Survivor Season 25 Names

The Cast for Season 25 of 'Survivor'

I got very excited today when I found out that the cast of the upcoming season of 'Survivor' has now been announced. Mainly because this means that the new season of 'Survivor' starts just next week!! I always love watching the different personalities each season brings, and seeing how they interact with each other. And I love discovering the new batch of names every season. This is the show that introduced me to the exotic Parvati, Cirie and Yau-Man. And where else would you see a Troyzan and a Tarzan in the same place?

The other thing intriguing thing with 'Survivor' names is the chance that the show will change how you think about the names you already know. As we have all experienced, our impression of a name can be influenced greatly by other people. How many times have you fallen out of love with a name because you knew a bully in school with that name, or your partner has an ex with that name, or that horrible woman you work with has that name?  For me, 'Survivor' has made Colby more than just a type of cheese; Sugar seem like an acceptable nickname for an adult; and Colton a bitchy diva name rather than a strong manly name. With so many big personalities on Survivor every season, there is always a chance that a name will suddenly take on a different light.

So with that said, the cast of the upcoming season 25 of Survivor will give us the following crop of names to fall in (or out) of love with.

The Girls
Abi-Maria - wouldn't work quite the same if it were Abby-Maria or Abbi-Maria. Abi is just the right amount of cute to balance out the tried-and-true grown up Maria.
Angie
Dana
Dawson (Sarah Dawson) - I'm intrigued that she goes by her last name. Quite like this on a girl even though I've only seen it on a boy before.
Denise
Katie - interesting that both Angie and Katie are ex-pageant girls. Does the fact that they both have nickname names mean they seem more outgoing and approachable, and therefore more attractive maybe?
Lisa
RC (Roberta) - no mention of her middle name, which I'm guessing starts with a C because her last name doesn't.
Roxy (Roxanne) - The name Roxanne plummeted just a decade ago. I'm not sure why when it has such a spunky nickname.

The Boys
Artis - this one I hadn't heard before! Apparently it's a form the name Arthur, which means Bear. Of course, also sounds just short of the occupation Artist, which could cause some confusion.
Carter - Do you think of Carter as a preppy type or laid back surfer dude?
Jeff
Jonathan
Malcolm - haven't often given this name much thought, but I quite like it. Especially when associated with Captain Mal Reynolds from the show 'Firefly'.
Michael
Pete (Peter)
Russell
Zane - I have to admit to having a thing for the 'ane' names - Dane, Kane, Lane, Zane....

Happy viewing everyone!

Saffron

Today's name was in part inspired by a post on 100 Best Fall Baby Names. Yes, I'm on the other side of the hemisphere and therefore it's more timely for me to be thinking about Spring names right about now. But when I noticed this gem at the number 14 position on the girl's list, I was reminded of how much I have liked Saffron for a long time.

There were two main reasons that Saffron popped onto my radar as a teenager in the 90's. The first inspiration came in the form of the long suffering daughter on the British comedy classic 'Absolutely Fabulous'. Saffron - often better known as Saffy or "Saffy Darling" - was the daughter of PR maven Edina (played by Jennifer Saunders). Edina was crazy, outrageous and incredibly selfish. She liked to overindulge in drugs and booze, and I think it was always assumed that the name Saffron was a result of her drug induced, hazy hippy days. Saffron herself however was anything but dippy. She was the calm, sensible one attempting to bring normalcy to their lives and counterbalance the effects of Edina's crazy friend Patsy (played by Joanna Lumley). Saffron was played by Julia Sawalha, who I already loved from her days in the show 'Press Gang'. At the time Saffron seemed like such a far out, 'hippy' name and at such contrast to the sensible on-screen character that I was intrigued.

And then not long after 'Absolutely Fabulous' hit the screens, I fell in love with a movie called 'Circle of Friends'. Well worth a watch if you haven't already seen it - I love to pull this off the DVD shelf from time to time. But without going too off-track here, one of the stars of this gem was the then relatively unknown Saffron Burrows. And suddenly Saffron went from being an 'interesting but a bit of a strange, hippy name' to being a beautiful, sophisticated and unique name for me.

Saffron still strikes me as an elegant name, and slightly quirky in-a-good-way. As a spice name, it feels like a more modern alternative to other spice names such as Rosemary and Thyme. Saffron is arguably the rarest and most expensive spice (it can only be collected by hand), making it feel very special and unique. It is also a colour name - this bright yellow spice is used to dye the robes that monks of some eastern religions such as Buddhism a bright yellow orange colour. And Saffron is a flower name, as the spice Saffron comes from the purple crocus flower.

While I think the nickname Saffy used in 'Absolutely Fabulous' is cute, I understand that actual Saffrons don't necessarily feel the same way. Real life Saffrons have also reported that people seem to associate this name with India, possibly due to the prevalent of the spice in Indian food, despite it being a name that seems to have originated in England.

However I think one person who commented on the babyname wizard website summed up my feelings on the name Saffron most eloquently with this insightful comment: "I think this is a perfect name to give a baby if you believe your child is worth her weight in gold (or even more than her weight in gold)". Ditto from me.

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!