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

[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.

 

[CloudAtlas]

All that aside, a couple of people have told me that we're nuts for giving a child that name.

Yes, you are. Tali, Zora, okay, I'd imagine that are names regular enough for the US (Zora is a regular name where I come from anyway), but to go all the way to Tali'Zorah? No.

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.

And on what basis do you make this assumption? On none. Whether your daughter would cherish the fact that she was named after some video game character or not, you cannot know. The chances she dislikes it are just greater than with a normal name, and the same is true for her being teased for it.

And why has it be Tali, of all the characters in Mass Effect? Sure, the character is really sweet, but if you think about it, Tali is a very young, socially insecure, nerdy, hapless virgin, an incapable leader and damsel in distress (Shepard has to save her ass 3? 4? times over the course of the games, dammit). Is that really the kind of person you want your daughter to aspire to be?

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.

Naming a child after a video game character is the same as naming it after some celebrity or a character in some popular movie or book. If the name is weird, and the reference obvious, it's even worse. If you name your daughter Tali or Zelda or whatever, you have no right to laugh about all the Katnisses, Hermiones, Arwens or Bellas either.

Honestly, I think it's rather selfish to extend one's fandom to their children, who have no say in the matter.

 

[Verlander]

Father of three with 4th on the way. I doubt she'd get teased for it, unless you live in a place with hyper conservative troglodytes, like the middle east or the USA. I'd replace the ' for - though. Tali-Zorah. Or do the middle name thing.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Just Tali and then Zorah as a middle name is fine. If Tali'Zorah is all the first name then that is a bit weird but everyone will probaly call her Tali or TZ anyway.

 

[INF1NIT3 D00M]

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.

"Dolph" is actually a derivative of Rudolph. Considering the location and time period of his birth (1957 - Sweden), it's something of a normative name. Rudolph is itself a derivative of either "Rudolf" or "Randolph". "Randolph" traces back to Old Norse "Rannulfr" (meaning 'Shield-Wolf'), or the Frankish name "Rannulf" (meaning 'Raven-Wolf'). Meanwhile "Rudolf" is an Austrian name, common throughout northern and eastern europe.

Despite Dolph Lundgren having a normative name for his birth era and location, your mother likely chose to name you something else because eastern european names have never been especially popular in the united states. "Andrew" is and has been a common name in the United States due to its biblical origins. However, you can take solace in your name. Tracing the etymology of "Andrew", it is actually a derivative of Ancient Greek "Andreios", meaning 'Manly'.

As for myself, I'm happy. "Eric" comes from Old Norse "Eirikr", meaning 'Honored Ruler'. Alternate sources result in translations such as "Eternal Ruler", "Ever Powerful", or simply "Government".

Etymology is great for making you feel like a total badass without having ever done anything of note. Still, you can take heart in the knowledge that you too have a powerful name, just like Dolph Lundgren. Have people call you "Big Man", "Mann Manly", or "Andreios", because technically there's no more and no less reason for them to address you by any of those names than there is for them to call you "Drew" or "Andy". Since you have the choice between the two, I'd just as soon go with "Mann Manly".

 

[Palademon]

As someone called Jonathan, I assure you that having a common name does not cure you of stupid teasing revolving it.
Although, the difference is they most likely weren't teasing me because of my name. They just found a way to incorporate it.
Kids will mock anything if they want to. This is more of a choice about a risk than a definite.

My best advice is to think about how it'll look in a few years. How it'll feel to the child.
I like unique names. Luckily this kind of discussion with friends is usually people always wanting what they didn't have. People with rarer names wanting common ones, and people with common ones wanting rare ones.

It's possibly irresponsible to name someone something if you know they'll get mocked, but that's like avoiding your hobby because you get mocked for it, which is a clear path to sadness, but the difference is you're doing this for someone else who may not share your interests

Although I'm a bit tired of this whole 'normal name' thing. Every name was unusual at some point. Around the time of my mum's birth, no one had heard of Nina. And plenty of people have named their children after their favourite characters, and them become normal. My cousin's middle name is Caspian and no one cares.

I'm most likely to name any offspring I may be lucky to have with names referencing my interests, although anything too exotic I'll probably keep as a mild consideration of a middle name, because no one bothers to learn those.

 

[Jacques Joseph]

Another vote here for splitting the name into Tali and Zorah. As has been said before, together with the apostrophe is just too unusual for her not to have a hard time wearing that name, but Tali is an actual name even outside Mass Effect and, as I seem to be the first to point out, Zorah as well (variant spelling of the Slavic Zora, meaning "dawn"). I live in the Czech Republic and I actually know a couple of Zoras. So, there you go.

As for naming your child after a videogame in general, I don´t really see that much of a difference when compared to naming the child after a movie or a book. If that specific artifact of human culture is so important and meaningful to you that even after 5, 10, 15 years you´ll look back and think "If I could pick her name again, I´d choose the same", then no problem. And if the Mass Effect series falls into oblivion in a couple of years, who cares, if she´s called Tali Zorah, she´s got a great name regardless of "source material".

 

[lunavixen]

I think shortening the name to Tali would be more acceptable than the full Tali'Zorah. Kids in schools are extremely mean and need little to no reason (imagined or otherwise) to bully another person. But congratulations!

 

[Rastrelly]

If you wish to break your child's life - go for it.

 

[Skeleon]

I think it's kind of "nuts" to use your words, but more so it's short-sighted. She'll have that name for her entire life, long after nobody even knows Mass Effect ever was a thing.
Personally, I don't mind taking names from books, movies or games or whatever, as long as they are fine in their own right. They need to stand up as names with or without the "reference factor" to the source material, I'd say. In the end, you'll have to decide for yourselves whether Tali'Zorah is appropriate or not, but to me it's pretty damn bizarre, on its own, out of any context.
I also lack the emotional connection to Mass Effect, not having played it yet, so that makes it less appropriate in my eyes, I'd have to assume, whereas something like... I dunno... Redrick I'd consider alright for a boy. Yes, it stems from a fictitious source (Redrick Schuhart from Roadside Picnic), but it's a "normal enough" name as it is and it's a name outside of its fictitious source, also.
So I guess that's how I'd approach names from fictional sources.

 

[MrBaskerville]

It's sounds like something out of WoW, and it kinda sounds like something that should be said in an angry voice, that's not a good thing. But Tali or Talia is a good name, it's just the Zorah part that's kinda awful, like something a celebrity couple would call their kids. As many others here, i would rethink the Zorah part, but if you love the name, by all means, go for it. It's your decision after all.