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Help[Opinions] Arwen
I don't even like the Lord of the Rings books or movies but have fallen in love with Arwen. What do you think? Is it usable for someone who isn't a fan of the books and/or movies? Or would people always assume I was a fan?
I love the sound of Arwen. Too made up and tied to the books? Do you know any in real life?
I love the sound of Arwen. Too made up and tied to the books? Do you know any in real life?
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I would assume the parents of an Arwen (or Eowyn or Aragorn or Gandalf) were huge LOTR fans, just as I assumed, correctly, that the parents of a little Anakin I met were Star Wars fanatics.
I don't know any Arwens, but I do know an Eowyn. Her parents are so into LOTR that they speak to each other in Elvish and don elaborate costumes to go to conventions. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that--I'm a Trekker from way back who has been known to go to conventions in pointed ears and call my son "sa-fu," Vulcan for "son"--but it bothers me when fannish devotion spills over into the real-life naming of children. They could grow up to have very different interests and tastes, and I think it would be embarrassing to have an invented name obviously taken from someone else's obsession. Sorry for the tangent. I understand this wouldn't apply to you.
Bottom line, I wouldn't use one of these names unless I was a big, big fan, and I wanted the whole world to know it for the rest of my child's life. I love Welsh names, and there are many non-LOTR names with a similar feel and sound that could be used without the LOTR burden.
I don't know any Arwens, but I do know an Eowyn. Her parents are so into LOTR that they speak to each other in Elvish and don elaborate costumes to go to conventions. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that--I'm a Trekker from way back who has been known to go to conventions in pointed ears and call my son "sa-fu," Vulcan for "son"--but it bothers me when fannish devotion spills over into the real-life naming of children. They could grow up to have very different interests and tastes, and I think it would be embarrassing to have an invented name obviously taken from someone else's obsession. Sorry for the tangent. I understand this wouldn't apply to you.
Bottom line, I wouldn't use one of these names unless I was a big, big fan, and I wanted the whole world to know it for the rest of my child's life. I love Welsh names, and there are many non-LOTR names with a similar feel and sound that could be used without the LOTR burden.
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They speak to each other in Elvish? Does it work as a complete language? I mean could you say anything you wanted to say in Elvish?
Yeah but kids could always dislike their names. I don't think parents should worry about that. Sure she could hate being named after a LOTR character but if I named her Aspen she might dislike the place, if I named her Hadley she might dislike that it's unisex. You don't know what your child's taste in names will be like.
Yeah but kids could always dislike their names. I don't think parents should worry about that. Sure she could hate being named after a LOTR character but if I named her Aspen she might dislike the place, if I named her Hadley she might dislike that it's unisex. You don't know what your child's taste in names will be like.
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Not too made up or associated with the books. LOTR is such a part of pop culture that I think the new generation would be likely to assume it was an old Welsh name.
Besides, I worked with a woman named Arwen who was born in the late 1970s. Everyone thought her name was awesome. I don't even remember finding out it was invented when she told us where it was from. I realized that later when I actually read LOTR. So in my experience it's quite normal and usable =)
Besides, I worked with a woman named Arwen who was born in the late 1970s. Everyone thought her name was awesome. I don't even remember finding out it was invented when she told us where it was from. I realized that later when I actually read LOTR. So in my experience it's quite normal and usable =)
This message was edited 12/19/2011, 11:55 AM
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Ohhhh that's cool. A real life Arwen.
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I don't think it's too LOTR. It was a name before that, wasn't it? Anyhow, it's a lovely name in my opinion.
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I don't think so. This website says it was invented from a language but I think it's one of the languages Tolkien invented for his books. Some say it's Welsh but most disagree and say that he invented it (Tolkien).
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I don't really mind that it's a name from a book, I was just wondering whether people would always associate it with the books. I don't think there'd be many little Arwens it has never made the top 1000 which surprised me a bit too. Eirwen is not really my style, I think I find the Ar beginning in Arwen really attractive and soft. Don't really like Eowyn either.
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Well, in that case, my answer is no, I don't associate it with the books. :-)
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oh could you tell me how Eirwen is pronounced? I still don't really like the way it looks but the meaning is great.
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I've heard it as IRE-wen and AIR-wen. I don't know which is "correct" but they are both pretty nice to my ear. I understand that they are not Arwen though.
This message was edited 12/19/2011, 3:17 AM
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never mind
Sorry, I hadn't read Pie's post which mentions Arwyn.
Sorry, I hadn't read Pie's post which mentions Arwyn.
This message was edited 12/19/2011, 11:00 PM
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I'm a huge LOTR fan and I love Arwen, both the character and the name (obviously, look at my username). In a vacuum, I wouldn't hesitate to use this name on a child, but my "obsession" with LOTR is well-known and I wouldn't want my kid to get flak for it. I'm always happy to hear of little Arwens, though.
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As a fan of the Lord of the Rings, Arwen is immediately associated with it in my mind. It's a beautiful name, but I would be hesitant to use it because it is so heavily associated with LotR (and I say that even as a fan.) I don't think it's unusable for someone who's not a fan, but you should be aware that most people will automatically link it to LotR.
There is Anwen, which is similar and doesn't have the association. But then I think Anwen runs the risk of being mistaken for an Arwen.
There is Anwen, which is similar and doesn't have the association. But then I think Anwen runs the risk of being mistaken for an Arwen.
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I would assume you were a fan. It might not be so much of a problem if the movies hadn't happened -- Tolkien's books have always been known among fantasy fans the well-read, but they've become far more popular since the films have been released. In the books, Arwen appeared for a couple pages out of a thousand and was a relatively obscure character.
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Yes, people will assume you are a fan. People will assume your kid is a fan, too. I once knew an Aragorn, and he had people ask him about the books all the time . It was annoying for him, because he wasn't as gaga for the books as his parents were. That's why I wouldn't use an LotR name in real life.
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I would associate it with the books. I like the sound and the look of it, but not the character.
It has been used as a name in Wales before the book came out in 1954, but only a tiny number of times - according to birth records, there have been a grand total of five people given the name Arwen in Wales between 1837 and 1954, and I think they were probably variants of / typos for Arwyn (boy's name meaning 'very fair') or Arwel (meaning unknown).
There's always Anwen or Awen, if you want something similar with no Tolkien associations.
It has been used as a name in Wales before the book came out in 1954, but only a tiny number of times - according to birth records, there have been a grand total of five people given the name Arwen in Wales between 1837 and 1954, and I think they were probably variants of / typos for Arwyn (boy's name meaning 'very fair') or Arwel (meaning unknown).
There's always Anwen or Awen, if you want something similar with no Tolkien associations.
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I think Anwen is lovely.
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