Titanium

The Barden Bellas of 'Pitch Perfect'

This one is another little flight of fancy of mine. Recently I watched the new movie 'Pitch Perfect', starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. One of the songs featured in the movie is David Guetta's 'Titanium', which was written by and features the vocals of Australian recording artist Sia Furler. As I found myself singing the song in the shower yesterday morning, I wondered, would this be usable as a name?    

Titanium has never been used as a name in the US - or at least, it has never been given to more than five boys or girls in the same year. But there are several already established names that are extremely close to Titanium, making it seem like not too much of a stretch for parents to consider it.

Titan - Greek boy's name, after the race of deities that were the precursor of the Olympians (Zeus, Hera etc). Also the largest moon of Saturn.

Titania - Greek girl's name meaning 'great, giant one', best known as the name of the Queen of the Fairies in Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Also one of the moons of Uranus.

Titana - Latin girl's name meaning 'medal of honour'

Titus - Latin boy's name thought to mean 'defender', ranked #365 in America in 2011. An old Roman, new testament and Shakespearean name that is currently at the height of it's popularity. Titus Pullo was one of the central characters in the 2005 TV show 'Rome', and one of the few likable ones at that.

For girls, it may be hard to live down the "tit" beginning. But it seems this is not the case for boys. Titus has been steadily climbing for boys for the past ten years. Titanium could possibly be seen as a similar 'strong' name, but with a more modern feel.

Titanium is a metal with many uses, including jewellery, dentistry, sunscreens, paint, jet engines and spacecraft. This has contributed to it's reputation as a "space age metal". In relation to the song, just as the metal is a strong metal, the song is thought to be about inner strength, featuring lines such as:

"I'm bulletproof, nothin' to lose, 

Fire away, fire away, 

Ricochet, you take your aim, 

Fire away, fire away, 

You shoot me down, but I won't fall, 

I am titanium."

In a world where we name our children after plants, food, alcohol, gemstones, words and concepts, Titanium is a name that would convey strength, and isn't such a stretch from some long used classical names. With the success of this song, I don't think it's unreasonable to think we may see a few children named Titanium in years to come.