Today's guest namer is my six-year-old daughter, who spent a recent morning hard at work planning a fantasy novel about "centrises." A centris, she explained, is half woman and half pegasus. When I checked in with her she was developing a complete chart of the centris population, with columns for "name," "spirit," "parent" and "leader." For example:
Name: Fironnah (pronounced fye-RAHN-a)
Spirit: Fire
Parent: Liyliah (LYE-lee-ah)
Leader: Niara (nee-AH-ra)
Our young author gave her permission for me to write about the names. Indeed, she sat down beside me and offered suggestions as I typed this, drawing my attention to particular nuances of her nomenclature. She definitely has her finger on the pulse of certain name styles. The extra h at the end is a hot trend in names like Lilah, Myah, Janiyah and Nevaeh. And speaking of Nevaeh (heaven backwards)...that leader centris Niara? Her spirit is Rain, and her name was created from "a rain" backwards. My daughter explained, "I wanted to make it 'rain' backwards, but 'Niar' sounded too much like a boy's name."
Some thoughts that came to mind:
- Long names with endings like -iah do sound like they come from a fantasy world. This even holds true when you are six years old and most of your fantasy reading has been in the Dickensian namescape of Harry Potter (or prosaic name worlds like the "My Secret Unicorn" books -- think Lauren and Michael). Oh, and fantasy heroines are not androgynous. They're majestically feminine.
- The name Nevaeh sounds exactly like a magical heroine of a fantasy novel.
- The name Nevaeh was inevitable. It's only surprising that it took so long.
- Positive words that sound good backwards are exceptionally rare.
Before I go on, I should acknowledge that Nevaeh is probably the most stylistically divisive name in the English-speaking world. Many parents find it a creative, lovely gift of a name; others find it not merely unappealing but noxious. For the purposes of this discussion, let's take the name on its own terms as a kind of loving secret code.
20,000 American girls have been named Nevaeh since the name's debut in 2001. A large number of them surely have little siblings by now. Yet Nevaeh has not sparked a new genre -- no other backwards names have entered the lexicon.
Imagine that you named your first daughter Nevaeh, and that she revels in the knowledge of its hidden message. With daughter #2 on the way, don't you want to give that new child the same kind of gift? I'm certain that many, many parents have tried, inverting every inspiring word they could think of but ending up with the sad likes of Legna and Dehsirehc. Most probably ended up with a compromise, perhaps turning to less subtle meaning names like Destiny or Genesis. Is there a better answer? Suppose we expand our horizons from reversals to anagrams? Galen sounds a whole lot better than Legna, after all.
I invited my young fantasy author and her sister to join in the anagram quest. We poured out our Bananagrams tiles on the kitchen table and started forming some inspiring words. Ladies and gentlemen, it's harder than it looks. Sutter (truest) may be passable; Pacee (peace) and Sepira (praise) doubtful; Evilbee and La'Crime...well. Occasionally my husband would pass by with encouragement. "You know, Volley is an anagram of lovely," he offered. "Thanks for sharing," I replied.
Here's the Wattenberg family's very, very short list of siblings for Nevaeh. Can you do better at turning fantasy into reality?
Galen (angel)
Delia (ideal)
Sutter (truest)
Tanis (saint)
The long road from fantasy to reality
04/10/2008, 10:51PM
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Comments
The only good one I came up with quickly was Ria, or air backwards (which was listed as a synonym for heaven in the thesaurus). I found an odd, but potentially good brother name (well, IMO if you picked Nevaeh, you'd like this name for the same reasons: good connotations, spelled backwards, unique, etc.): Anavrin (nirvana backwards, if you like or can at least get past the Cobain association). Considering it's a neologism, it could be a sister name, too, if you wanted.
But it's likely that most followups to Nevaeh will have to settle for more straightforward names: Sky(e), Honor, Adora, Desiree, etc.
Still looking for a good anagram from sacred. I know it's got to be there. But, of course, scared would also be an anagram of any name there.
What about:
Loah (halo) is kind of a mix of Leah and Noah...could be suitable for boy or girl
Cager (grace) maybe for a boy?
Claemir (miracle) "KLAY-meer"
Ciramel (miracle) if you pronounce it "SEE-ra-mel" rather than "KEE-ra-mel" which sounds like Caramel
Also, what about truncating a word? "Vinity" sounds fresh as a short form of "Divinity."
Of course this is all getting terribly blasphemous! :-)
Not quite what was asked, but how about a twist on "Zenith"? -- "Zeenith," maybe, to ease pronunciation. ("Zenithia"?)
What a challenge!
How about
Teaglen (elegant)
Sume - SOO-MY (muse)
Ok Some more thought is clearly required!!!
Here's one that isn't anagramed:
Traeh (TRAY-UH)- "Heart" backwords. I guess you could pronounce it TRAY as well.
Jordan - I also tried sacred, convinced there was something there. The best "name" I came up with was Dercas. I don't think there would be a lot of takers for this one. The Biblical Dorcas is still used occasionally though, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope for Dercas. It does have the benefit of being the target word "just backwards" (as opposed to having to scramble the letters).
*Update after googling*
Apparently Dercas is:
- a surname (bonus points for that, right?)
- a genus of butterflies
- already listed on babiesonline.com as "sacred spelled backwards"
- already in use as a given name, based on MySpace and Facebook profiles
- a handle favored by several players of online fantasy war games
- a Spanish-language acronym related to some sort of engineering software (?)
Here are my other offerings:
Turean (nature)
My partner says he knows someone by this name (not sure about the spelling though). I think some people would see it as an uncommon-but-not-too-crazy name and it ends in n. Bound to be some fans.
Gwen, Dale, & Kolbe (knowledgeable)
Fantasy triplet game meets anagram game.
Reesen (serene)
Androgynous, check. Two-syllables-ending-in-n, check. A well-know name made "special" (Reese + n), check. Sounds like a hit to me.
How 'bout heaven in spanish 'Cielo' rearranged = Cloie
What about Aisyle (from Elysia, a variant of Elysium) or even better, Aidacra (from Arcadia)? Both of these are more classical paradises.
How about Teruna? That's an anagram of nature that I think would make a good fantasy name.
This is a tough one!!!
Noroh - anagram for Honor. (Could be prounounced like Nora, or NOR-o)
Alliceset - anagram for celestial (could be prounounced like Allison, but with an -et at the end)
Noel Dove - fist and middle name. Anagram for Loved One.
Another idea, using other languages. Divina is heavenly in spansish. Cielo is heaven in spanish. Maybe a name could be conjured from these? Nivida?
Funny - But I have a Sorority sister named Tanis. She was a sweet sweet girl and I am pretty sure her parents named her after a family friend - so there it more than one.
Random tidbit:Nomar Garciapara used to play for the Red Sox--and his first name is an homage to his father, Ramon, backwards!!
Rainbow could become ... Wrobina? Ok, that's pushing it.
My entire day is now going to consist of trying to think of a good one!
Let the record state that I do NOT condone usage of any of these names. I just wanted to play the game.
These are all just reversed.
Erimda
Elbaroda
Ecnailla
Elbaima
Ruoma
Ecnesse
Laitnesse
Ronoh
Epoh
Annasoh
Enigami
Denrael
Layol
Elbon
Ecneidebo
Eneres
Ecnelis
Ecalos
Rolav
Laez
I have no inspiration. In fact this makes my brain hurt. Well, that and there are so many (established) lovely names crying out to me... :)
Well, abuin means "above" in Scots. Spelled backwards, it's Niuba.
I could see Lagen (Angel) as a brother name, in the style of Logan.
Cielo is Heaven in Italian, Regalo is Gift.
Felicità is Happiness - Aticilef is not nearly as nice.
Shasppin is Happiness. Love could be Olev, if only Germanic style names were in fashion. Maybe you could pronounce it "Olive"?. Or Ollyve? Ellovy? (Lovely) Lyevol? Kind of a brother name to Errol only horrible?
You're right, this is hard. Though I would have dismissed "Neveah" as not actually being any better than Aticilef.
Galen carries quite a bit of nonreligious baggage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen It's still positive, but you might get more teasing about wanting a doctor in the family than understanding of your actual reasons for picking the name.
I came up with beauty = Taubey and prayer = Pearry or Parrey. I rather like Pearry, though it would probably be recognized first as a surname before anyone ever got the anagram.
Laura, I am surprised that you missed the name Semaj which has been in the top 1000 for 7 years. Semaj = James. It's not a word name, but it is a name spelled backwards that is increasing in popularity.
Is Serena too obvious as a match for Nevaeh? I know it isn't an anagram. But I think the sounds fit nicely was well the meanings.
I meant
* But I think the sounds fit nicely, as well as the meanings.
oops
Have there ever been any consciously anagrammed names in the top 1000?
For a sib to Neveah, how about saved = Devas? Maybe a little too close to devastate, but it could sound like divas (I truly believe some parents want to raise little divas), or Davis--so it sounds like both a word and a name.
How about:
Deglen (legend)
Sounds male to me and I would pronounce it: [daeg-lun]
Leta (tale)
Sounds female to me and I would pronounce it: [lee-tuh] or [let-uh]
Tyros (story)
Sounds male to me and I would pronounce it: [tie-ruhs] or possibly [tee-ruhs]
Ranniva (nirvana)
Sounds female to me and I would pronounce it: [ruh-nee-vuh]
Miles is an anagram of smile
To me the question is-why not just name the child Nirvana or Prayer, if one is so inclined-and cannot resist the inclination? And really--Semaj--- is in the top 1000 and has been for 7 years. Yikes! But I'm probably a spoil sport because I don't have any good ones.
Leah is an anagram of heal
Ok - I think that I am having too much fun playing this game, so I promise I'll stop soon. I think anagrams are much easier than backwards names - the only backwards ones that I could come up with that sounded somewhat like real names:
Ciryl (lyric)
Evoli (I love)
also, someone mentioned that Traeh could be for Heart. It could also be from Earth. So maybe Nevaeh and Traeh could be twins - Heaven and Earth :)
Daniel is an anagram of "denial" or "nailed".
Haha.
You know, I liked Legna when I first read the post. The Italian pronounciation (which is what sounded in my head the first time) would be LANE-ya. Oh well....
OK, these are crazy but the best I could think of!
Nema (amen)
Halla (allah)
Elbib (bible)
Olah (halo)
Cilohtac (catholic)
Enivid (divine)
Haissem (messiah)
Haronem (menorah)
Havohej (jehovah)
Amrak (karma)
Erised (desire)
Epoh (hope)
Leon (noel) - not really original
Yolanda
Leta is the name of dooce's little girl( www.dooce.com )- it means joy in Latin, according to one baby name book, probably as a variant from L(a)etitia. I think they pronounce it LEE-ta. I liked your ingenuity!
I came up with Abby (Baby), Irving (Virgin), Lyza (Lazy), Alyce (Lacey), Marecia (America), April (Pilar), Bela (Able), Daly or Lyda (Lady)
To those who were talking about "sacred" - how about Dresca? Yeah, it's just a letter away from Fresca, but I still think it could work.
And to Valerie: Leta comes from the feminine form of the Latin adjective "laetus," meaning happy, cheerful, prosperous, fortunate, or abundant. "Laetitia" is the noun form, and it actually means joy or fertility.
/Latin nerd
When I taught preschool, there was the cutest little girl name Tenaj in the infant room. Her mother? Janet.
Ooooh! I like Leta...reminds me of the beautiful Queeen Aleta, wife of Prince Valient. Is that comic strip still being produced? It was very popular when I was younger. Why do you suppose Aleta hasn't gained a following?
I also think Lyda is charming. I've always loved the old song Lida Rose. There's another name that's very appealing, I think.
riffing on sacred again:
Cardes
Cedras
Cedars
Scedar
Ugh! Don't like any of those!!
Back to the drawing board.
What a fun game Laura! I actually like some of the names suggested here. I would never name an actual child Nevaeh. (Heck I'm not even sure how to pronounce it!) But if I were it seems that Serena or Treah would be a perfect sibling match!
Legan and Drecas sound do-able to me.
On a side note, my name is anagrammed to Ecstasy. I always thought this could be my "porn name". LOL
Cloud=Duloc
Angelica
Gentle=Teglen
Wonderful=Drewfonul(nnDrew)
Amazing=Ginzama(wierd!)
Miraculous=Caurimusol(CAW-Rim-UH-Sol)sort of spanish sounding
Fondly=Yldonf(Yll-DON-ef nn Don)
Clearly, this is strange. It seems to me that this is easier for the "Tolkienese" and Harry "Potteranians" among us. Laura, your daughter seems like she has the makings of a good book. Btw, why do these names not seem odd when reading these kind of books but do when I try to invent new ones on this board?
My MIL met a boy Yram (Mother was Mary). I think it was pronounced Ur-ram.
My cousin teased me that Megan spelled backwards is Nag 'em. I still can't forgive him for noticing that!
"Ainsley" is an anagram of "Elysian," which works well if your last name is "Fields"!
Gladrin = Darling
Tisan = Saint
Deroda = Adored backwards
Spicela = Special (can just imagine a class of Ellas, Bellas, Isabellas and little Spicela)
Detiawa = Awaited backwards..perfect for families who have suffered probles conceiving. Deti is quite sweet as a nn.
Vyello = Lovely
Tybeau = Beauty
Steris = Sister
Oh, and Glimaci for Magical. This is worryingly addictive..
I like Deroda for adored. The few I could come up with that I like a bit are:
Devobel = Beloved
Mircela = Miracle
Pheras = Seraph
Teresa is an anagram for Easter. For sacred, I have Draces, which is not so great.
These have been fascinating to read. I wish I had some to add, but I clearly have no facility for this. Your daughter, Laura, seems to be great at it, though!
Climera or Clemira = Miracle (backwards it is Elcarim which is just about possible)
Debelvo = beloved
Thorber = Brother
And my favourite:
Brit'lecey = Celebrity
so how do you pronounce nevaeh?
Merry Christmas to our friends and family! The kids are doing great. Our eldest son Cager (Grace) prefers to go by his nickname Mashies (Messiah), while his twin Claimer (Miracle) has taken on the moniker Tatamihami (I am that I am). As to the girls, I'm disappointed that Hulajellah (Hallelujah) has changed her name to Ann, but baby Ehloony (Holy One) seems quite content to just suck her toes.
No other news from here; we're generally a quiet and modest family and just hope the kids end up happy.
Love, Steve and Karen
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