Darby

Meaning- (Deer Farm, Deer Settlement, From the Deer Estate, Free from Envy, it is a place name and surname)

Origin- (Old English, Irish, Norse)

Pronunciation- (DAR-bee)

Gender- (Female, Uni-Sex)

I was looking up unique girls names and came across this one. It reminds me of Derby and or Derbyshire but it is a cute name and seems unique having once been a place name and surname. The meanings are sweet and the over all looks is nice. I can see preppy character being named this, think Buffy and Darby lol!

Eldar

Meaning: (Dweller Near the Elder Trees, God Resides, Possessor, Warrior who Fights with Fire"(Eld+ar (ar=Harjar)) Eld=fire, It is also a name meaning “Ruler” in the Turkic language. "El" means state or country in Turkic language, dar is a suffix from Persian language. It is also the word for “Fire” in the Icelandic, Swedish (eld) and Norwegian (ild) language. It is also a common first name among the Tatars, the Crimean Tatars, the Azerbaijanis, the Georgians and the Bashkirs.)

Origin: (Hebrew, English, Norse, Turkish, Persian, Icelandic, Swedish, Azerbaijani)

Pronunciation: (EHLD-R, EHL-dar)

Gender: Male

I used this name as the name of an Island in one of my short stories I intend to enter into a writing contest. I think I first heard this in The Hobbit movie; it was used by the Elves I think. The meanings are beautiful and strong and nature related. It has an interesting use as to its origins and I really like it. It seems to me to be similar to Elder and so it makes me think this would be cool on a wise character but it also has a youthful appearance as well.

Gunnar

Meaning: (Lighter, Battler, Warrior, Fight, Army, Battle Strong, Derived from the Old Norse Gunnarr, which is from the word Gunnr (War, Strife, Battle). The name Gunnar was borne by several interesting characters in Norse Legend, one of whom was the son of Giuki and Grimhild. He was the brother of Gudrun and the husband of Brynhild. Also known as 'Roland.' The name Gunnar means fighter, soldier, and attacker, but mostly is referred to by the Viking saying which means Brave and Bold warrior (gunnr "war" and arr "warrior").)

Origin: (Norse, Scandinavian, Swedish, Danish, Norse Mythology, German)

Pronunciation: (GOO-nar, GOON-ar, GUW-N-er, GAHN- aaR, GUH-ner)

Gender: Male

I was reading a novel called, “Listen for the Whisperer” by Phyllis A. Whitney last month and the main male character was named Gunnar. I came to like the name a lot and I had no problems with pronunciation at all. I immediately knew it as GOO-nar. Americans may hear this as GUH-ner though but I prefer the correct pronunciation as it sounds much better and stronger. GUH-ner sounds like GUN-er and thus excuse me sounds a tad bit redneck like.

The meanings are strong and this strikes me as such a masculine brave name even had I not known the meanings. It has a nice old history of use and I do love Viking names. All in all I love it and would love to see this name used a bit more often.

Erica / Erika / Erykah

Meaning: (Forever Strong, Complete Ruler, Honorable Ruler, Eternal Ruler, One Ruler, Ever Kingly, Ever Powerful, Powerful, Regal, Latinate feminine form of Eric, and also a flower name, as the Latin word Erica means "heather". Scandinavian name revived in the 19th century.)

Origin: (Norse, Scandinavian, Swedish, Latin, English, Teutonic)

Pronunciation: (AIR-a-ka, ER-i-kə (English), EH-ri-kə, Eh-rik-AH, Eh-RI-kah)

Gender: Female

I already added the male version Eric *see on list of posts*. But I decided to add the feminine version as its own post after I had seen the name Erica and Erykah a few times. I like best the spelling Erika and Erykah. It did at one time seem very popular and for that reason I am still not a fan but the meanings are wonderful and anyone who reads my name posts will know I am in love with names that have Royal meanings. It does seem very regal and for that reason I like it a bit.

Dahlia

Meaning: (From the Valley, Flower named for 18^th Century Swedish Botanist Anders Dahl.)

Origin: (Norse, Swedish, Scandinavian, English)

Pronunciation: (DAH-lee-ə, DAL-yah, DAL-yə)

Gender: Female

I had a character name come to me and the first name is Dahlia with the nickname Dahl pronounced like Doll. I don’t know who the character will be but I loved the name and so I decided to add it to my blog. Also if you go to my Book Worm Blog you’ll see that I made a Purple Dahlia Barrette and I put pictures of it on there, here: http://tabularasacoker.blogspot.com/2015/05/take-look-at-my-purple-dahlia-flower.html

The flower itself is beautiful and the name has an interesting history of use, especially with The Black Dahlia reference to the mysteries brutal murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947 Los Angeles. Because of the murder and such the name sometimes can be seen as a negative but since so much times has passed I think maybe the younger generation won’t have heard of it much, if at all.

Valkryie

Meaning: (Chooser of the Slain, In Norse mythology, the Valkyries would swoop down on the battlefield and carry away the souls of the fallen. Mythology: the attendants of Odin who guide the heroes slain in battle to the feasting hall on Valhalla. Frey’s Priestesses. Is one of a host of female figures who decide who will die in battle. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, when the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens, and sometimes connected to swans.)

Origin: (Scandinavian, Norse Mythology, Norse)

Pronunciation: (Val-keer-ee, val-ker-ee, val-kuh-ree, Go to this site and run your cursor over the name Valkyrie to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=valkyrie)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I never thought this would ever be used as a person’s name. I found evidence though that some people have named their daughters Valkryie. I found this name of interest as it has a close association to Odin *see on list of posts* which is one of my characters names. The Norse mythology just like Odin is very interesting. Also its association to Ragnarök as mention was particularly interesting as one of my characters is named Ragnar *see on list of posts* also Ravens play a key role in my novel so I think Valkyrie may have a use in my current novel.

I think as a name it is interesting and kind of pretty. The meanings are a bit scary but I would rather it be a characters name then a real live person’s name, but to each there own.

Taryn

Meaning: (Thunder, From a High Rocky Cliff, Of the Earth, Tender/Innocent, Rocky Hill, Thunder, Earth, Rock, The Reaper, Wild Goat, To Carry, Young, Queen, Little Princess, Combination of Tara and Erin or a form of Taran/Terran.)

Origin: (English, Welsh, American, Scottish, Gaelic, Irish, Norse, Celtic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Roman, Scandinavian)

Pronunciation: (TA-rin, TARE-en, TARE-in)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

I like the look of this name. It has a great many meanings but they are all really good and interesting. I forget where I saw this name but I think I was looking up another name and I saw this one. I think it is easy, cute, pretty and seemingly pronounceable by many different people.

Reagan / Regan

Meaning: (Descendant of Riagan, Little King, Royalty, Regal, Variant of Regan, First used as a girl's name in the English-speaking world by Shakespeare as the name for one of the two disloyal princesses in his 1606 tragedy "King Lear". Also possibly a surname used as a girl's name. Derived from the Old Norse regn, ragn (judgment, decision). In Norse legend, Regin, a very wise man, was appointed tutor and foster father of Sigurd. Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of U.S.A)

Origin: (Irish, Gaelic, Norse)

Pronunciation: (REE-gan, REE-guhn, RAY-gun, RAY-gen, Go to this site and run your cursor over Reagan to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=reagan)

Gender: Uni-Sex

I saw a post the other day on another persons blog and the post was for the name Kennedy and I started thinking about other presidents names. Ronald Reagan was the president when I was born. I think Reagan and Regan make cute given names for both genders. The two different pronunciations work well too.

Rowan

Meaning: (Little Red One, Rowan Tree, Little Red Head, A Euro-Asian tree with orange berry-like fruits.)

Origin: (Gaelic, Norse, English)

Pronunciation : (ROH-an, RO-an, RO-wan, Go to this site and run your cursor over Rowan to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=rowan&submit=Submit )

Gender: Uni-Sex

This is the name of my sister's good friend's daughter. I have seen this a lot lately on T.V and in books. I think it is a cute name and I like it but I don't know if I will use it in any novels I write but time will tell. It is a nice nature related name.