Raimi

A younger Sam Raimi at work on set

If you like action, superhero and horror movies and TV shows, I'd be pretty shocked if you haven't heard of Sam Raimi. He's a producer, writer, director and actor, has worked on TV shows such as 'Hercules', 'Xena: Warrior Princess', 'Spartacus' and 'American Gothic'; and has directed big blockbusters such as the 'Spider-Man' trilogy (the Tobey Maguire versions) and 'Oz: The Great And Powerful'.

But it was the cult horror film 'The Evil Dead' that first brought him attention, back in 1981. Since then he has continued to make great horror movies. He's been involved in the follow ups to 'The Evil Dead', 'Evil Dead 2' and 'Army of Darkness' and other horror movies 'The Grudge', 'Boogeyman', 'The Messengers', '30 Days of Night', 'Drag Me To Hell', and 'The Possession'. 2013 saw him involved in the production of the remake of 'The Evil Dead', 'Evil Dead' and he's currently working as a producer on the remake of classic horror favourite 'Poltergeist', expected to be released in 2014.

There's no doubt that Raimi is a big name when it comes to horror. And this makes Raimi a prime candidate for a good Halloween inspired name.

If you want to know the meaning of the name Raimi, you'll come across some mixed messages. Some say it is a Native American/Quechua name meaning 'sun celebration'. Others say it's an African name meaning 'compassion'. And others agree that it's meaning is 'compassion', but that it is instead a Hebrew name derived from the Arabic/Persian boys name Rahim. It's likely that it has origins in each. I personally like that both meanings are positive and inspiring.

Pronounced RAY-mee, there's also something very likable about the sound of Raimi. It sounds similar enough to Amy to work for girls, similar enough to Ray and Remy to work for boys. Just as there's a little confusion surrounding it's origins, reports are mixed as to whether it is "traditionally" considered to be a boy or girl name. In the U.S. it has only ever charted (rarely) as a girls name. But if used as a tribute to a surname, there's no reason it couldn't work for either gender. I'd originally pictured it as a boys name. mainly because the person I was inspired by is a male, but the more I think about it the more I realise what potential it has as a girls name too.

Personally, I'm a little surprised more people haven't used Raimi, considering the cult-like following that Sam Raimi has and a rising trend for "modern hero" names. With names such as Monroe, Presley, Lennon, Bowie and Jagger on our radars, maybe Raimi won't be far behind.