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Dumbest names in the series?


Reginald blackfield

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I always cringed when I read "Kettleblack." That's my least favorite proper noun in the entire series, but don't ask me why because I don't know.



Also, Dolorous (Edd) is a woman's name, just spelled differently. GRRM must have been watching Seinfeld when he came up with that one.



As a side note, I really get a kick out of Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun.


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And then there are names like Brynden, Kevan, Rickard, Lysa, Petyr, and Catelyn. They're all basically real world names that are slightly misspelled and/or mispronounced. Be bold! Be daring! Or just call them Brendan, Kevin, Richard, Lisa, Peter, and Catelyn pronounced Cate-lyn.

Brynden and Kevan, Lysa, Catelyn... as far as I know, these spellings exist in real world, too.

As far as I recall Rickard is a (albeit uncommon) real name, or possibly a surname.

Yes. Rickard is a Scandinavian version of Richard. The 'English' name has a German origin, it comes from 'ric' king, and means strong, brave. GRRM chose Nordic/Scandinavian, and Germanic influences for the North and the lands beyond the wall. .

Is it really? If so I apologize for grouping with the others. I wonder if it predates Richard, which could explain how Rick became a nickname for Richard...

I think it is interesting that the North seems to have the least made up/most likely to be heard in real life names.

Yes. Dick and Rick, these are nicknames for Richard/Rickard.GRRM's Dickon and Rickon are variations of the same name.... the names in the north sound familiar because:

English is primarily a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects and was brought to Britain by Germanic invaders or settlers from what is now called North West Germany and the Netherlands. It uses a vocabulary unlike other European languages of the same era. A large portion of the modern English vocabulary came from the Anglo-Norman languages. English is considered a "borrowing" language.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_English_language

Which etymologically does not make sense, as descendants of the first men, you would expect their names to be derived from the old tongue, but no, names in the north include, Glover, Stark and Bolton, names which exist in reality!

GRRM chose Nordic/Scandinavian, and Germanic influences for the North and the lands beyond the wall. Stark is a german surname, it means strong/powerful. The English word stark is also derived from German, the origin is old Norse. Bolton, that's from Old English, and Old English was closer to Germanic language. I don't know about Glover, but, in any case: Scandinavian/Germanic influences in the north.

Maybe the Old Tongue is English-based and the Common Tongue and High Valyrian et al. are new languages we don't have yet...?

I don't think so. The Old Tongue, the First Man, the Old Gods = Icelandic, Scandinavian, Germanic influences...Old Norse.

Old Valyrian = finds it functional equivalent in old Aramaic... or ancient Greek....Latin, too.

The Common Tongue = modern English.... in universe, the 'common tongue' probably derived from the Old Tongue + Andal + Valyrian influences. Much like modern English, assimilated Old Norman and Latin.

Last time I checked, Skagos means nothing in English.

there's a province of Sweden called Skane, though.

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I don't know if it counts but in the show, when Walder Frey introduces his daughters, one of them is called Freya.

That's right. Freya Frey.

There is also Walda Frey, one of the laziest Feminisations I have ever heard and one which Lord Walder obviously made up on the spot.
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I second this motion

Not to mention lots of people confuse the pronunciation and pronounce it "Damfair". This is partly because of spelling but mostly because he is referred to as 'The' Damphair, suggesting it is a religious title and not "damp-hair"

It's no different from 'the Hound' and 'the Imp.' It's symbolic of his rebirth, from Aeron Greyjoy the brat, to Damphair the holy man. I hate the character. he's as dull as shit, but his name is perhaps the least stupid thing about him.

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The woman's name is Dolores. Dolorous, as in Edd's nickname, means sorrowful, mournful, pessimistic, etc. Which is why it's Edd's nickname.

I think you just blew my mind. Dolorous is his nickname? For some reason I thought it was his actual name.

Also, I didn't know that dolorous was an adjective. Thanks for the schooling.

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