichton that was later adapted into a film.

For Fantasy fans, Andromeda "Dromeda" Tonks (nee Black) was a character in the Harry Potter series. She was the mother of Nymphadora Tonks and the sister of Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Andromeda is a popular name in comic books. She is a minor character in the Marvel Universe. Andromeda was the code name of Laurel Gand in the D.C. Comics Universe as well. In Manga, Andromeda Shun is a character in the Saint Seiya franchise.

In 2011, 31 girls were named Andromeda. The name is easily shortened to 'Andie' or as in the t.v. series, 'Rommie'.