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So, apparently a lot of people have named their kid Khalessi or Daenerys on the basis of her actions in the early part of the story. Those kids now have the name of Westeros’s biggest mass murderer, probably not the aim their parents were going for. Has this ever happened before, (a fictional character getting so popular that people name their kids after him/her, then the character changing in some fundamental way that changes the context of the name for the worse)?
La-la-la Harper Lee never wrote a second novel la-la-la!
It’ll be interesting 30 years from now when Daenerys Jones runs for president…or else.
Wait, this is the character whose favorite word is the Draconic command for “burn it all”, right? And who has pretty much always had that as her favorite word? You could maybe argue that, at first, she was fighting for a righteous cause, but she’s always been a ruthless monster.
As, of course, are most of the other folks in that series.
She was also raped as a child, willingly ate a still beating horse heart, smothered her husband and impaled those who displeased her and set them out outside the city walls so all could see. But she’s a pretty dragon Queen so, Ima name my kid Kaleesi. My husband reminds me she also burned all the Kals alive.
Heh… there’s hope for Atticus, the latest Broadway version seems to be getting good reviews.
IMO if you have to provide a “creative” or “meaningful” name you could always go the middle name route and try to combine with a boring family or community-culture one, as a backup.
Or just own it and go big. Never mind TV or contemporaty novels, name your girl Kali and your boy Temujin. Let them learn what it means on their own sweet time and see if they then find it… motivational 
He was defending an accused rapist.
Not a great optics in the era of #metoo?
“Khaleesi” is the title for a wife of a Khal. Sure, one particular Khaleesi was featured in the show, but one could claim it isan’t after anyone in particular. Like Tsarina or Queenie.
Brian
- She wasn’t raped in the book. She was a willing bride, albeit 13 years old, so I can see HBO staying far away from that one.
- I thought the heart was already dead?
- Her husband was dead, for all intents and purposes. Call it assisted suicide.
- They had previously crucified children as she entered the city.
- They had kidnapped her and threatened to gang rape her because she became Khal after Drogo died instead of retiring gracefully as Khal widows are supposed to do.
I’m not happy with this 180 swerve they did. I’m sure this has been debated in other threads, so I will just say I know of one little girl and one on the way named Arya. Funny…I haven’t seen any Sansas.
You have to feel bad for all those German kids who got named Adolf around 1933. You know, before things turned ugly.
I feel sorry for the Uber driver named Osama who picked me up in Seattle a few years ago.
Bolding mine.
That is a good one! But then, I have a cat named Atilla. He was named for a cat in a comic strip, but still.
Just to be clear, does anyone actually know of any real child really named “Daeneris” or “Khaleesi”, or are we all just laughing at a hypothetical stupid thing that a hypothetical stupid person might have done?
Right it’s basically like calling her queen in a fake language. Queen of a people who’s main activities were rape, pillaging and rape. Best not to look too deep at it.
I keep thinking back to one of the best history professors I had in college, this devout, dapper little guy who taught World History as a bunch of stories and social movements. To forestall a lot of the outrage people would have in learning of the terrible things done in history, he began the semester by warning us: “Most of the people we’re studying went to Hell.” Then he went right on teaching us about Caesar and Hammurabi and Charlemagne and the rest.
The fact that Daenerys is going to Hell doesn’t mean she’s not a great character.
Still not naming my kids after her, though.
Osama Uber Laden?