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[Opinions] Archaic/Mythological names
What are some of your favourite archaic and mythological (or otherwise 'out of use' names)?Do you think they could ever be usable?Could you picture any of these on a person/newborn today?Mnemosyne
Amaryllis
Briseis
Cleopatra
Cassiopeia
Hekate
Hildegard
Ligeia
Morgaine
Nausicaa
Nimue
Persephone
Psyche
Elfreda
Kallistrate
Aelfstan
Aldegar
Amadeus
Andronicus
Arcangelo
Archimedes
Athanasius
Dragomir
Hereward
Justinian
Lancelot
Percival
Thaddeus
Timaeus
Vortigern
Wulfstan
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I think all of these could be usable but then they're also all names I would jot down for potential characters' names. But still, it would be cool to see them in use today.
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I think these could be usableAmaryllis- I had a fanfic character named this, and florals seem to be rising
Briseis- I have a student named Briceida, and Briseida is in the submitted list and is similar, so yes.
Hildegard- maybe just Hilda/ Hilde
Elfreda- maybe Alfreda to honor an AlfredoAmadeus- hipster classical fan parents? With the movie Amadeus and wasn't there a song 'Rock me Amadeus', so it hasn't totally disappeared from being known.
Dragomir- more use in Slavic countries, but why not
Thaddeus- again, the hipster names
Wulfstan- if someone wants to find an animal name that isn't just an animal name, maybe
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It might take a while to post a full list, but my absolute favourites are Ariadne, Nicodemus, and Zerubbabel. Ariadne and Nicodemus are totally usable, imo, and I really wish more people would use Nicodemus specifically. (As much as I really do love Zerubbabel, that's a whole heck of a lot of syllables and I have no idea what the poor guy would actually go by.)From your list, I feel these are really quite usable:Amaryllis
Briseis
PersephonePercival
Thaddeus
Timaeus
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I love:Artemisia
Andromeda
Antigone
Lysander
Morgana
Briseis
Persephone
TisiphoneI do know a little Persephone, so I guess it is usable if you're brave enough. DH and I love Artemisia but we do have reservations about ever actually using it. We would potentially use Lysander one day though.
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People do actually use some of these. From the girls' list, the most commonly-used ones are probably Amaryllis and Persephone (maybe Briseis as an hon. mention), while from the boys' list, Thaddeus and Amadeus. Lately, in fact, a high school classmate FB posted her love of the name Thaddeus for a potential future son (already has children Lilliana and Leo). Also, I saw a birth announcement for a boy with Archimedes as a middle name. Anyway, Cassiopeia seems like it could be one of the more useable ones since one can use the nickname Cassie. As someone really interested in antiquities, I often discuss classical baby names with a similarly-interested friend. I think we would both like almost any of these names. On a side note, I believe said friend has actually encountered people with names like Elektra, Agamemmnon, and Ariadne.My personal favorites among the ancients include ones like Hadrian and Horatius (though I'd use the more modern Horatio), Hermione, Helen, Hypatia...for some reason I really like 'h' names. However, as a manner of speaking, almost all classical names are interesting/beautiful to me. I tend to separate Arthurian and Ancient Mediterranean names as categories of usage. Since you included those in your list, I must say that I've always favored Percival.
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