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

[Eomega123]

Chalk up another suggestion for splitting it into a first and middle name, or at least hyphenating it, if for no other reason than that apostrophe in the middle of the name is going to be a pain in the ass for her every time she has to fill out a form/introduce herself.

 

[rednose1]

Tali'Zorah is a horrible first name.
Tali is a fine name though.

Why not have the best of both worlds and make Tali her first name, and Zorah her middle name? You get to have a name from ME3, and she avoids a lot of cruel teasing. Everyone wins!

 

[The Enquirer]

Are you naming her Tali'Zora or Tali?

Tali = Good (well, acceptable) idea
Tali'Zora = Terrible idea

I have no problem with people naming their kids after media and whatnot but choose something normal if you're going to do that. Parents think that naming their kids with a unique name let's them stand out and it does...but not in a good way. Your child is a person, not a fashion accessory or toy for you to break out at parties.

The kids gonna get teased and she's going to have to tell people how to spell her freaking name for her entire life (assuming she doesn't change it the second she's legally allowed to).

Yeah... I mean, my name's Graham, and I got tons of shit for that in school. Just for Graham. They called me Graham Cracker. And I didn't even know about that other possible meaning, but it still felt pretty horrible. I don't even wanna think wanna they'd turn Tali'Zorah into. They probably wouldn't need to turn it into anything--they'd just laugh at it. And if people calling me Graham Cracker--a dessert, just to put that into perspective--turned me into an emotional wreck, naming your kid something that's actually a rather weird name, well... I don't know. Seems like a bad idea.

I can tell you that if I were named, I don't know, Aragorn, I'd probably be a little angry about that. I like LotR, and I think Aragorn's fucking great, but what if I didn't? What if I saw LotR and thought "This is a piece of shit, and my parents named me after this asshole?" Growing up I never liked my name much, but it grew on me as I got older. I think it's a somewhat unique name (All the Grahams on the Escapist say WHAT!) and I like that. If I were named after a video game character or something... I don't know how I'd feel about that.

It seems more like a name for your pet in World of Warcraft; something to show off how much you like something, or that you're a part of a fanbase or whatever. I always name my one of my pets Zevon, but I'd never name my son Zevon. Or Hendrix. Maybe Warren, but I don't know. If I named my kid Zevon, it would be selfish; I wouldn't be naming him Zevon because I think it's a great name for kid; I'd be naming him Zevon because I think Warren Zevon is the best singer/songwriter that ever lived/will live.

See I actually think if someone were to give you the nickname "Graham Craker" that might be kind of neat. As you stated you don't seem to think that's the case. For a while I had an afro (or something close to it) and people still call me "Frozo". I didn't mind it when I had the afro and I don't mind it now. So really I think it is going to depend on the child a lot as well as the people they surround themselves with.

Sorry if this somehow belongs in gaming discussion.

Anyway, tomorrow my daughter is scheduled to be born. I'm freaking out and all that, but that's not why I'm here. Since day 1, her first name was always going to be Tali'Zorah. It's not necessarily "named after Mass Effect", but rather my wife fell in love with the name during our first playthrough of ME1 many years ago. Confused friends and relatives are told "we wanted a nice Quarian name" just because it's funny to see the confusion become worse.

All that aside, a couple of people have told me that we're nuts for giving a child that name. I like it a lot, I'm assuming she'll like it, and I don't think she'll get teased for it or anything like that. Out of curiosity, am I totally off base about that? For further discussion value, this thread can be about the entire concept of video games being used to inspire names.

As many have stated, Tali is actually a really nice name. I'm actually quite fond of it. But using the full name is a huge nope. Personally if I met someone who was named Tali I'd think it would be pretty cool. Not because I like Mass Effect, but because I think it is a cool name. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you want to name you child Tali, do so because you like the name, not the character in a game who you child will most likely not be. However, you did say that you found friend's and relatives confusion funny when explaining the name to them. Kids, when confused, will most likely pick on your child. More mature people are old enough to not say anything (most of the time).

To answer your question of which this thread was supposed to be about, the naming of people after characters in a video game, name your child that name because you like that name. Not because of a character. It is really that simple.

Also congratulations on becoming a parent

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

As someone who got a name that was a compamise between two grandmothers (don't ask) for the love of your unborn baby child do not have 'Tali'Zorah' as her first name.

Splitting the name up would be better and more lore friendly as Zorah is her family name.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Meh I guess it's better than some couple out there had name their child named "Neo" and technically "Tali" is a proper name?
I guess time will tell if you will regret it or not especially your daughter.

 

[Stu35]

My daughter is named Tali'Zorah. Are we crazy?

My personal opinion? Yes. I think it's cruel to give a child a fucking weird name. Growing up is hard enough without giving other children ammunition.

I honestly think that, in the United Kingdom (where I live), we should do it the same as Germany, where a name has to fulfil two obligations:

1) You have to be able to tell the gender of the child based on the name
2) The name can't cause any undue suffering to the child (or words to that effect)

In other words, if your child is likely to get bullied because you give it a fucking Mass Effect name, then it's not allowed.


Again. This is entirely my personal opinion - I don't have children, and contrary to what I've put above, I wouldn't presume to involve myself in how you go about raising yours.

and I don't think she'll get teased for it or anything like that.Out of curiosity, am I totally off base about that?

Honestly I don't know. I know what schools I went to, and I know the children I grew up with - I knew a lad get the piss taken out of him on a daily basis because his name was Gaydon.

I suppose, objectively speaking, a name is just a name, it doesn't make a difference really - odds are her personality will determine how she interacts with her peers growing up, and perhaps young Gaydon didn't have many friends because he was a fucking weird kid.

Then again, I was a fucking weird kid, I played D&D and Warhammer, and I didn't spend my lunches sat on a bench eating alone.

As a final point - lots of parents are giving their spawn "unique" names these days (in a hilarious irony), so by the time your daughter hits school, could be that her 'crazy' name is exactly as unique as everybody elses, and won't make the slightest bit of difference.

For further discussion value, this thread can be about the entire concept of video games being used to inspire names.

Well, at the start of my post I was vehemently against people giving their younglings (what I feel to be) stupid names.

I'm still kinda against it. Thinking about it though, I suppose it doesn't make much difference in the long run, and it's so common for people to give their brats ridiculous "unique" names to show how fucking unique they are, that 'Tali'Zorah' is the new 'Harry'.


Regardless of any of this, I wish you and your family the best.

 

[Flutterguy]

If you do name her Tali don't make her middle name Zorah as some recommended.

1)Keeps the Mass Effect reference blatantly obvious
2)Doesn't give her the option of being called her middle name

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

My dad told me he wanted to name me Dolph (after Dolph Lundgren). And my mum talked him out of it.

Fuck you mum. I could've been... the Dolphin. Dolphman. Dolphuck-U. Something amazing. Instead I got Andrew. What do you make out of Andrew? Andy. Or Drew, I guess. But man Dolph could be anything. So yes. Call your child an amazing name. Don't be another goddamn boring parent and rob your child of something incredible.

 

[not_you]

Wait... Tomorrow.... as in, US tomorrow or EU tomorrow?

Because if tomorrow is the 4th, I'm all for that day! HA

Anyway, as many, many others have said, Tali is a fine first name, or at least, name the child Tali'Zorah, but only call her Tali for short...

But yeah, having never played the ME series, I have no feelings for the name... Of course, if I were to pick a name out of a videogame I'd probably use....
oh, wow, I really have to think about this...

get back to me later... or in a few years, if I ever get to that stage of my life...

 

[Abomination]

If you had a son would you have named him "Commander"?

No, Tali'Zorah is a BAD BAD BAD idea.

Tali would be nice enough.

 

[INF1NIT3 D00M]

Congrats first off.

Secondly, I wouldn't say that it's crazy. Maybe a little weird, but that may just be me, and mostly because you're also giving her Tali's last name as a part of her first.

THAAAAAAANK YOOOOOOU!

I was hoping someone else would bring this up. The Quarians have a different naming system than we do. Her full name, "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy" translates into "Tali Zorah, from the Normandy".
So technically, if you're naming your child after the ME3 character, "Tali" would be the correct first name because that is the character's first name. Using "Tali'Zorah", you're not only giving your child an awkward legal first name, but technically you're giving your child both a first and a last name for a legal first name. It would be like naming your child "Terry-Weinstein Fitzgerald". It even sounds like a first and last name, so not only does your child get to experience the joy of having a non-normative first name, they get to explain to literally every new person they meet that their last name isn't "Zorah".

My advice to the OP is to just stick with "Tali". It's unique enough without being a socially-crippling choice. As some other users have already said, your child isn't a toy. This is a person who has to live with your choice of name, not a pet or some sort of trophy. If people pay any attention to the name you've given your child, you've already failed. It should be something that a new acquaintance hears and can easily associate with the person they are meeting. There shouldn't be any discussion. Nobody should ever have to explain what Mass Effect is or acknowledge the fact that you like the game. No mention of your child's name should ever include a mention of you or your interests, because they're not meeting you. You don't matter to them (yet). Nobody that your child meets cares about your love for Mass Effect or any of its characters. It's damn selfish of you to try to wedge yourself into every initial contact your child has with people. When you give your child a name like "Tali'Zorah", whether you realize it or not, you're doing so because you want people to ask. You want people to say "Oh, what a cool name, where did you get it?" and you expect your child to say "Oh, my mom and dad just loooooove Mass Effect". Who cares what you like? This wasn't a conversation about you. The person your child is speaking to has never met you, and probably doesn't plan to ever run into you. And yet there you are, just baiting people to ask. Daring them to ask, every single one of the innumerable meetings your child has with new people. Don't stick your nose in their business. Let them be a person. Let them meet new people without having to bring you up, or discuss Mass Effect. How do you expect to share a passion for Mass Effect with them, when that's the very game, the very character that's become the bane of their every legal document?

The only reason that something like "Tali" by itself or "Garrus" might work as "unique" first names is because "Garrus" sounds a little bit like a derivative of "Gary" and "Tali" sounds enough like an Asian or Middle-Eastern name that most westerners will hand-wave it as a normative name from a region they're not familiar with. I'm certain that those are intentional choices on behalf of Bioware, in order to make their characters feel less alien (despite the fact that they are literally aliens).

 

[Superior Mind]

My recommendation would be to make sure you name your daughter for her rather than for yourself. Ask yourself seriously whether she would want to be called Tali or Tali'Zorah, (whichever way you end up going.) Whether she would be okay with the origins of her name and the reason for her naming being a fictional alien character in a video game from 2007. There's no right or wrong answer, you'll reason it whichever way you can, but I think it is important you give it some serious thought.

Tali is actually quite a nice name. It is an actual name too, (it's Hebrew - as is Zelda, another game-name.) Personally I'd drop the Zorah - it's Tali's last name anyway.


Either way, congratulations.

 

[bluegate]

...That said, I just said in a few years I'm still going to be a cashier at a grocery store, so it's not like my snickering will mean much.

...I've gotta go sit in the corner and think about my life...

What's wrong with being a cashier at a grocery store though? It's a perfectly fine and respectable job.

Ot;
Go with tali and drop the zorah part.reasons; read thread.

 

[karloss01]

Sorry if this somehow belongs in gaming discussion.

Anyway, tomorrow my daughter is scheduled to be born. I'm freaking out and all that, but that's not why I'm here. Since day 1, her first name was always going to be Tali'Zorah. It's not necessarily "named after Mass Effect", but rather my wife fell in love with the name during our first playthrough of ME1 many years ago. Confused friends and relatives are told "we wanted a nice Quarian name" just because it's funny to see the confusion become worse.

All that aside, a couple of people have told me that we're nuts for giving a child that name. I like it a lot, I'm assuming she'll like it, and I don't think she'll get teased for it or anything like that. Out of curiosity, am I totally off base about that? For further discussion value, this thread can be about the entire concept of video games being used to inspire names.

I would stick with just Tali, having Tali'Zorah would be a bit far. as for naming people after video game characters, I don't really have a problem with it but it really matters to the kid him/herself; I mean in 16-18 years she'll possibly be looking for employment and I think Tali has a better chance for employment then Tali'Zorah.

 

[JoJo]

If a videogame is significant enough in your life that you name your child after a minor character in it then you probably need to look in the mirror and think about if you're ready to have children in the first place.

The lesson, dear reader is your child is not a gimmick.

It's a little late to be saying that when the OP's child is scheduled to be born tomorrow, that boat sailed almost nine months ago. Besides, this isn't much different from naming your child after a relative, or picking a random name you think is cool, names rarely have a very meaningful justification. Let's be honest, the only reason this is getting so much attention (and rightly so) is that Tali'Zorah is an unusual sounding name, if the OP said he planned to call her Daisy after Princess Daisy or Clementine after Clem of the Walking Dead then I'd bet there would be no complaints.

OT: Great idea, the world can always do with a little more humour! I have to back the suggestion that is running though this thread though and suggest naming her 'Tali' with 'Zorah as a middle name, rather than 'Tali'Zorah' since the latter is a bit of a mouthful and very obviously different, whereas Tali is short, concise and not obvious where it came from.

 

[TheIceQueen]

I'm going to name my first son after an original character of mine that's had plenty of porn drawn of him.

But at least it's a real name with real meaning and not so horribly clunky as to have a gosh dang apostrophe. That's just awful.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

YES.

Yes you are fucking insane.

Naturally it's your choice, and I really shouldn't judge, but if you name your child Tali'Zorah, as written, she will have a hard time at school and possibly later at work, and you cannot help but investigate the origins of such a specific name.

Tali, on the other hand, is a pretty good name in my opinion, and instead of being a straight reference, can be denied if needed (by your daughter, of course).

Either way good luck.

 

[Eamar]

I'm going to join the consensus and suggest separating the two elements (or dropping the Zorah part altogether).

Seriously, think long and hard about naming a kid. I certainly don't think people should avoid naming kids after fictional characters or public figures altogether, especially not if the name/person/book/whatever actually has some real significance for you, but you've got to think about the real world practicalities too.

I have two middle names in addition to my first name, and all three were chosen for people my dad admires - a historical figure, a monarch, and a politician. It can be slightly embarrassing to reveal the meaning behind my names (especially because the politician is... let's say divisive. That name still draws raised eyebrows and it's my second middle name) That said, I do like having a "story" to my name, if only because without it my names are the most boring, unoriginal names imaginable.

On that note, I do at least applaud your attempt to go for something a little unusual. I mean, I'm not saying I would like to be called Honeybelle Talulah or whatever, but I've always hated how common my names are. In literally every single school year/class/workplace I've been one of at least two Emmas. One year at school there were five of us in one class, and it sucked. And I kid you not, over 50% of the girls in my school year shared my middle name. The first one, not the one with controversial political implications

Middle ground. That's what you need to be aiming for. Tali is lovely. Tali'Zorah is trying way too hard.

Oh, and as for teasing... as I've said, Emma is the most common female name for women my age in the UK, and some kids still found ways to tease me over it. The chances of Tali'Zorah escaping a bit of teasing are pretty much zero.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Firstly, congratulations!

Now, I personally really like the name Tali'Zorah, but the unfortunate fact is that the other children your child is going to have to deal with are going to find the name strange. Its pretty much guaranteed that a significant number of these children are going to pounce on any kind of minority that exists among their peers and cut away at their self esteem. I think that naming your child Tali'Zorah is a bad idea because it effectively paints them as an easier target for bullying.

I think that Tali or Zorah are really lovely names on their own so I suggest naming your daughter one of those, as opposed to the whole thing as one name, you could still use the other as the middle name.

 

[Da Orky Man]

I think I'll throw in witht he others here. Tali, or Talia, is fine as a first name. Zorah is an acceptable middle name. Tali'Zorah is not a good name for a child.

The closest I'd be willing to go is to name my hypothetical future-daughter Karan, after Karan S'jet, of which surprisingly few of you will get.