Can "Holy" be a first name?

[Yopaz]

I think that it's possible here in Sweden, at least. I mean hey, we're a nation where "Dalek" is a real last name.

Yes, you can actually be named after these things.

Which makes me want to ask... is there anyone named Holy Dalek?

I see no reason why it can't be a name. I mean, here Homo is a last name and the Norwegian word for Elf (alv) is a real first name. Also yes, I know one person got that first name and last name coupled. Poor guy...

 

[King of Asgaard]

Only if your last name is Cox.

OT: You can use it as a name, but really, why would you want to?
It would just invite torment upon the life of the child.

 

[lacktheknack]

You CAN name your child that... but what kind of horrible parent would you be to do that in an English country? D:

The bullying would never cease! For added effect, put beef and fish in their lunch every single day.

 

[hermes]

Yes, Holy as a name is acceptable. Not recommended, but acceptable.
In fact, you can name a child pretty much any way you want.

Also, I wouldn't take anime dub as a source for English names; most of them are translated (for several reasons), like Satan to Hercule... Specially in the case of Jojo, where many names are music puns.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I'd totally name my kid Holy if my last name were Moley.

Truth time...it's only really America where parents give their kids weird names. That's not to say it doesn't happen here (The Beckhams rather famously), just that it's very uncommon. But in the US it's as though parents actually go out of their way to pick the most bizarre names. And what is it with slapping "La" in front of everything as well. "Hi, I'm LaJames Smith." or "My names Jon LaBrown"?

 

[Forobryt]

You CAN name your child that... but what kind of horrible parent would you be to do that in an English country? D:

The bullying would never cease! For added effect, put beef and fish in their lunch every single day.

Also bread and water, bonus points if you include a flavour powder that turns the water red.

Must admit its fun to think of what peoples full names would be if you replaced the first name with holy.

Oh god Holy Clarion.......what have I done.

 

[Leonardo Huizar]

Nobody has pointed this out yet so i will... Jesus is a common Mex name.

I have an uncle named Santa, and my father is named after my grandmother Maria.

Also i remember Colbert did a report where some moron before the 2009 election, legally named his newborn daughter ISHITYOUNOT: Sarah Palin John McCain

 

[2HF]

Penn Jillette named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter.

I will hear no negative comments about the greatest name ever given to a child!

Moxie "Crimefighter" Jilette is genius.

 

[Therumancer]

I was wondering, can "Holy" be a first name? Because Jotaro Kujo's mother in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is apparently named "Holy". But I've never seen that used as a first name, especially an American or English first name (perhaps in Japanese, but Jotaro's mother is meant to be an American of English descent, being the daughter of Joseph Joestar), although I have seen "Holly" being used as a first name (I know there are some people, say, in South American countries called "Jesus" - although some people think that's blasphemous - and some people are named "Hope" and "Faith", but not an adjective that may describe a concept, even if it is religious) and I've seen the character being referred to as "Holy" before.

Viz translates the part where Mrs. Kujo tells her father Joseph that her Japanese friends call her "Seiko", meaning "holy child", as her telling him that her friends think that her name is "Holy", which is why they call her "Seiko" (also, she tells Joseph that she won't answer to anything else when he's in Japan, so I dunno if we should use that as her name now or not). I'm not sure how accurate Viz's translation of JoJo Part 3 is (the most I know about it was that the controversy over the Qu'ran-reading scene in the OVA meant they had to alter any potentially offensive scenes of mosque destruction in the manga, and they had Araki draw a quasi-original 8-page prologue and redraw some scenes that featured animals getting killed).

So, can "Holy" be a first name? And what is the "true" name of Jotaro's mother: "Holy" or "Holly"?

Actually it's very common in Muslim countries. The word "Al" in many cases translates to Holy though it can change depending on the exact usage. For example Jerusalem is pretty much "al-Qud" or "Holy City" (including the parentheses, to specify THE Holy City as opposed to *A* Holy City). As a general rule any Arabic name with the word "Al" in it involves someone referring to themselves as holy something, though truthfully I don't think I've ever run into anyone or seen a reference to an Arab simply called "Al" or "Holy" except maybe in short by a foreigner.

As far as Japan goes, I've noticed a tendency for very generic names, especially when it comes to either basic, or very powerful characters in not-so serious works. We've literally had characters with names like "Mama Mega", and it's noteworthy that the spirit of the planet in "Final Fantasy VII" was known as "Holy", the evil force it was opposing was simply known as "Meteor" (and it was actually a meteor, but also a sort of evil, semi-indestructible god that was able to reform itself after being hit by a missile). Given that the work is called "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" it makes a degree of sense and doesn't surprise me. I've noticed a lot of western fans who are relatively new or of middling experience with Anime tend to try and project a lot of depth onto Anime that just isn't there, perhaps because of the few works that do have that kind of depth. As disposable pop-culture generally intended for an age of 10-16 what you see is actually what you get. Nothing wrong with liking it, I'm not as big a fan as I once was, but still like it myself, but trying to seriously ponder the usage of every name and translation isn't worth the headache. As odd as it sounds if enough people ask a question a creator will usually come up with some profound-sounding answer and then give another one six months later if asked again if they forgot the conversation, causing some of the arguments about "so and so said this is what it was all about" when really they just did whatever they thought was cool, rushed on a name, or whatever else, trying to get a series out on deadline. As odd as it might sound there have literally been anime that started production with no idea where they were going with it or how they were going to finish it because a production house
had a rush order based on a basic concept/outline.

 

[SecondPrize]

Best choice, of course, is changing last name to Handgrenade and moving to Antioch.

 

[thedoclc]

Penn Jillette named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter.

I will hear no negative comments about the greatest name ever given to a child!

Moxie "Crimefighter" Jilette is genius.

She's not Moxie "Crimefighter" Jillette. It's not a nickname. Moxie Crimefighter Jillette is her legal name.

Likewise, his son's name is Zolten Penn.

Moxie, alone, is not that bad.

 

[2HF]

Penn Jillette named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter.

I will hear no negative comments about the greatest name ever given to a child!

Moxie "Crimefighter" Jilette is genius.

She's not Moxie "Crimefighter" Jillette. It's not a nickname. Moxie Crimefighter Jillette is her legal name.

Likewise, his son's name is Zolten Penn.

Moxie, alone, is not that bad.

I am aware, Penn being one of my favorite people in existence. I believe it to be a phenomenal name. I won't defend Zolten though.

 

[Guffe]

(I dare you to top this one, Daystar!)

[HEADING=1]challenge accepted![/HEADING]

The correct answer to this joke is Diver.


Your name would be Holy Diver.

Spoiler

And Daystar shows that, once again, he is the Master of the Universe Forums

I came in here and was going to say "only if Shit is the lastname"
But I was beat to, bot the concept, and the better alternatives