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

[Moderated]

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?

Yes. She will get made fun of for having a different name. Like, were you even a child? In addition, it's been proven that children with unusual names are more likely to drop out of high school.

 

[Mad World]

"Tali" is a very nice name. I don't think that there is anything wrong with it.

 

[SweetWarmIce]

Have her first name as Tali and her middle name as Zora. Giving her the first name Tali'Zorah is just asking for trouble.

 

[ace_of_something]

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.

My daughter is named Tali as well, though it's short for Taliya (adopted thru foster care didn't pick the name) So I don't think it's that bad. Also my wife's grandmother is named Zora she's French-Roma

Though speaking as someone with an 'unusual' name at least here in the united states. It kind of sucks as a kid having an odd name and it sucks even more when you're looking for a job. It gets very old having to spend your whole life explaining the name. When the movie 'Thor' came out it was REALLY annoying for a while. FYI I'm actually Thor IV and my nephew is Thor V it's a family name. It basically is the name meaning "Okay this is the last boy I intend on having" as it's always a youngest son.
Once in adulthood though it doesn't matter so much. I'm glad my name is like John cuz then I'd have to be 'John A.' if there was ever another John around.

I agree you should give her the first name Tali middle name Zorah. They're both actual names after all.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

Are you naming her Tali'Zora or Tali?

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

I'd go with this. poor kids gonna get bullied with option 2

 

[Gvaz]

There's a Zelda Williams and she's okay with it.

 

[omega 616]

a test run to see how receptive the general public is. So far, I've learned that people on the Internet are far more brutal and less likely to mince words than in person, and I'm not sure why I'm surprised. Out of hundreds of combined people comprised of doctors, nurses, friends, and both sides of the family, the absolute worst statement I heard was "is that really her actual name? Oh okay". 98% of people love the name and thinks it sounds pretty, which I must stress is the real reason for the name.

Nobody is going to say to your face "you called her what now? That's a stupid name" to your face, people have courtesy/social niceties etc. It's the same reason you absolutely love that pair of socks you just got for Christmas 'cos saying "yeah, just what I need, more fucking socks!" is out of order.

You came on the internet with a question, the place to come if you want a totally brutally honest answer. It's the great thing about the net, unless you ask in one of the dark corners of it, you will always get the most honest answer here. It's actually what I love about the net, no pretense of niceness ... if someone thinks you're a dick, they will tell you without hesitation, it's beautiful!

Like I said in my first quote to you,"Is this one of those "I'm not going to change my mind, I just want to be reassured" kind of topics?" seems I was right.

You might have thought "OMG, such a nice name" and only had the best intentions but that doesn't matter at all. It's like I think Victorian female clothing is awesome, so much so I think if I was a girl I would wear it but I would look fucking stupid walking around shops ...

Spoiler: Like this

I like the way it looks but it doesn't fit with modern times, as much as a blue aliens name doesn't fit with our culture.

 

[ckam]

Just go with Tali, it sounds plain old better. The rest sounds too bizarre and your kid might wind up holding a grudge over it. But these are predictions, and I'm terrible at those.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Not weird at all. I have twin girls that are almost 4 that my wife and I named Leliana and Morrigan after dragon age

 

[Fdzzaigl]

Are you naming her Tali'Zora or Tali?

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

I'd go with this. poor kids gonna get bullied with option 2

My thoughts exactly.

I'm sorry to say it, but kids WILL get bullied if they have something that stands out in a strange or uncommon way. I can talk about it, being the only ginger kid in my primary school years back, my bullying didn't stop until I had to smack some faces in (even though I'm quite the pacifist).

It's not something you wonna load your kid with from the get-go, believe me.

Just "Tali" can be seen as a fun name though.

 

[SNCommand]

I say it sounds fine and reasonable

Better than every other uncreative halfwit who just picks it from a family member or the bible

And if your child is worried about people bullying her she can just call herself Tali which is an actual name

 

[Morbidleaf]

I think making her name Tali'Zorah is a great idea, and you can always just call her Tali till she get's old enough to not only spell Tali'Zorah but know not to tell everyone. And it's not like the other kid's will know what it's from.

 

[MrBaskerville]

There's a Zelda Williams and she's okay with it.

Zeldas also a normal name, Scott F. Fitzgerald married one^^.

My only gripe with Tali'Zorah is that i can't seem to pronounce it in a way that doesn't sound weird. It sounds like something a Klingon could say, it would probably make more sense if i met a person bearing the name than when i read it here. As it has been mentioned a couple of times, it is also a bit weird to incorporate both a last name and a sir name into one sir name. But i wouldn't think too hard about what other kids would say, that's not what it's about when you name your child. People seem to take for granted that she's going to be a target, when she might just as well end up as one of the bullies or a neutral person. Not everyone is teased in school, so that's not something one should worry too much about until it becomes an actual problem.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Your story is now a Kotaku article. So congrats on that I guess. [http://kotaku.com/a-father-says-his-baby-daughter-was-named-for-a-mass-ef-1494688590] Second time I've seen Chemical Alia quoted on something in an news article that's derived from something from these forums too, which made me chuckle a bit =P

As for the actual matter at hand, I agree with the people that have said that Tali is a good name, but Tali'Zorah may lead her to being picked on and such at school, and as such should be avoided as a whole name. But besides that, the name obviously comes from a deep love for something, and that's not the worst reason I've seen for someone naming their child something.

 

[TripleDaddy]

You are not nuts, and it's not because I unsuccessfully lobbied for "Benjamin Kenobi" as my son's first and middle name.

Even though I did. Twice.

 

[keniakittykat]

My oldest sister is called Thalia, but everyone calls her Tali for short, and Zora is also a very common European name, so you can make it like 'anne marie' or 'Joan Louise' That and 'Tali zora' has a nice ring to it.

 

[kannibus]

A bit odd, but is still shit tons better that what the hell ever that named that CGI hellspawn from Twilight. What was it? "Rancid-acid" or something?

 

[AngryPuppy]

Prediction: She changes her name once she is legally able to do so.

Do what you want, I guess if people came name their kids "North" or "Apple" Tali 'Zorah isn't that weird. I still think she will change it when she can though.

Don't forget "Grow up hating you for it". No offense but I know a few people named "odd" things and every one of them was tormented for it and grew up pretty bitter.

 

[Talifan9]

It'd probably help to shorten it to Tali and make Zorah the middle name.
Ahem.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Snip

I'm named after my dead great grandfather and my brother after our cousin who was killed in a coup in South America. That's just an example but what I'm trying to say is you should really put more thought and care into this besides some silly pop culture reference.

You really wanna explain to your adult child you named them after your waifu or whatever from some mediocre scifi game?
That's about the same amount of effort I put into naming my fire emblem character the other day.

You also do realize the kids name will be what sums up their entire existence more or less, I mean your name is the most basic part of your identity. Tali is a weird name and people will always wanna know why your kid has that name, so every time someone ponders that your kid will have to deal with the fact their parents named them after some lame thing in pop culture.

I know about this first hand, one of my best friends is named after trinity from the matrix and constantly got bullied for it and resents her parents.

You should really think more about this.