Weird names in ASoIaF

[shadin]

Mandon Moore sounds too close for comfort to "Mandy Moore". I wonder if GRRM ever listened to her...

[Traverys]

On 4/10/2017 at 8:23 PM, Seams said:

On the surface, I agree that Cersei doesn't fit the Lannister pattern, and that it is odd within the overall naming conventions in the books. But I take that as a challenge to figure out why GRRM chose it for such an important character. To be fair, the name Jaime is also unlike Lannister family names.

The Circe connection is one reason for Cersei's name - there is a whole Tyrion-as-Odysseus motif when he heads to Essos, so Cersei / Circe is a thing and Penny / Penelope is also a thing.

But within the universe of the books, I think GRRM needed a human being who embodies ICE. I don't know if he wants us to take it a step further and make her Ser Ice. I think Tywin is also supposed to connect to WINter.

In the end, we may discover that Lann the Clever and Brandon the Builder were siblings or came from the same family of First Men. Then we will point to those names and say, "Aha! He hid clues for us in the characters' names!"

The character names that puzzle me tend to be people like Hayhead, Alebelly or Pinkeye. I know the author chooses these names because they have symbolic meaning, but there are just so many of them! How are we supposed to sort them all out?

Hey thanks for the thoughtful response!  Yeah, regarding Jaime's name, it seems odd Tywin would give Tyrion a traditional Lannister name and not his firstborn son.

I think you may be onto something with the Odysseus references, even though it comes across as a bit corny to me. Circe was, by some accounts, exiled to the island Odysseus encounters her on for killing her husband. Penny as Penelope seems like another one of his deconstructions/subversions since Tyrion seems to feel more contempt towards her than affection, but she'll probably try and "wait" for him (while she lives, at least). Circe was a seductress by all accounts, and we know Cersei has not shied away from using her looks (and female parts) in one of her many entertaining schemes.

 

And, in regards to the topic, like Seams I wonder about people with names that seem more descriptive than given too. What's Hot Pie's real name? Or did he just have a weird mom? Questions, questions...