How would you choose a new name - for yourself?

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Happy New Year and Welcome to 2014!

The beginning of a new year is often the time when people reflect on the year past, and ruminate on what they would like the next year to bring. For some it is a time for transformation - a new image and maybe even a new name.

It's interesting when someone chooses a new name for themselves; whether it be for career reasons, personal reasons, or or as an online alias. Everyone has their own process. Some prefer to choose a variation of their current name, a tweak that sits more comfortably with them. Some choose a completely different name, something that simply resonates better with who they are, or who they see themselves as. And others prefer to take inspiration from from something with a personal meaning to them, something or someone they feel connected to.

I wondered about this recently when I saw a couple of movies on the one weekend where characters had slightly unconventional ways of choosing their aliases.

Firstly, in 'Pacific Rim' there is a black market dealer called Hannibal Chau, played by Ron Perlman. Not really the type of person most would picture when they hear the surname Chau, so there had to be a story behind it. As the character explains in the movie, "I got the name from my favorite historical figure and my second-favorite Szechuan restaurant in Brooklyn". He is referring to Hannibal Barca, a Carthaginian who lived from 247 BC to about 182 BC and is considered to be one of the greatest military commanders of all time.

The second movie was a little older and a lot more silly - 'Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay'. This one comes in the form of a bordello employee named Tits Hemingway "Because I have huge tits, and my favorite book is 'A Moveable Feast'" (charming, I know). The book she's referring to is a memoir written by Ernest Hemingway about his years spent in Paris in the 1920's.

So it seems that both have chosen an inspiring figure, paired with something a little less lofty. This is probably in part for their comedy value - they are characters in movies after all. Although I have to admit to my own screen name Blue Juniper being somewhat along these lines.

Juniper is a name I fell in love with as a teenager reading a book called 'The Juniper Game' by Sherryl Jordan. The main character Juniper was described as beautiful and magical, and I thought it was so exotic and lovely that I couldn't get it out of my head. It was my online user name for many things. Until I joined one site and it was already taken. So, put on the spot, I added my favourite colour and became Blue Juniper. Long before Blue Ivy Carter was born, might I add ☺

There are tons of other reasons why someone would chose to adopt an alias, or legally change their name. For a couple of examples, my mother changed her middle name to honour a beloved grandma, and a friend of mine once changed her surname to feel more connected to her biological father. And of course, many of us change our name when we get married. Are you looking at a name change (legal or less officially) in 2014? If you're in control of choosing that new name, how will you be making your decision?

This month I'll be looking at some current day screen names and invented names, so let me know if there are any that you're interested in finding out more about and I'll see what I can do. I hope you are looking forward to a great 2014!

Ranger

Armie Hammer stars as 'The Lone Ranger', due out July 2013

I'm loving occupational names at the moment, and I know I'm not the only one. Just look at the top 100 boys names in the US, Australia or the UK and you'll find options such as Mason, Carter, Hunter, Cooper, Archer and Dexter. Overwhelmingly, most of the occupational names that have been adopted for use as given names tend to be hands-on trades, and ones that are quite rare today. On boys they sound masculine but approachable. On the occasions they are bestowed upon girls they are ironic and preppy-cute.

One underused option if you like this style of name is Ranger. French name Ranger (pronounced RAYN-jer) is yet to chart at all in the US for girls. For boys it had been slowly creeping up in use, but it experienced a bit of a spike last year - from #3330 in 2011 to #2780 in 2012. 

One possible reason that it is still relatively underused is because Ranger is still a commonly recognised job. It actually means 'forest guardian'. And whether it be a park/forest ranger like 'Yogi Bear's Ranger Smith, or a law enforcement role such as 'Walker, Texas Ranger', most people have a perception of what "ranger" means. But we encounter so many more Ranger references in everyday life that there is no need for this name to be pigeon holed with a certain image. Other references include:

• Fictional hero 'The Lone Ranger'
• Special Military Units in several countries
• A class of warriors in 'Babylon 5'
• A Generation 1 Elite Guard in the cartoon 'Transformers'
• Sports teams, from baseball to Gaelic football to ice hockey to women's basketball
• Bounty Hunter Carlos "Ranger" Manoso, character in Janet Evanovich's 'Stephanie Plum' novels
• Fictional superhero team the 'Power Rangers'
• Boys scouts and girl guides; and
• Trackers and Warriors from Tolkien's Middle Earth - Aragorn being a prime example

The great thing about these references is that they are almost all positive - there are a lot of heroes and "good guys" in the above list! It's a great name if you want a hero name without actually naming your child Hero. This cool option is likely to spike in use even more after the release of the big screen version of 'The Lone Ranger' later this year. If you love Ranger and want to be ahead of the trend, now is the time to use it.

Marshall

6 month old Marshall, courtesy of Aimee Cook Photography

If you're a fan of 'How I Met Your Mother', you'll be familiar with one of the shows main characters, Marshall Eriksen. He's the dorky but lovable gentle giant of the group. I must admit I hadn't given his name much more than a passing thought until I read the recent weekly post by Appellation Mountains' Abby on Nameberry championing the great variety of good boys names out there. She's absolutely right. And so tonight as I watched 'How I Met Your Mother' I noticed it in a new light. I think that Marshall is definitely one of those cool boys names that can often get overlooked.

 Marshall is a French name that means 'caretaker of the horses'. It could fall into several different name categories that are currently in vogue - word names, military names, old school names, occupational names, surnames - but while it is reasonably popular in America (#340 in 2011), it seems the name is yet to catch on in Australia. This is possibly due to a little rule we have here about not being able to give children names that denote rank or nobility (i.e. Duke, Earl and Prince are not options for us). I know I couldn't use Governor or Sheriff, but what about Marshall? I wasn't sure myself, until I found that in 2011 Marshall was indeed given to 3 boys in one of the Australian States, so I guess it's OK.

One of the things I like about Marshall is the contrasting images it can present. If you think of it in terms of law enforcement, it's tough and assertive. But on the other hand, it sounds a lot like marshmallow, so kind of sweet, soft and cuddly. I love names with dual images like this. There are also quite a few cool (and some not so cool) nicknames for Marshall. My personal favourite is Mars. Marsh is also quite popular, which could be good but could also lead to 'swamp' jokes. Or it could turn into Marsha, and that infamously whiny catch cry "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!". At the other end of the spectrum a son with this name could also be expected to know 'Marshall' arts, or declare 'Marshall' Law, both contributing to the tough image of this name. Which brings us back to the Marshmallow that I mentioned it reminding me of earlier as a nickname possibility.

Maybe because it can also be seen as having a softer side, Marshall is also starting to get a bit of attention as a girls name. I guess Marshall would be a great sister for Jessica's Simpson's Maxwell. But hopefully we'll see Marshall left for the boys for a while longer yet!