Wednesday, July 27, 2011

My Hero!

Every kid wants a cool name. You could hope that a kids' TV show comes along featuring your child's name--all the Tommys and Jasons suddenly became cool during Power Rangers when I was small--or you could find a more classic namesake.

Boys:
  • Adrastos (ah-DRAS-tos, Greek)--warrior king of Argos
  • Aeneas (eye-NEE-as, Latin)--son of Aphrodite, warrior, progenitor of the Roman empire
  • Aias (EYE-as, Greek)--hero of the Trojan war, anglicized as Ajax
  • Árpád (ahr-pad, Hungarian)--Magyar prince, forefather of Hungary
  • Bedivere (BED-ih-veer, English)--anglicized from Welsh Bedwyr, one of the original Knights of the Round Table
  • Bran (BRAHN, Irish & Welsh)--an Irish adventurer & mariner, and a legendary Welsh king
  • Caradoc (CAYR-a-doc, Welsh)--several figures in Welsh history & legend, including a Knight of the Round Table
  • Conall (CON-all, Irish & Scottish)--several Irish & Scottish kings, and a mythic Irish warrior
  • Damon (DAY-mon, Greek)--one half of the Greek symbol of true friendship, the other half being Pythias
  • Diarmuid (DEER-mid, Irish)--legendary Irish warrior, and founder of the Scottish Campbell clan. Anglicized as Dermot.
  • Egill (AY-gill, Norse)--Icelandic berserker & poet. Modern spelling is Egil.
  • Eoghan (OH-en or YOH-en, Irish & Scottish)--several Irish kings & other historical figures. Anglicized as Owen in Ireland and Euan or Ewan in Scotland.    
  • Evander (ee-VAN-der, Latin)--another hero of the Trojan war
  • Fergus (FER-gus, Irish & Scottish)--several Scottish & Irish kings and warriors
  • Fionn (FEEN or FYON, Irish)--mythic warrior and hero. Also spelled Finn and (via faulty Anglicization) Fingal.
  • Herakles (HER-a-kleez, Greek)--original form of Hercules, an important mortal in both Roman & Greek mythologies. Other versions include Heraclius (Greek), Heraclio (Spanish), and Ercole (Italian).
  • Jarl (YAHRL, Norse)--progenitor of a race of warriors
  • Jason (JAY-son, Greek)--adventuring leader of the Argonauts
  • Kalev (KAH-lev, Estonian)--hero and king, said to be buried under Tallinn, the capital of Estonia
  • Kaveh (kah-vay, Persian)--blacksmith who led a rebellion against the evil tyrant Zahhak
  • Owain (OH-ine, Welsh)--an Arthurian knight, and several Welsh princes; anglicized as Owen
  • Perseus (PUR-see-us, Greek)--mythic hero, slayer of the Gorgon Medusa
  • Roland (RO-land, English; roh-LAWN, French)--heroic knight and leader under Charlemagne
  • Rostam (ros-tam, Persian)--legendary pre-Islamic Iranian warrior and champion. Also spelled Rustam.
  • Taliesin (tal-ee-ESS-in, Welsh)--a bard and prophet who served at least 3 Welsh kings 
  • Theseus (THEE-see-us, Greek)--Athenian king and warrior
     

Girls:
  • Ariadne (ahr-ee-ahd-nee, Greek)--princess who helped Theseus escape the Minotaur in the labyrinth
  • Atalanta (at-ah-lan-tah, Greek)--huntress and legendary athlete
  • Awilda (AH-wil-dah, Scandinavian)--princess who fled marriage by becoming a pirate, sometimes spelled Alwilda; traditionally spelled Alfhild
  • Bevin (BAY-vin, Irish)--several figures, both mortal and goddess, in Irish mythology, traditionally spelled Bébinn
  • Cloelia (KLOY-lee-ah, Latin)--Roman hostage who led her fellow captives to freedom. Modern Italian form is Clelia.
  • Elva (EL-vah, Irish)--Fianna (mercenary) warrior, traditionally spelled Ailbhe
  • Embla (EM-bla, Norse)--the first human woman, founder of the human race with her husband Ask
  • Maeve (MAYV, Irish)--legendary warrior-queen. Traditionally spelled Madb.

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