Iron Sky poster, from blogger.com
So, I went to the cinemas on Wednesday to watch one of the craziest films I’ve seen in a long time. It’s premise? Nazis who, after being defeated in 1945, fled to the Moon and now they’re back to conquer Earth. It’s a shame that it was only open for the one day here in the UK, although I’ve been told by my father that it’s run has been extended due to demand.
It’s a joint Finnish-German-Australian film, so the names associated with the film are a mixed bag, but it’s a good kind of mix:
Aila – a Hebrew name meaning oak tree.
Götz – the German nickname for Gottfried, which is the German form of Godfrey, a name that means peace of God.
Klaus – the German short form of Nicholas, which means victory of the people.
Peta – the female form of the name Peter, which means rock.
Renate – the German feminine form of Renatus, which means born again.
Samuli – the Finnish form of Samuel, which means God has heard.
Tero – short form of Antero, the Finnish version of Andrew.
Udo – variation of Odo, which itself comes from Otto, which means wealth.
Vivian – derives from the Latin vivus, which means life.
Mer de Noms 
There’s an Australian comedy show called “Danger 5”, which is a spoof on the Nazis as well – obviously Nazi comedies are very “in” right now!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_5
The only obviously “Australian” name I could see in “Iron Sky” is Peta, which was very big here about 40-50 years ago. I think one house I lived in, I had a neighbour named Peta on each side of me and living behind me. Then we moved, next door to yet another lady named Peta, and the head of the body corporate was also called Peta.
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Love Udo & Peta! I wish Peta didn’t make people go, “like pita bread?” though.
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We don’t say Peta and pita as homonyms, but the organisation PETA must have made an impact on the name.
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Of course. When the actresses name came up on the screen my sister immediately made the connection to the organisation. The actress was Australia, Peta Sargeant, but I’m not sure how well known she is over there. That said, she was born in Malaysia.
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She’s not terrifically famous yet, no (a few small roles here and there). She was born in Malaysia, but her dad is Australian.
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I love Peta. Have done so ever since I was 11 and read the “Cafe Club” book series, which featured a cute 3 year-old called Peta.
A Finnish friend of mine’s stepmother is named Aila. Apparently it was big there in the 30s/40s, and is now considered rather old-fashioned. Probably equivalent to Doris or Debra for us. It’s pronounced the same as Isla and is thought to relate to the Sami name Aile — a form of Helga.
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Ooo, good info. I did wonder about the pronunciation, and it seems I am saying it right rather by accident!
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