Echo

Eliza Dushku as Echo in Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse'

We've been watching season one of Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse' this weekend, which has inspired me with today's name - Echo.

Echo is interesting to me because it has a slightly mystical feel. It fits right in with the 'O' sounding names that are extremely popular at the moment. It has a familiar sound, yet is not a word that pops up in many conversations. And it's almost never heard as a name.

However even though it is right at home with current trends, it is by no means a word that has been redeployed as a name option for today's parents. Echo however is a famous name from Greek mythology. Echo was originally the name of a talkative wood nymph who was in love with her own voice. Legend is that she displeased Zeus's wife Hera by consorting with Zeus, and distracting Hera while Zeus strayed with other nymphs (as he often loved to do). When Hera discovered Echo's treachery, she took away Echo's ability to use her beloved voice, leaving her with only the ability to repeat other's words. Hence the word Echo came from the name, and not the other way around.

In more modern times, there was an English post-punk band in 1978 called Echo and the Bunnymen, there is a German music award called ECHO, Toyota makes a car called the Echo, and echo is the abbreviation for an Echo cardiogram (a cardiac ultrasound). And of course today's inspiration, the main character on the short lived 'Dollhouse' as portrayed by Eliza Dushku.

The name Echo comes with the drawback of being an easy target for teasing. A child with this name could expect to have their name repeated often - no nickname would be needed. They would however have a very beautiful, distinctive name that would make them hard to forget in a crowd.