dolphinboy

My wife and I are expecting our first child in January. We don't know the sex and won't until she has the baby. However, we made an agreement going back to our college dating days, that if we had a girl I'd be responsible for the name and if we had a boy, she'd be responsible for the name.

We still have to agree, but the final few names are totally up to us.

I actually named the dog I got us 6 years ago, Piper, because the was the name of Gillian Anderson's daughter. Gillian and Scully just didn't seem to fit on our pomeranian.

Ok, so I have 3 names on the list already (Annika, Stella, and Keely), but, lately, I've been really leaning towards a new name for the list and actually making it my first choice. Anya.

Am I crazy? Would that be a good name for a girl or is it just my love of the show blinding me to the obvious?

Going back to the beginning, I've always loved Willow but I just don't want my daughter named Willow. Although, we are Jewish, like Willow is. If we were the Rosenbergs, it might be a different story but we're not.

For a while now Anya/Emma has become my favorite character and we even talked about Emma as a name. But it's kind of common now and then with Emma being the name of Rachel and Ross' baby, it kind of fell out of favor with me.

I really like Anya as a name and I was wondering what other Buffy fans thought. Has anyone named a child or even a pet after a Buffy character?

What do you think?

calhoun07

How about Drucilla?

I personally don't see anything wrong with this. It can't be anyworse than Kevin Smith naming his daughter Harley Quinn.

shaun3000

Put yourself in your daughter's (or son's) shoes in school and you tell me what would be an appropriate name. I hate parents that give their kids weird names as they ALWAYS get picked on.

dolphinboy

That's a good point and why I wanted to throw the question out here. Is Anya a weird name like you mention? I could see a girl having a tough time growing up as Buffy, but I think Anya is a pretty name.

I am sort of wondering out loud here if my daughter, if I even have a girl, would like the name or not. I'm really 50-50 on the name now. I like it, but I wonder if it will be a name that would make it hard on her or whether it would be a pretty and original name when all her classmates are Ashleys and Brandons.

freedexter

I agree with Anya being a pretty name, but I would think twice before using. Sure, in a short story or book that somebody is writing, that's fine, but naming an actual person, IMO, is a huge decision.

And I do agree it beats the millions of Ashleys and Brandons. And it's not ambigious, which I hate, because sometimes, "Chris" is a girl or "Alex" is a guy or whatnot, and it throws me off course.

Rogue588

I don't think there's anything wrong with Anya. Unless it's a boy.

Though, if you were Russian...

dolphinboy

One other thing, popluar shows tend to make the names of people in the show become trendy.

I'm pretty sure that there won't be a slew of Anyas when she's in school, but that would be my only other concern.

Beverly Hills 90210 really put Brandon over the top.

Will there be a lot of Willows, Xanders, and Buffys in the next 10 years? Or Anyas? I bet not, but I am not sure.

It would be cool if she was in a class with Tara, Faith, Buffy, Xander, Dawn, and Willow.

tofu

I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought you were naming the kid "Spike"

BTW, I like Anya as a name and its not common either. I can't imagine how anyone could use it to make fun of somebody. It doesn't really rhyme with anything, does it?

But how about Cordelia?

Gallant Pig

How about Seven? That's a great name. Or Soda also.

movieking

If I had been a Buffy fan before I got my puppy last year, she would have been named "Buffy" instead of "Pepper". Not so sure about a child however. I would do it if the name was mainstream enough not to be totally identified with the show.

dolphinboy

If you haven't already given your dog a middle name, you should go with Pepper Buffy _________.
(your last name)

palebluedot

razorbackfan

Naming your kid after a fictional character in a television show?????? Ok, name her Spike or how about The Big Bad?

Darren Garrison

1.) I'd suggest D'hofrin (sp) for her name, myself.

2.) By the time your daughter hits school age, I'd say the majority of kids will have only a vague idea what "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is, except for some musty old set of reruns. I thought a friend of mine was crazy when she recently named a son Chandler, but then I relized, 6 or 7 years from now, are kids REALLY going to make a big deal about a name based on a characer in a prehistoric (for them) TV series?

And yes, I am named after the guy in Bewitched.

Patman

How about Jenny? Oops, she died.

How about Tara? Oops, she died.

How about Glory? Oops, she got dispatched

How about Faith? Oops she's been doing time.

How about Warren's Girlfriend? Oops she died.

How about Samantha (Sam)? Oops, she married Riley

How about Drusilla? Oops, she's crazy

How about Cordelia? Oops, she's banging her true love's son.

How abouy Amy? Oops, she was a rat for 3 years.

How about Maggie? Oops, her creation killed her.

How about Harmony? Oops, she was dumb.

How about Joyce? Oops, she died.

JMLEWIS1

I know Buffy is a popular show, but I for one have never seen it so I would not have even gotten the reference from the show.

I've heard of other people named Anya so at least it's not like the show created the name.

Either way, I don't think the show will be around in 6 years when she starts school so it probably won't really matter. If you like it and your wife likes it, use that for the name

ChefWinduAZ

I think Anya is a beautiful name for a girl. Just don't use the characters true name which is Anyanka.

Jadzia

I'd go for it. Anya is a pretty name and it's not like the Buffy creators made it up.

In fact, Barbara Bach's character in The Spy Who Loved Me was named Anya, so you could also say she was named after a Bond girl.

My husband and I are seriously considering a Star Trek name if we have a daughter. Nope, not Jadzia. But one of Dax's previous hosts, Audrid. I mentioned the name to my husband who thought it was really cool-- like a cross between Audrey & Ingrid. I think it would be cool too since Audrid Dax was only mentioned on the show, so it wouldn't be like naming a daughter after a really well-known character or something.

I think only people who watch Buffy might get the Anya reference, but it is a really nice, under-used name.

Ashirg

Anya is pretty common Russian name. It's short for Anna.

Rypro 525

would it be crazy to call a kid "Jules" after jules winnifred in pulp fiction.

mikehunt

tips to naming: make sure it won't fit in limericks. make sure it doesn't rhyme with vulgar words. make sure it isn't slng for a body part (aka richard's nickname)
the SNL "asswipe(oz-wee-pay)" skit is good reference

Anya sounds kind of cool, if nothing else make it the middle name

Chopper

Not to really dork out or anything here, but isn't Xander short for Alexander?

By the same token, isn't Anya short for something too?

Breakfast with Girls

Personally, I like "Anyanka, the Vengeance Demon" for a child's name.

But seriously, Anya, Cordelia, and Faith are all great names. Tara is okay. Drusilla is a total vampire name, though.

das Monkey

I didn't respond earlier, because I have conflicting opinions ...

1) Naming your kid after a TV show character is wacko.

2) Anya is a beautiful name for your daughter.

So, I guess what I'm saying is if you heard the name Anya on Buffy and thought it was a beautiful name, then just name her Anya. If you do so, however, it should be because it's a nice name not because it's a character on Buffy. Naming a child after a TV show character is kinda cruel.

das

Mark Holtz

Hmmmm.... I doubt that "Giles" would make a good boys name. But Anya, Tara, and Willow are good names.