"Unfortunate" name associations

[Gnoman]

I tend to almost associate a given name with either the first character of that name I was familiar with, or else the most striking representative of that name. This means that, when I first encounter it elsewhere, there's always a jarring disconnect where I think that Dahl wrote a kid's book about a tank (Matilda, or that the fat "coward" in A Song Of Ice And Fire is a two-foot-tall gardener. THat always passes quickly, but does anyone have any amusing experiences with this?

[BWR]

'Adolf' and 'Vidkun' tend to have specific connotations, I'll admit.

Other names, it depends on how common they are. I hear names like 'Lancelot' or 'Galahad' or 'Gawain' and I tend to think of the Arthurian knights. Names that are fairly common I get desensitized to rather quickly, even if I first encountered them in a specific setting ('Luke' was for many years unique to Star Wars for me).

[Hyena]

Have you seen much people called "Lolita" those days? No? There's a good reason.

[Yora]

Kevin.

The name got hugely popular among low-income families in Germany after Home Alone, but popular perception is that it's mostly in a particularly quirky section of that demographic. Now I know of a few Kevins in Universities and other successful careers, but for a very long time the name was pretty much regarded as synonymous with essentially "white trash".

[thorgrim29]

Same thing here with Kevin (not sure if it's due to home alone or not), or variations like Kevan and Keven. My uncle's a policeman in a rural area and he says Kevins are all pot or meth dealers

[Aedilred]

that the fat "coward" in A Song Of Ice And Fire is a two-foot-tall gardener.

I believe Martin is on the record (don't have a link I'm afraid) as saying that Sam Tarly was specifically named after Samwise Gamgee, so if true that's not so much an unfortunate association as a deliberate reference.

[TheThan]

Ariel became very popular back in the 1980s after Disney’s The Little Mermaid became a hit. Now most people assume that if you’re named Ariel, you’ve been named after the character from that film.

Which is why people shouldn’t name their children after popular movie characters.

[thorgrim29]

Apparently kindergarden classes will be full of little Annas and Elsas in a few years

[Yora]

Oh yes, certainly there will. But I think at least in Northern-Central Europe they are rather plain (based on a 1900ish Danish story after all), so they should not have too much trouble blending in. Fits right in with names that have been popular with upper middle class parents here for some years. Shouldn't get too bad association-wise.

[thorgrim29]

Wait till you start seeing Brans and Danaeryses (I have no idea what the plural form of Danaerys should be)

[Hiro Protagonest]

Wait till you start seeing Brans and Danaeryses (I have no idea what the plural form of Danaerys should be)

Danaerypeople.

[thorgrim29]

Maybe Danaeri?

[Eldan]

Surely Brandon isn't that unusual a name?

[Hiro Protagonest]

I don't really associate names with certain things, unless it's like, a name that you only see in Final Fantasy or something... although I'll probably always associate a Russian instrument with a fictional Russian crime boss. Also the Dragunov, since the reason she wound up with that nickname was because it was a nickname of the Dragunov.

[Hyena]

I don't really associate names with certain things, unless it's like, a name that you only see in Final Fantasy or something... although I'll probably always associate a Russian instrument with a fictional Russian crime boss. Also the Dragunov, since the reason she wound up with that nickname was because it was a nickname of the Dragunov.

You can't possibly comprehend how hard is it to take Balalaika seriously for a russian.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I believe Martin is on the record (don't have a link I'm afraid) as saying that Sam Tarly was specifically named after Samwise Gamgee, so if true that's not so much an unfortunate association as a deliberate reference.

It's definitely what my mental image was. "Master Snow, we've got to take the Ring to Mordor! You can't give up on me now, Master Snow!"

[Rodin]

Surely Brandon isn't that unusual a name?

Brandon isn't, but the short form Bran is pretty uncommon. At least, I've never met one (while I've known several Brandons).

[Galen]

Ariel became very popular back in the 1980s after Disney’s The Little Mermaid became a hit. Now most people assume that if you’re named Ariel, you’ve been named after the character from that film.

Which is why people shouldn’t name their children after popular movie characters.

In former USSR countries, it's easy to make a solid guess on someone's age based on their first name and the prevalent cultural trends of the times.

Alisa? 29 years old.
Alexandra? 35 years old.
Maxim? 41 years old.

[TheThan]

Ariel became very popular back in the 1980s after Disney’s The Little Mermaid became a hit. Now most people assume that if you’re named Ariel, you’ve been named after the character from that film.

Which is why people shouldn’t name their children after popular movie characters.

ok I misspoke, The little Mermaid came out in 1989, so I guess that would be children of the early 1990s.

[Gnoman]

Ariel became very popular back in the 1980s after Disney’s The Little Mermaid became a hit. Now most people assume that if you’re named Ariel, you’ve been named after the character from that film.

Which is why people shouldn’t name their children after popular movie characters.

Funny story, not only do we have a pre-Mermaid Ariel in my family, we also have a Sabrina that was just entering middle school when Sabrina The Teenage Witch hit the airwaves. To make the latter case even more amusing, the choices for her name (deliberately trying to be more obscure, so she'd be a bit more unique) boiled down to Sabrina or Hermoine.

[Zrak]

Have you seen much people called "Lolita" those days? No? There's a good reason.

Dolores isn't extremely common, but it's not exactly unheard of, either. Lolita wasn't exactly its most common diminutive even before the book.

[KillianHawkeye]

I wouldn't say these are "unfortunate" associations, but I know a lot of names that I originally learned from SNES-era roleplaying games and really haven't heard used much anywhere else even though they aren't made up fantasy names (although for the most part I have yet to actually meet someone with one of these names).

But if I ever did, the names Cecil and Rosa would automatically make me think of Final Fantasy 2/4j. Likewise, even though I have an uncle named Ed, anyone using the full name Edward would make me think of that spoony Bard. The names Edgar and Celes will similarly always remind me of Final Fantasy 3/6j, and while I have since heard the name Locke a few times (mainly just the famous philosopher and the character on Lost who was named after him), this game was the only time I've seen it where it wasn't the surname. There are plenty of other examples of this, and really I have to give these games credit for introducing me to a ton of words and concepts growing up that I don't think I would have otherwise ever experienced.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Brandon isn't, but the short form Bran is pretty uncommon. At least, I've never met one (while I've known several Brandons).

Bran isn't usually a short form of Brandon, its a Welsh name meaning 'Raven' while Brandon is an English name based on a place name meaning 'Broom/Gorse Hill'. While living in Wales I didn't meet a single one so its not that common today. Brandon is very rare in the UK and is pretty much a USA name now.

[Coidzor]

Also the Dragunov, since the reason she wound up with that nickname was because it was a nickname of the Dragunov.

Now, see, I'm just wondering which of those is the sniper rifle in this equation.

[tomandtish]

The name "Anal" in Hindi means Fire (if my translation is correct). Needless to say, it has unfortunate connotations when seen (not heard as pronunciation is different) in English.

Having worked for the Dept. of Family and Protective Services for 19+ years, unfortunately I've seen all too many names where the associations are not just unfortunate, but apparently intentional. I can't give specific examples because of confidentiality laws, but:

I've seen children named after sexual acts, sexually transmitted diseases, alcoholic drinks (and I don't mean just names like Brandy or Margarita, but similar to Sex on the Beach (that one's not real)).

If a car model is over 2 years old I've seen a kid named after it.

I've seen parents give their poor kids "clever" name puns. You know, the kind that's gonna get their kid mocked all through elementary school.

I've seen them name their kids after movie/TV characters. Not just names that might really work, but names like Robocop (that one is also not real).

Sorry. This is just a sore point for me.

[Pokonic]

I once knew a rather unfortunate person named, I kid you not, Simba. His brother was named Timon, so the idea that the former was not named due to the Disney film is, quite unfortunately, untrue.

[GPuzzle]

Funny story, not only do we have a pre-Mermaid Ariel in my family, we also have a Sabrina that was just entering middle school when Sabrina The Teenage Witch hit the airwaves. To make the latter case even more amusing, the choices for her name (deliberately trying to be more obscure, so she'd be a bit more unique) boiled down to Sabrina or Hermoine.

Call your family, you have found a way to decide what the name of characters of breakthrough series will be before they even exist.

I personally haven't found anyone whose firstname is a reference to something, but my last name is joked around because it is extremely similar to the name of a brand of juice here in Brazil, despite my last name coming from Chile. I'll give you that Ovalle is not that different from Del Valle, but, still.

[Kato]

The names Edgar and Celes will similarly always remind me of Final Fantasy 3/6j

I wasn't aware Celes was a common English name, or rather I don't think I ever came across it anywhere else. And very few Cecils, too. Edgar I guess is just a bit outdated. As popular as FF is, I don't think it's anywhere influential enough to affect the common perception of names. (Which, I know, is now what you meant but still)

Other media... Lolita really is likely a name that I don't think I have ever seen given to someone (for good reason) and the numbers of people named Adolf after 1940 or so are in substantial decline. Not sure if there are really other names where the impact is so strong it influences the names of newborn but then the trend of child naming from my perspective is impossible to understand.


More on topic, I very often associate names with popular characters I'm aware of. Not to the point of being prejudice of course, and if is a very common name the effect tends to be much weaker but I'd have a hard time not thinking e.g. of the Simpsons if I heard someone was named Homer. (And yes, it totally supersedes any effect the other Homer might have to the point where I'm sometimes confused when people talk about the Greek and I don't get it right away)

[Kyberwulf]

Hannibal......

[Arcane_Secrets]

Two of the most unfortunate names (or combinations) that I've seen:

1) Cruel (as a last name)

2) Evil (again as a last name)