Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme that is brought to us by The Broke & the Bookish. Check out the topic list here.
When my husband and I found out we were going to have a baby, we of course went over all the literary names that were up for possible child names. There were a ton as we didn't know 1) whether it was a boy or a girl, and 2) whether we'd have more children, so how many middle names can we feasibly give this kid?
Obviously there are only just so many names you can give a kid (I am not Sookie from Gilmore Girls with her second kid - I think Martha had six or seven names by the end!), so there are some spares and I'll point out which ones we did and did not use. :)
10. Coraline (Coraline)
When I first found out I was pregnant, I was obsessed with this book and with the movie. Both are excellent and good for re-reads, re-watches, etc. Because I was so into it at the time was the reason why Coraline was bandied about as a possible name for a daughter and for awhile there it was a front runner, but after awhile the charm off and something else took the top spot (which we still ended up not using because hey, boy child).
Would we ever consider if for another child? Maybe, but since we didn't get to use our first choice of a girl's name, Coraline probably won't be moving up the list.
9. Charlotte
Charlotte was a brilliant character. Her ending was quite sad, but she never let the inevitable get her down or stand in her way of saving Wilbur. I think that showed a lot of courage and intelligence. It would be a good name for a girl, plus it's the name of my favorite aunt. It's a great name, plus I really like that it has Charlie as a nickname.
8. Lucy
Lucy had the adventures that we can only dream of: finding a door to a magical land, making friends with fantastical creatures, and saving the world from a terrible evil. If that Lucy were the only one then the name might carry too much weight, but it's common enough that it won't and it still retains it's literary roots.
7. Emmeline
This name wasn't one of the major characters and, to be honest, you might have over looked it. Emmeline Vance was a member of the Order of the Phoenix not once but twice. Quite the accomplished witch. I'm not sure what it was about this name that made it stick in my head, but Emmeline is a nice name that I've considered strongly for a daughter's first name. It's good on it's own, but it also has the possibility of a nickname (Emma).
6. Perenelle
I don't remember much about this series. I read it awhile ago, but it's basically about Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle. They're immortal and living in present day San Francisco when one day John Dee catches up to them and wants the secret book they have that contains the secret to immortality.
There are a lot of different characters in here that are awesome like Scathach, St. Germain, and Joan of Arc, but Perenelle was pretty badass from what I remember. Her name was on the list as a middle name for a daughter.
5. Gandalf (Lord of the Rings)
A wise, badass wizard that starts some trouble, but comes out (more or less) alright? Gandalf is one of my favorite characters and he definitely made the list of potential kids names, though it was a middle name.
4. Westley (The Princess Bride)
I've got a soft spot in my heart for literary characters that start from the bottom and work their way to the top, even better if they fight their way there when no one thinks they can do it. Westley was a perfect example of this. He was a farm boy that wanted to do better for his true love, so he set off to find his fortune. Granted he ran into some pirate trouble, but did he let that stop him? Hell no! He became the most feared pirate in the world, went home, saved his true love even when he thought she didn't love him anymore, ended up mostly dead, came back from the mostly dead state of things (thanks to some kick ass friends), and ended things pretty happily (the ending's a bit open ended on purpose - thanks Mr. Goldman).
So, yeah, pretty admirable guy here. This is the name that's at the top of the list for a second born son in our family.
3. Helena (MirrorMask)
Helena is like a grittier, modern day version of Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Her story, which I first saw as a film, was definitely mind-bending, but she had a tenacity about her that I much admired. She had a lot of talents, too, that I would hope for in a daughter: athletic, intelligent, artistic. This would've been our first choice for a girl's first name.
2. Albus (Harry Potter series)
Albus Dumbledore may have done a lot of stupid things in his life, but for the majority of it he was a brilliant wizard that fought against tyranny in government, the greatest dark wizard of his age, and his own personal demons. He was one of the few Harry Potter characters that I wanted to name a child after and, while we didn't think Albus would be a great first name, it did become our son's first middle name. Here's to you, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (maybe these two have more in common that I thought #longarsename).
1. Tristan/Tristran (Stardust)
There's a little explaining to do here. First things first, I have yet to finish reading Stardust, my husband has. In the book the hero's name is Tristran (notice the extra R there). We have both seen the movie, though, and loved it. In the film the hero's name is Tristan (minus the extra R - apparently the production thought it would be difficult for audiences to hear/say). We loved this hero so much in the film and agreed that he was a good hero in the book (heavy input for my husband there), we decided to name our son Tristan (because it would be easier for a kid to say the name without the extra R).
Side note: he's five now and, hindsight being what it is, we wish we'd gone with Tristran instead because we slip up all the time. Oh well.
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