Let Us Name Your Baby: Cross-cultural Names With Anime References
Welcome back to Let Us Name Your Baby, our new advice column. You bring us your baby-naming question, problem, or dilemma, and Nameberry's experts plus a revolving cast of outside namers will offer answers and advice.
Today we hear from Tamara, who needs help finding a baby name as meaningful as her older daughter's, Talia Dee. The name needs to work in Serbian and English, bonus points if it has a connection to the anime series One Piece. Can we find a name that has it all?
Tamara writes:
Hi Berries! I'm a long-time fan, and I'm really hoping to get your advice on this.
My partner and I just found out we are going to have baby number two. None of our family knows yet, and it's too early to tell the gender.
We are Serbian/American, so lots of names are unusable due to pronunciation.
We named Talia Dee after SO's late grandmother, Natalia, and the middle name is just a One Piece reference, as we are both massive fans.
We are struggling to find the perfect name for baby number two that would have as much meaning to us.
So far, the contenders for girls are:
1. Aria — after SO's mother Maria, but I don't love the meaning of the name, and I'm wondering if it's weird to name her after a living close relative.
2. Nika — which in my mind goes well with Talia, and is also a One Piece reference, but it may be too close to her first cousin Nico. But maybe as a middle name instead?
Boy names are much harder for us... if Talia was a boy, she would have been Atlas, but the recent Hoover book/movie is putting me off to be honest.
Please work your magic!
Nameberry Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm says:
Now this is a challenge! Let’s start with your current contenders. Between Aria and Nika, I prefer Nika as a sister to Talia. Both sibsets — Talia and Aria; Talia and Nika — have the crosscultural vibe you seem to be drawn toward, but there’s more differentiation to the endings of the latter. Additionally, it sounds like Nika is the more meaningful choice, given the One Piece connection. So the question becomes: how often do you see these cousins?
If you’re getting together weekly, even monthly, it’s probably going to be irritating to have a Nico and Nika in the same family. If it’s once or twice a year — and they live a few states over — occasional confusion may be worth it to use the name you love.
In terms of Atlas, well, I think the Colleen Hoover association is going to blow over quickly. Atlas is a common enough name — ranked at Number 112 in the US last year — that it’d be silly to think someone named their son after the character. Besides, the mythological Atlas is the more enduring namesake.
In searching for new suggestions, I sought out Serbian names, names that can generally be pronounced in Serbian, along with One Piece-inspired names, of course. Full disclosure: I haven’t read the manga or seen the anime series, so you’ll know better than I do if these characters are worthy of sharing a name with your child!
Girl Names
Anika — does adding an A to Nika differentiate it from Nico enough? This could be a good way to get around that issue — you could call her Nika most of the time, but Anika when in the presence of her cousins.
Kaya/Kaia/Kaja — Kaya is a One Piece character, although Kaja would be the spelling most likely to translate to Serbian (although Americans are much less familiar with it). Similar: Raya or Raia.
Petra — a common name in the Balkans that’s familiar in the US, yet not widely used. Love it as a sister name to Talia.
Silvie/Sylvie — there’s a One Piece character called Silvers, how about adapting it to Silvie? Silvija is the Serbian form of Sylvia, so this feels like it could work as a crosscultural option.
Zora — a Serbian name meaning “dawn” and connected to One Piece via Roronoa Zoro. Zoya is another nice choice.
Boy Names
Apollo/Apolo — a Greek mythology name, like Atlas, without the Colleen Hoover association. Apolo, one L, is more consistent with Serbian.
Aksel/Axel — similar energy to Atlas. Axel is much more common in the US, but Aksel is a more Serbian-friendly spelling.
Ivo — one of my favorite traveling lite names that would work in Serbian.
Marko/Mars — Marco and Marcus Mars are One Piece characters, and Marko is a very traditional Serbian name. You could put Marko on the birth certificate and call him Mars as a nickname, or go all in on Mars.
Roman — a common choice throughout Europe that should be easily pronounceable in Serbian. Has similar travel/adventure vibes to Atlas.
Nameberry Editor Brynn McKeon says:
What beautiful cross-cultural options you have got!
Between Nika and Aria, I actually like Aria best for you. You mentioned not loving Aria’s meaning, but let me try to persuade you. Your daughter Talia’s name (which is gorgeous by the way) means “by the water”. Pairing this with Aria, meaning “air” just feels like the perfect match. Very elemental.
Personally, I have no qualms with honoring a living relative, especially with a more subtle tribute like Aria. Fortunately for you, the lovely Maria is one of the most versatile names to honor and I have a few other suggestions for you along this route.
I love the idea of another One Piece-inspired name for you, and with 1000+ episodes there are a whole lot of names to pull from. One of the main challenges I came across in my search is that there isn’t much of a solid distinction between “good guys” and “bad guys” in this particular anime — is anyone NOT an antagonist? I tried my best to narrow down the search to namesake-worthy characters, but as Sophie mentioned this may be subjective!
Girl Names
Danika — I love Sophie’s suggestion of Anika, and I’ll also throw in Danika, a striking pan-European name meaning “morning star”.
Marina — Of all my “Maria-inspired” ideas, this one is my favorite for you. I particularly love the subtle connection to Talia as they both have water-related meanings.
Mira — One of the most truly cross-cultural names. Mira is traditionally seen as a diminutive of Miroslava in Serbia, but “just Mira” feels more in line with your style, and doubles as an honor for Maria.
Noa — This one is inspired by One Piece’s Roronoa. While the character is male, Noa for a girl feels like an intuitive leap with the same streamlined feel as Nika.
Vivi — After Nefertari Vivi from One Piece. You could use Vivi as a full name, or explore longer forms. Some of my favorites for you are Vivia, Aviva, and Vivica.
Boy Names
Basil — Scrolling through a list of One Piece characters, Basil stood out to me in particular. One part vintage-revival, one part soft nature name, I think this one is a winner.
Bastian — Just as you took Talia from Natalia, I think Bastian (a diminutive of classic Sebastian) would be a perfect pairing.
Brook — You could pay an homage to this One Piece character with the more mainstream and trending Brooks, but I actually love Brook on its own. And there is that water connection again! This one would make a particularly cool middle name.
Idris — One of the most underrated boy names ending in -s, Idris is a stylish alternative to Atlas.
Magnus — Atlas immediately made me think of international Magnus, meaning “greatest”. It shares Atlas’s connotations of strength and power and avoids the Hoover association that is putting you off.
Berries, over to you! Offer your own ideas on what to name Talia Dee's baby brother or sister over in the forums.
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