My daughter is named Tali'Zorah. I suppose I'm crazy : )

[Auron225]

Very bad idea. She is going to be spending her entire life spelling her name to exceptionally confused people. If her first name needs an apostrophe - it's unusual.

However "Tali" is a beautiful and not too unusual name. Hell, make her middle name "Zorah" if you want - middle names aren't usually a topic of frequent discussion. But Tali'Zorah? Kids will find a way to take the piss and be cruel and she could be the one to pay for it.

I can't imagine many kids being thrilled at the idea of being named after an alien either. Don't get me wrong, I understand - Tali is a fantastic character but I wouldn't share the name origin story with your daughter until she is old/mature enough to understand.

If you really love the name, I'd highly recommend making "Zorah" (no apostrophe) a middle name.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

Yeah, I'd shorten it to Tali. Tali sounds unusual but not in way that I can think of any obvious jokes to make about it.

Kids have more imagination than me though...

 

[Harleykin]

diffrent angle here
my sister is called shirley...not all that strange right? well we live in germany and that's somewhat strange but pretty accpetd. she has a second name. a nigerian name and i can't even write it. i can hardly pronounce it.(her dad's nigerian so it makes sense....some at least)

everything from "hey hun write your name on the board" to "can you repeat that? how's that spelled?" will be a part of her life.

and the whole "it's not because we are ME nerds it's because we like the name and the sound of it"...well yeah you might want to print some shirts right now because it's a name. something you "have" to interact with other ppl and ppl are dicks.

i have a name with an "lf" at the ending of it and i never once met someone that got it right from hearing.

tali on the other hand I'd like that. zora as a middlename too (i think it's blue in japanese or something?)

bottom line: practice what you'll tell her when she asks for the meaning behind her name.and one more thing if you think "it just sounded nice" is a sound reason for anything...oh boy. i'd be so freaking pissed especially if i'd ask you if you asked other ppl's opinions and what's your answer then? "well yeah about 100 ppl on a forum told us not too but fuck'em"

look at your year of birth. look at what was trendy then. pick the worst name possible. try seeing yourself living with it now. i'm not saying it's the worst name ever (in germany someone actually got their kid name jihad or something) but your kid might feel that way.

pick a name with meaning and with history. or in short

something you'd never ever have to justify or discuss.

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

Yeah I really wouldn't name a kid Tali'Zorah, it will probably come back to kick you in the arse, and I know for a fact if my parents had named me that I'd get it changed ASAP. To take a name from a game that won't be popular in ten years will also make you cringe in hindsight. Go for Tali, no problem, but combining them will cause your kid grief. It's absolutely wrong and shouldn't be the case but it's true. Young kids don't have a great sense of wrong.

 

[MarsProbe]

Like seems to be the consensus here, I think Tali sounds fine as a first name for a girl, but Tali'Zorah not so much.

Though if you want to follow Quarian naming conventions as closely as possible, maybe she should be called Tali'Zorah nar . Just saying

Still, in these modern times, there are worse "unconvential" names you could call your kid, and at least Tali manages to sound fairly unusual without being completely ridiculous at the same time.

 

[Brotha Desmond]

Tali By itself is okay, but Tali'Zorah? If anyone finds out that it's from a video game (which they will) she will be teased to know end. Depending on her personality it might even cause resentment in your daughter. I would recommend, if you must pick that name, to just stick with Tali, and drop the Zorah altogether.

 

[Headsprouter]

Well, looking at the previous 6 pages of this thread, laced with negativity towards the idea, whatcha gonna do, now?

Needless to say, I agree with the majority. Tali is a lovely name, an existing name, too, if you're dead set, go for that. But remember, one day you'll still have to say "We named you after an alien in a video game." And you can't guarantee she'll be pleased.

Pets that are too stupid to be embarrassed can be given quirky video game names, not people, unless by their own choice.

It's like getting a tattoo based on a meme. Aged, instantly.

 

[CloudAtlas]

tali on the other hand I'd like that. zora as a middlename too (i think it's blue in japanese or something?).

Sora means sky in Japanese, so almost correct.

Since nerdy parents mixing Japanese in a name will no doubt evoke anime-ish associations, on top of the game origin, I'm not sure whether that makes it any better.

 

[Auron225]

It should be different in the future due to all the coddling and anti-bully campaigning going on in our modern day. But, fuck me for being an optimist, right? And you're damn right you can give a kid a weird name. Just look at all the different societies and cultures that exist on this planet. Seriously, what is it with people like you? A bland, grey society of John Smith's and David Davidson's, I bet that's your perfect world. Christ, expand your mind and learn acceptance. There are FAR more pressing issues we as a species should be focusing on, rather than who's naming their offspring what. Not only that, but who are ANY of us to judge? What worthwhile contribution have you or anyone else made to further humanities expansion and future? You'll have no choice but to excuse me if I shrug off your opinion and laugh, just as anyone else who isn't studying terraforming technology, alternate fuels or space exploration should do for my own words. As for #1, who cares? It's what people will say 20, 30+ years that matter at this point. Do you give a 9 year old shit for not getting laid? Well, maybe YOU do, but I sure don't. They're kids. Once they grow up and learn life, then they can judge for themselves. It's THEIR future. What we have to say about it really doesn't matter, it'll be their world. We can only shape it for them until then, and your narrow-minded resistance wont help. And as for #2, I said to worry years later. Which again, see my response to your #1.

There's nothing wrong with being an optomist. However, betting your childs name and future happiness on the future? That could not be more different.

Yes there are lots of different cultures and societies on the planet but I guarantee you that if I named my child جون , they would get picked on. A lot. I'm sure that's a normal name somewhere but it would cause absolutely NO shortage of needless confusion and abuse here!

We're not the ones abandoning acceptance here. However, people aren't born with it - it's something that must be learned and people/kids need time to learn it. The vast majority won't until mid-late teens so until then Tali'Zorah is going be butting heads with everyone who takes the mick out of her for it, which will be her classmates and she'll see them everyday.

There are more pressing issues around but these things still require thought. And if suddenly this is something that can only be decided by those in space exploration? Yeah great idea. Let's write NASA a letter and ask them what they think would be a good name. While we're at it we can ask how long until we get to meet the Quarians and Tali'Zorah is an accepted name.

Where are you getting 20-30+ years from? This will be an issue in 5 years when her parents aren't there to explain to the other kids in school that her name is ok. And as optomistic as I am, I'm not betting on bullying being eradicated in 5 years.

And again, I agree we are shaping the future for the next genration but it's not always going to be good. Naming your child after a fictional alien seems like a really poor start in life.

 

[Raikas]

The biggest issue I'd have with the name Tali'Zorah (I'm generally not a fan of naming kids for pop culture references, but at least both of those are real names) is the apostrophe. My in-laws have a last name that includes one, and it's frequently a pain in situations where some computer system can't accept non-letter characters (which is surprisingly frequent - hospitals, auto registries, the list goes on - and these are people in both Canada and the UK). Similarly, I have a first name with a hypen and that throws all kinds of systems as well (and again, it's a standard kind of name).

To knowingly saddle your kid with that extra letter on top of it not having the "It's a family name" excuse seems rather selfish to me, but hey.

 

[Irridium]

I would've made the middle name "Tali" since that'd probably be the most "acceptable", and the kid could also have a normal name and just hide their middle one. Plus, middle names tend to be snickered at anyway. Wouldn't use Tali'Zorah for the whole name though, I think that's kind of crazy. But you do what you want. Your family and all.

 

[Wackymon]

The answer to your question is, in fact, Mu, or rather the question is wrong.[footnote]The writer of this article is ignorant in this field, so take their post with a grain of salt[/footnote]
It might deviate from the norm, but things deviate from the norm all the time.

Firstly: For even a bit of change from the norm, you will be ridiculed like hell.
Secondly: The norm is constantly shifting.
Secondly point Five: You can shift a persons personal norm.
Thirdly: Landing on the norm will be ridiculed.

Assuming you introduce her to other kids at a young age, have a decent school around, and make it so that people know her, they might accept her. In the end, a name is a label, and, like all labels, will be used against people. And, like all labels, are meaningless. They might pester her, she might be bullied, but she may not, it's just flatly uncertain. Children can be cruel, or they can be nice, in the end, it's a coin flip. Just don't move too often(or at least until middle to high-school, where it may/may-not be attractive).

If I were to name my child جون

What you did there.
I see it.

 

[Qvar]

Tali is fine. Zorah is fine (tho it will add those LoZ fans to the ones from ME). Tali Z. is badass. Tail'Zorah will make her life miserable.

 

[Auron225]

Also I'm just gonna leave this here. There can be serious consequences for giving your child irrational names for the sheer sake of standing out;

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/24/familyandrelationships.newzealand

EDIT:

If I were to name my child جون

What you did there.
I see it.

;D It was the first one to pop into my head...

 

[thiosk]

What if your daughter plays mass effect and hates it and dislikes Tali? She would be pretty annoyed you chose it.

Thats not realistic in the slightest, come on.
Tali is universally loved.

 

[Snowpact]

For some reason, the topic reminds me of a Johnny Cash song.

OT: I very much like the name Tali. Zora(h) is actually also a nice name. The combination Tali Zora(h) is, too. But I personally think that making it one name and keeping in the ' makes it a wee bit too complicated. Of course it's only a minor inconvenience to spell, but I actually like 'just' Tali more. But that's just my two cents.

Whatever you and your wife decide to name your daughter, I wish you the best of luck and happiness together. Oh, and the best of luck choosing the final version of the name .

 

[nohorsetown]

Congrats on becoming a parent!!

At first, I thought "Noooo! Not that! Don't name her that!" . . . but after a few minutes of contemplation - fuck it. My daughter's school is filled with kids with ridiculous names. Except, see, they're only ridiculous to me. To the kids, and their parents, they're totally normal. And even "serious" names are ultimately pretty silly / pointless. I tried to give my kid a "normal", yet weighty / meaningful name . . . but that was over ten years ago. I was moved by (less obscure than I thought) symbolism. In hindsight, I could have done better, but it doesn't matter. Her name is her name, and it works. It's entirely possible, even probable, that you'll look back someday and feel . . . not regret or shame or anything all that bad, but you might feel a little silly. But so fucking what? So does everyone - and like I said at the beginning of this *should-have-been-split-into-multiple-paragraphs*, there are gonna be tons of other kids with similar names. Just think of this as the first of a great many wonderful mistakes you get to make! Trust me, there will be many!

Again, congrats! Don't let the bastards get you down. Best wishes for you and your family.

 

[Hazy]

The only exception is "Thwomp." For a cat.

I pity the fool who doesn't name their pet cat "Bowser."

Or "Meowser" if you prefer, but be ready to get hit by one or more of your friends.

I'd name a pet after a game character, but not a person. Unless that name is a real, common name (Jack, James, Dante, etc.) My dog just so happened to be named King in homage to Ness' dog from Earthbound.

 

[nyankaty]

Just yet another person saying that Tali is a fine name, Tali'Zorah is going to make the kid get picked on and she's either going to legally change it or start going by another name as soon as possible. My brother is naming his kid Shepherd but that, like Tali, is a fine name that doesn't instantly shout its origin and it's standard enough to not make him miserable.

But I mean, do whatever you want. It's only the rest of their life. Just remember that whatever you do for a child should be for THEIR sake, not yours, and that includes naming them.

 

[persephone]

I'm on board with the people who've suggested Tali as the first name and Zorah as the middle name, so that she has the option of easily going by one, the other, or both if she so desires. I also agree with those who feel that making her first name Tali'Zorah would almost certainly get her teased down the road -- no matter how popular Mass Effect is or isn't in future years.

If nothing else, every teacher on every first day of school will comment on it and ask her about it (and thus all her classmates will learn about it whether she likes it or not), and she'll be sick of it by second grade.

Tali is a beautiful name and a good choice, and I don't think she'd ever be teased for it or regret being given the moniker. I hope the birth goes well, that mom and baby come out of it okay, and God bless all of you!