Friday, March 21, 2014

Fictional Places

The earliest name-nerd-ish experience I can recall is being charmed by a little Lorien. I'm sure she said "No, not Lauren, Lorien. It's from The Lord of the Rings." quite a bit, but half a lifetime later, I still remember her name.
I've seen Avalon & Avonlea bounced around quite a bit--probably prompted by the popularity of Ava & similar names, just like Lorien was made more usable by the popularity of Lauren/Laura--and it's got me thinking. I know I generally dislike place-names as given names, but for some reason, mythological & literary place-names seem so much more usable. Does that make me a snob? :p

  • Aaru (AH-roo)--Egyptian mythology. Alternate transliterations include Yaaru & Aalu.
  • Arda (AHR-dah)--Lord of the Rings 
  • Brocéliande (broh-say-lee-AHND)--Arthurian mythology
  • Elysia (eh-LEE-see-ah, eh-LOO-see-ah)--Greek mythology [Elysian/Elysium Fields]
  • Lyonesse (lee-oh-NES)--Arthurian mythology
  • Magrathea (mag-rah-THEE-ah)--Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
  • Nysa (NEE-sah, NOO-sah)--Greek mythology
  • Paravel (pehr-ah-VEL)--Chronicles of Narnia [Cair Paravel, technically]
  • Terabithia (tehr-ah-BITH-ee-ah)--Bridge to Terebithia
  • Tirith (TEER-ith)--Lord of the Rings [Minas Tirith, to be exact]
  • Valinor (VAH-lin-ohr)--Lord of the Rings 

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