Pre-Camp fire Friday: How do you feel about fluffy pagan names?

Well, my real name is about as un-pagan as it possibly gets, so at gatherings and on medieval reenactment tournaments (where I fight, so I have to be announced) I go by the name Griffin. Not particularily fluffy. Just a bit ;)

Well... how I got my Pagan name is kind of a long story - to give you the Reader's Digest version, it stems from the teasing I endured in college from my classmates, because I happen to have a geographical name. My last name is Beach, so they started calling me Ocean, or "Osh" for short - the "Osh" actually because with my being Deaf, I attended Gallaudet University and some of my fellow classmates couldn't pronounce the word ocean very well.

A couple of years later, during the ritual where I was initiated into the Craft, I was asked if I wanted to take a new name, and out of the blue I blurted out "Ocean!" And so it goes...

While I have heard a couple of fluffy pagan names that made me want to cringe, I've learned over the years not to judge a book by its cover or a Pagan by her/his name. While they can sometimes be a clue to the type of person you are about to meet, that isn't always the case... sometimes a name has a special meaning that you can't always determine until you get to know the individual.

I do have my own special name that I use privately for those who come across as little more than "cotton candy witches" -

Fluffernutter Bedwetter.

(wink!)

And a Happy Equinox to everyone!

Depends - what do you consider fluffy pagan names?

I was given a waterford crystal dolphin as a gift by a dear friend of mine, on the day he died. We had recently been discussing the fact that I didn't have a "Craft name" or spiritual name, so that's where this came from. It may sound fluffy - but it holds special meaning that is anything but fluffy.

In any case, I don't judge by a name - it becomes obvious fairly quickly when talking with other Pagans if they are indeed "fluffy" or not.

Blessed Ostara/Spring Equinox to you as well!

My given name is unusual but not what I'd describe as fluffy. I was named after a region in Romania. If I tell people my name, they usually respond with, "Huh?" quickly followed by "What do people call you?". So I've had lots of nicknames.

I've had the name "Witchy" for about 15 years. But this is a name that was given to me by non-pagans because of my mischievous nature rather than any pagan reason. Actually, I seldom refer to myself as a witch. For the first few years, I tried to get people to stop calling me that but sometimes you just can't stop a nickname when it's started. I gave up fighting it and embraced it.

I've never thought about whether or not it's fluffy. My religion doesn't include taking a "pagan name" and I really don't see it as a pagan name any more than "Mouse" or "Val" which are other nicknames that I've had.

I hope you enjoyed the equinox too!

Edited to add:

I just realized that I rambled on yet never really answered your question. Sorry.

When people introduce themselves with long names (more than four syllables), I know that I won't use their full name. If their name includes a fancy title, I won't use it. If I can't use it with a straight face, I won't use it. I like unusual names and try to call people as they wish but there are limits. I also would have a hard time calling anyone by one of my deities' names. I don't know why but it seems "wrong" to me. Luckily, I've never met anyone who wanted to be called by the name of a Gaulish deity.

I have the misfortune of having a given name that is unfortunately one of the most popular Craft names--and a pretty good stripper name, too. (See if you can guess.) I have tried on several in my personal practice but it just seems silly. Seems to me the more fluffy the pagan, the longer the name--Rainbow-Garnet BlueFox Mercury and the like. Never sat well with me. Just be you...if you want to be anonymous, choose a handle. It's easy enough.

And happy Ostara/Equinox--it's today in the Pacific Time Zone. Made some stellar Criss- Cross Applesauce Buns. (No actual applesauce used, but it's my son's preschool rhyme.)

They make me sad.

My father named me, Robin I like it. I have a different name I write under Dawn, which is the name my mother would have named me if not for my father's intervention, which is just as good. And somehow, when I named my poetry collection MorningBird's Song (Morningbird being a combination of Dawn and Robin, you see) and subsequently named my Chat ID Morningbird, THAT became my Pagan name, against my will. But there it is, I think it might be fluffy.

I'm not sure.

But I don't even belong to a tradition that HAS Pagan names, so it makes me sad that I have one and it's fluffy.

You have a wonderful Equinox, too!

Considering that mine is Violet Stormchaser, all I can do is sit around looking all wise and tolerant, with a bit of a blush on my face. I'd change it, but it was arrived at after a wonderful conversation with wonderful friends, and I'd feel like I was throwing away a gift.

Depends on the name, and depends on the person wearing it :) Frankly, names of that type tend to make me wary of the character of the person, due to the number of REALLY bad authors and websites out there put out by people with, um, 'unusual' names. To be honest, I'd have to agree, the longer the name, with the more animal/astrological/elemental terms in it, the more wary I'd be.

But we must also be aware that you can have Gareths, Stevens, Ians, Lillians, etc, etc, etc, that can be a) fluffy, and b) persons whom are of poor standing whom are outshon by their 'fluffy' named counterparts.

End result, you have to take each person as an individual, and at the end of the day, we are our deeds.

you, miss, are not allowed to apologize for your name. Tawaen is an awesome name. As for the other fluffy names...I personally don't care for them, but I won't judge someone if they want a name like that. Such as the case of Crystal Dolphin, the name holds special meaning.

I wouldn't mind having one of those names. Probably much better than Sean Patrick Arthur Hunter. Especially if you consider where my parents got the ideas for my names.

You have a wonderful Equinox, too! =D