Worst names in aSoIaF

[Clegane'sPup]

For me it was the frekking nicknames that threw me for a loop. The first time I read the novels I had to make a cheat sheet so I could try to keep up with the characters.

I still have problems with the Umbers, unless I look at my cheat sheet, Crowsfood or Whoresbane, which one is inside WF and which one is outside WF, was that Hothor or Mors.

I didn’t even try with the Essos ones. I would read the chapter and think, “ummm told the ummmmm.” One that really screwed me up was the Dothraki characters of Jhogo vs Jhaqo.They are on my cheat sheet also.

When I read the name Nimble Dick I lost it. I cannot politely describe the thoughts I had when I read that.

Euron. I still read it as urine.

[Sandcat]

Daemon Blackfyre sort of sounds like the ultimate edgelord, or just a cheesy DnD char.

[OtherFromAnotherMother]

1 hour ago, Clegane'sPup said:

 

I still have problems with the Umbers, unless I look at my cheat sheet, Crowsfood or Whoresbane, which one is inside WF and which one is outside WF, was that Hothor or Mors.

 

That's so funny. I do the same thing!

[Ser Scott Malkinson]

7 hours ago, Firefae said:

I Sort of like the absurd names like Aenys, Dickon or Shitmouth ()

That's actually why I made the thread, I like them as well. Maybe I should have name it 'Funniest names'. However, I also wanted to know other 'bad' names that weren't intentionally hilarious, so I'd miss out on that if I only discussed 'funny' names.

7 hours ago, Firefae said:

But what really got me were the names Kermit and Elmo Tully.

These, however, really broke immersion for me (luckily they were only mentioned in the World book, I think, or was it also in tPatQ?). Most of the time if GRRM makes a reference, he does it in a way that it still fits the names in the story, but these simply don't.

[Magnar of Skagos]

Aenys is not pronounced "Anus", its pronounced "Ay-knees"

[Ser Scott Malkinson]

5 hours ago, Sandcat said:

Daemon Blackfyre sort of sounds like the ultimate edgelord, or just a cheesy DnD char.

"You conformists can't join us rebels, you have to dress black and smoke cigarettes like we do if you want to join House Blackfyre..."

But the ultimate edgelord is of course Gerold Dayne:

Quote

Men call be Darkstar, and I am of the night.

 

[Firefae]

13 hours ago, Ser Scott Malkinson said:

 

These, however, really broke immersion for me (luckily they were only mentioned in the World book, I think, or was it also in tPatQ?). Most of the time if GRRM makes a reference, he does it in a way that it still fits the names in the story, but these simply don't.

Yeah, I agree. These names don't fit in the story, even if it is a reference. There was another muppet name, Grover, which I don't mind that much though. ( It doesn't sound that cartoony)

[thi4f]

There are some cheesy/lazy names, like Demon-Black-Fire, and others not fitting so well in their families. I mean, among Tytos, Tywin and Tyrion you get Jaime ? Who is this guy, firstborn of a Great House or a contender in Westeros Open of Surfing 298? It's not a bad name, but what was his father thinking at the time? Shouldn't his sister be called Bobbi Jo or Tammie by extension?

I don't want to get started on Essos because they're almost all cringeworthy.

 

[The Dragons Hand]

Dickon Manwoody is always the worst, no exception.

[ApostolinO]

On 18/10/2016 at 8:13 PM, Takiedevushkikakzvezdy said:

At least there is no one named Dick of House Head. I'm thankful for that. 

Imagine what wiki would say. "Dick Head is the head of house Head."

[urielisko]

I don't mind Targaryen names, possibly because they're so suggestive of Latin and non-English Latin is not so funny. That is, I always read Aegons as Ægons, which also means that Ænys is "Eniss" while "anus" is "ah-noose". This pronunciation of Latin text is shared, to my best knowledge, between native speakers of languages: Romance, Germanic (with only English begin exception) and Slavic too for good measure. So maybe a poor anglophone joke that others don't resonate with so strongly and just ignore.

What does irk me are the Essosi names, possibly because they are all rough sketches never meant to form a fully fleshed-out background. Jhaqo, Jhiqqi, Hizahr, XARO XHOAN Daxos and Jalabhar fekin' Xho. Each of them separately and all of them together always make me think of the Mountains of Dhoom.

 

 

[Vaedys Targaryen]

On 22/10/2016 at 7:39 PM, thi4f said:

There are some cheesy/lazy names, like Demon-Black-Fire, and others not fitting so well in their families. I mean, among Tytos, Tywin and Tyrion you get Jaime ? Who is this guy, firstborn of a Great House or a contender in Westeros Open of Surfing 298? It's not a bad name, but what was his father thinking at the time?

 

I agree.

Jaime isn't a bad name, but for someone who has a grandfather named Tytos, a father named Tywin, a brother named Tyrion and a twin sister named Cersei, he is named Jaime? A person with family members who have cool, kind-of exotic or ancient-sounding names, but he gets a plain English name, that also doubles as a cute nickname?

God damn.

[Ser Kinslayer]

Timett son of Timmet & Shagga son of Dolf (actually, I love these names)

Moqorro

Edmure - sounds like a student at Hogwarts, maybe one of Malfoy's henchmen along with Crabbe and Goyle

Lollys

Sandor

Garth

[Jaehaerys Tyrell]

Might be a bit of a stretch, but Falyse ('fleece') Stokeworth (what with the House sigil including a lamb)

[Tim Thomason]

Jaime is an old Andal name (see Jaime Corbray, the supposed slayer of King Robar II Royce during the Andal invasion), so his name is likely religious in nature. The Ty- suffix for names predates Tywin and Tytos by millenia, going back to at least King Tybolt Lannister. There was also a King Cerion Lannister, suggesting that Cersei has a root westerland origin to it.

Tybolt is pre-Andal, as is explicitly the name Tyrion (King Tyrion III the first to take Andals as wards). So the Ty-s seem to be a First Man name, although there may be some etymological connection to Essos (Tycho Nestoris, Tybero Istarion).

Tytos' father was Gerold (a name going back to pre-Andal Lannisters), and Gerold's father was Damon (an old riverman name it seems, although it might bare some connection to the Valyrian name Daemon). So, it's not like Ty-s are expected for Lannister lords. They were just a favorite of Gerold's (Tywald, Tion, Tytos, ... Jason?), and Tytos gave it to a couple of his kids (Tywin and Tygett, but not Kevan, Genna, or Gerion).

In my opinion, Ty- is chosen when the lord wants to acknowledge the Lannister's pseudo-legacy as an old First Men family, perhaps in deference to others in the westerlands, but Andal names (like Jaime or Jason and other J names, going back to the legendary Andal founder Joffrey Lannister), are chosen when the lord wishes to make a gesture throughout Westeros.

Tytos wanted his first-born son Tywin to rule over the westerlands as a proper westerman, with no ambition beyond that. Tywin may have had broader intentions with his son, Jaime, born at a time when Tywin was Hand of the King and arguably the most powerful person (off of paper) in all of Westeros. Maybe he wanted Jaime to have this old Andal name as a sign that Jaime could and should rule someday as Hand of the King himself.

Or maybe it was a sign (to Tywin) that Jaime, like Ser Jaime Corbray of old, wouldn't flinch at the opportunity to slay rogue Kings in the service of his House. Was naming his son after an ancient Kingslayer a provocation of sorts?

Or maybe I'm reading too much into all this, and they're just silly names put in often haphazardly.

[The Prince Of Tatters]

I don't know if it's just me but I couldn't stop laughing when we were introduced to Septon Meribald's dog as Dog

[Ser Scott Malkinson]

36 minutes ago, The Prince Of Tatters said:

I don't know if it's just me but I couldn't stop laughing when we were introduced to Septon Meribald's dog as Dog

This made me think of a different poorly inspired animal name: Shaggydog... 

I mean, I know Rickon is just a kid, and it's possibly foreshadowing for his role in the story, but still... SERIOUSLY?! SHAGGYDOG?!!!

[Snowmelter]

Keep in mind, Rickon is four years old, hardly more than a toddler (at the time he names his direwolf).  In the neighborhood I grew up in a kid had an enormous rottweiler named Dog (pronounced dee-oh-jee).  We did not make fun of his pet's name.

 

[Philokles]

49 minutes ago, Snowmelter said:

In the neighborhood I grew up in a kid had an enormous rottweiler named Dog (pronounced dee-oh-jee).  We did not make fun of his pet's name.

To be fair, that wasn't actually the Rottweiler's name, it just hadn't told anyone what it was really called.

[Snowmelter]

Fair enough.  Although D-O-G never had problems making his likes and dislikes known.  He hated one kid I went to grade school with.  The rest of us could pet the dog but he growled and snapped at this kid.  He ended up going to jail for stabbing someone in high school.  I hadn't thought about it in years until I read the part before the RW when Cat urges Robb to send one of his men away because his direwolf didn't like the man's smell.  I wonder if that is really a thing.