The TV show Once Upon a Time is setting two different trends right now: 1) fashion trends (the main character's jackets are constantly being talked about) and 2) baby names. Fans have been looking forward to season 2, which began yesterday. From this first episode we are introduced to Mulan, Aurora (sleeping beauty), and Sleeping Beauty's Prince Phillip.
A lot of thought went into character names for this show. Emma Swan is the main character, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming aka James aka David Nolan. Emma is played by Jennifer Morrison, Snow White aka Mary Margaret Blanchard is played by Ginnifer Goodwin, and Charming is played by Josh Dallas. Ms. Swan's story involves a son she gave up for adoption when she was young, and that son had been adopted by the Evil Queen, Regina Mills. Emma's son Henry is played by Jared S. Gilmore, and Regina is played by Lana Parrilla.
Here's a little on the name meanings:
Emma - a royal name in medieval England, "entire, all, universal"
Swan - ...swans are white, carries on the fantasy surname
Mary Margaret - a double name of Biblical Virgin Mary and Saint Margaret to fit her pure character, Mary means "star of the sea" (and alternate meaning is "rebellion") and Margaret means "pearl," (as in "pearl-white")
Blanchard - surname, "white" and "brave, strong"
James - the name of a king, "he who supplants" (in reference to replacing the previous James in the show)
David - the name of a king, "beloved"
Nolan - "champion"
Regina - "queen"
Henry - another royal name, "home ruler"
Other characters:
Mr. Gold aka Rumplestiltskin
Kathryn Nolan, David's wife aka Princess Abigail
Sheriff Graham aka the huntsman
Archie Hopper aka Jiminy Cricket
August Booth aka Pinocchio
Ruby aka Red Riding Hood
Sidney Glass aka the Magic Mirror
Jefferson aka Mad Hatter
Marco aka Geppetto
Ashley Boyd aka Cinderella
Nova, a fairy
and Belle
Also, if anyone knows how to make blog buttons, I'm trying to learn how.
Archie, August and Ruby seem like "cool" names; I wonder if they will get a boost from the show?
ReplyDeleteI do like the name Nova, and would like to see it more widely in use.
I'm disappointed by Ashley, which seems quite unimaginative as a name for Cinderella. I would have preferred Asha, which would give the name a double meaning ("hope").
ashley is only her name in the "real world" in the enchanted world her name is cinderella but snow calls her ella.
DeleteI can't prove it, but I do think the main character boosted the use of Emma, and maybe the same with Henry. (It made me like Henry, so it's probably not a horrible assumption.) Maybe it didn't have an effect on the numbers, but people already considering any of the show's names might have just gotten another reason to love them. Nova actually did rise in 2011.
ReplyDeleteTotal agreement on Ashley and Asha. Sometimes I think TV shows pick popular names to appeal to viewers with the same name, or if that's the name of their baby. Like, "Hey, my daughter's name is Ashley, so I like this character."