Yarrow

Yarrow - could it be the next Katniss or Rue?

One year when I was in primary school, a girl called Yarrow transferred to my school one year. I remember being enchanted by her name. Not only had I never heard it as a name before, I had never heard the word before. I'd consider this to be a Katniss/Rue 'Hunger Games'-esque style name - a cool sounding name that is rarely used, and is derived from a relatively common plant that has practical uses.

If you also haven't heard of Yarrow before, it's a flowering herb with feathery leaves and white or pale lilac flowers. It is said that it was discovered and/or used by Achilles, who would carry it on the battlefield to help treat the soldiers' cuts, wounds and abrasions. Hence, some of Yarrow's many aliases include Herbe Militaris, Knight's Milfoil, Soldier's Woundwort and Staunchweed. It's Binomial name is actually Achillea millefolium, named after Achilles.

Yarrow has often been thought to have magical as well as medicinal properties. The Chinese think it is a lucky plant that can be used for divining the future, brightening the eyes and promoting intelligence. It is said to grow around the grave of Confucius. Similar beliefs can be found in British customs, and Yarrow was one of the herbs used in Saxon protection amulets. It is not just positive magical properties that it is associated with though. Yarrow was thought to be used by witches in the middles ages for their spells. For this reason it has also been recognised by the names Devil's Nettle and Devil's Plaything.

White Yarrow Flowers

I've always fancied Yarrow to be a soft, gentle sounding name, but maybe that's just me. It's easy to say because it's basically arrow-starting-with-a-Y. This makes it familiar feeling, yet it's still a very rare name. Yarrow is a unisex name, which is typical of many other nature names which are usually considered to be unisex. The "OW" ending is pretty cool and also fairly gender neutral. Personally I prefer it as a girls name probably because my first introduction to the name was on a girl. But I can see how it could also suit a boy, with it's arrow sound and connections to the battlefield.

While I see most of the above points as positives, I can't help thinking that many of these things are the same reasons it hasn't caught on as many other nature names have. Perhaps people dislike it's soft, androgynous sound and past connections to battles and witchcraft. But if you're willing to look past that, you have one unique and charming name.

League of Legends - The Ladies

'League of Legends' Champion Lux, The Lady of Luminosity

My husband started playing an online game a couple of months ago called 'League of Legends'. I'm assuming it's pretty good because he spend a fair bit of time playing it. Anyway, as anyone who has played any fantasy/adventure/fighting based computer games knows, they are a fantastic source for names. Some are well known, some are fantastical and new, and all take on a different light when they're busy kicking some ass.

'League of Legends' is no exception. Not only does it contain some great name inspirations, but the characters also have cool titles to introduce them so you know what they're all about. Because there are so many, today I thought I'd profile just the ladies of 'League of Legends' (or LOL to it's regular players). I've featured my top three, with the rest listed below so you can decide what your top three would be. I hope you find them as cool and inspiring as I do!

Cassiopeia - The Serpent's Embrace
Cassiopeia is a name from Greek mythology, pronounced kass-ee-o-PEE-ah or kass-ee-OH-pey-uh (my husband's preferred pronunciation). In mythology, Cassiopeia was a very beautiful but vain and arrogant queen of Ethiopia, and the mother of Andromeda. Cassiopeia and Andromeda were so boastful about their beauty that they upset Poseidon, who set to destroy Ethiopia by flooding. Cassiopeia and her husband sought to appease Poseidon by chaining Andromeda to a rock, where she was later rescued by Perseus. To ensure Cassiopeia did not go unpunished, she was cast into the heavens, and remains the name today of one of the great constellations.

I love Cassiopeia because it sounds exotic, and is a different and interesting way to get to the familiar nicknames Cass and Cassie. I also love it's connections to Greek mythology and astronomy, and it means 'she whose word excels'. Plus this was my husbands pick of the bunch!

Sona - The Maven of the Strings
Sona makes the top three because a friend of ours who plays the game absolutely loves this character. And I mean loves it - she has even talked about getting a tattoo of this character. Sona (pronounced so-nah) is an Indian/Sanskrit name meaning 'golden'. It may sound like a submarine navigation system, or similar to an electronic brand name, but the more often I say this name the more I like it. It's cute and perky. And I find the meaning of golden quite endearing - it's like a subtle way of letting your child know everyday how precious they are to you.

Karma - The Enlightened One
Choosing a third name was harder, because there were a few I could have easily chosen for this spot. In the end it was Karma though, because I have to admit that this name has long held a fascination for me. I love it but tended to think it might be just a bit too "new agey". That was in the 90's, when 'Dharma and Greg' was on the TV, giving Dharma/Karma a hippy-dippy reputation. I have a feeling that it wouldn't seem so strange by today's naming standards though, and 'My Name is Earl' has helped to make karma seem less mystical and more of a common day concept.

Karma (pronounced KAR-mah) is a Hindi/Sanskrit concept meaning 'fate or destiny'. It could be a fresher alternative to Destiny, which has been a top 100 name in America for the past 18 years. Karma does of course come with it's good associations and bad ones (bad karma, karma's a b**ch) which you would need to consider first. But I'd love to see this one popping up on birth announcements, even if it was as a middle name.

The Others:

Ahri - The 9 Tails Fox
Akali - The Fist of Shadow

League of Legends Champion
Annie The Dark Child and her Bear Tibbers

Annie - The Dark Child
Ashe - The Frost Archer
Caitlyn - The Sheriff of Piltover
Diana - The Scorn of the Moon
Elise - The Spider Queen
Evelynn - The Widowmaker
Fiora - The Grand Duellist
Irelia - The Will of the Blades
Janna - The Storm's Fury
*Jinx - The Loose Cannon
*Kalista - The Spear of Vengeance
Katarina - The Sinister Blade
Kayle - The Judicator
LeBlanc - The Deceiver
Leona - The Radiant Dawn
*Lissandra - The Ice Witch
Lulu - The Fae Sorceress
Lux - The Lady of Luminosity
Miss Fortune - The Bounty Hunter
Morgana - Fallen Angel
Nami - The Tidecaller
Nidalee - The Bestial Huntress
Orianna - The Lady of Clockwork
Poppy - The Iron Ambassador
*Quinn (and Valor) - Demacia's Wings
*Rek'Sai - The Void Burrower
Riven - The Exile
Sejuani - The Winter's Wrath
Shyvana - The Half-Dragon
Sivir - The Battle Mistress
Soraka - The Starchild
Syndra - The Dark Sovereign
Tristana - The Megling Gunner
Vayne - The Night Hunter
*Vi - The Piltover Enforcer
Zyra - The Rise of the Thorns

*added 15th Feb 2015

Great Sibsets - Archie & Harry

Prince Harry......with a puppy! Too cute!

Today's sibset is inspired by an old workmate of mine. Anita and her husband Fraser moved here to Australia a few years ago from Scotland in the U.K. One of the reasons for the move was because they thought Australia would be a great place to raise a family (which I totally agree with, of course!), and they are now the proud parents of two beautiful boys. Big brother Archie is now 2 years old (almost 3), and Harry was born at the start of this year.

Archie and Harry are both such charming names, and complement each other extremely well. They're popular both here and in the U.K. While the names are firm favourites in the UK, and quite popular here in Australia, they are still to be embraced in America. In 2011 Archie was #24 on the England and Wales charts, while Harry took the number 1 position. In Australia Archie was #39 and Harry #40, and in America Archie was #1910 and Harry was #709 in 2011.  So if you live in the US and are a fan of British-sounding names, here are two great options you can get behind before everyone else discovers how great they are too.

Archie comes from the Teutonic name Archibald, and means 'bold, noble'. It could be a great alternative to Archer, a top #500 name in the US and number #12 in Australia. Anita tells me that Fraser suggested  Archie's name for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he was inspired by the soccer player (yes, I realise it's football to almost every other country in the world, but we have something here called Aussie Rules Football) Archie Gemmill. Archie Gemmill had a great career, but is best remembered for scoring the winning goal against the Netherlands in the 1978 FIFA world cup. The goal made him a national hero in Scotland, and was even mentioned in the cult film 'Trainspotting'. Which brings us to their second reason for choosing Archie - as Scots, it struck them as a great name to honour their Scottish roots.

Harry was also inspired by a famous figure - Prince Harry. Anita tells me he was a bit of a last minute pick (which is an understatement to say the least - she was still looking at baby naming books while she was in labour), but just seemed right as she is a bit of a royalist at heart and has always had a soft spot for Harry and his older brother William. Harry was traditionally a nickname for Henry, a German name meaning 'estate ruler'. Henry has been the name of many Kings of England, and is actually the birth name of Prince Harry. But somehow Harry seems to suit his cheeky but charming personality so much better. Of course there is also that incredibly famous Harry Potter, and the irrepressibly cute Harry Styles from British boy band sensation 'One Direction'. So the great thing is that with so many great Harry's to look up to people won't necessarily assume that you had the boy wizard in mind if you should choose to use Harry.

I love that both are nicknames that have become accepted as great names in their own right. They give off a warm, friendly and approachable vibe that makes them great picks that work extremely well together. And I know I'm not the only one who thinks so. I realised the other day that the celebrant who married me and my husband also has boys name Archie and Harry. It's definitely a winning combination.