Auberon

We finish Week A with another old name that I think seriously needs a second look at.

The similarity between Auberon and Oberon is notable, and the pair are almost certainly linked. The name Oberon is a literary one – coming from A Midsummer’s Night Dream, where the character of Oberon was the king of the fairies. The name is also celestial, as one of the moon’s of Uranus has been dubbed Oberon.

Probably one of the most noted pieces of TV this year is the fight between Prince Oberyn Martell and Ser Gregor Clegane on HBO’s Game of Thrones. I remember sitting in the kitchen when my friend’s upstairs were watching it together, and hearing a collective 5-person scream that marked the climax of the fight. Prince Oberyn Martell is probably one of the more famed uses of the name in the media at the moment.

The name Auberon derives from Alberich, a name which derives from two Germanic elements:

• alfi, which means elf
• ric, which means ruler

Hence, the name means king of the elfs, which is a mighty fine name meaning if I do say so myself.

As well as relations with Oberon the name Auberon is also related to Aubrey, whom also derives from Alberich. These days, you’re more likely to meet an Aubrey of either gender than an Auberon, with the name ranking at #850 for the girls and #959 for the boys in England&Wales in 2013, whereas Auberon ranks at #3822. In fact, if you meet a girl called Aubrey, she might just be spelling it as Aubree, which with a rank of #750, outranks Aubrey. This is a marked change from when in 2012, the names shared a rank of #1253.

It’s also worth noting that if you go to the USA, the chances of meeting a little girl named Aubrey is quite high as in 2013 the name ranked as high as #18, and #52 if spelled Aubree.

With the name Auberon you have a name that holds his own charms, despite these days been completely overshadowed by his more famous cousins. He’s a little bit quirky, but fabulous in his own rights with a meaning that kinda rocks.

Name Spot of the Week: Hometown Glory

George the Beekeeper lives on Beeston High Road

I need to get more organised with these posts – this is the second time in a row I’ve posted late. For those interested in my excuse – I was at an awards function at Trent Bridge last night. I didn’t meet any England players such as Stuart Broad, but did meet Steve Mullaney, another player for Nottinghamshire.

One of the main winners of the night was a cricket club from Kimberley, which seemed to have strong teams in all the age groups (U12, U13…etc.). So it seems a good time to mention the names of some other places ’round my hometown – especially since Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy welcomed their son Bingham ‘Bing’ earlier on in the year, and my Auntie lives there. There is an area named Arnold, which is an already established name. But then there’s Wilford, which isn’t too far removed from Wilfred. Other possible options:

Annesley

Ashfield

Aslockton

Aspley

Barnby (Moor)

Basset(law)

Beeston

Blyth

Brinsley

Broxtowe

Bunny

Burton Joyce

(Car) Colston

Carlton

Clifton

Dunkirk

Everton

Felley

Forest Fields

Lace (Market)

Hyson (Green)

Lenton Abbey

Mapperley

(The) Meadow(s)

Plumtree

Saxondale

Sherwood

Strelley

Tithby

Walesby

Children in Need is almost upon us, which is an annual fundraising day aimed at improving the lives of children. Each year a group releases a single for charity, and this years charity single is a collaboration of several different artists known together as The Collective. There are some fascinating names amongst them all:

Cleopatra Elizabeth ‘Mz. Bratz’

Harley ‘Sylvester’, from Rizzle Kicks

Jahmaal Noel ‘Chipmunk’

Jermaine ‘Wretch 32’

Jordan ‘Rizzle’, from Rizzle Kicks

Kwasi ‘Tinchy Stryder’

Niomi Arleen ‘Ms. Dynamite’

Timothy ‘Labrith’

Tulisa Paulinea, from N-Dubz

On a totally different note, I caught my first glimpse of this year’s University Challenge. Yes, it’s been going on since July, but I’m a busy person who rarely watches much TV. I went through and quickly picked out some of the names of previous winners whose name made me sit up and notice (the date in the brackets is of the year they won, followed by the institute they represented):

Aubrey (1968, Keele. Male.)

Colum (2003, Birkbeck College, London)

Dorjana (2002, Somerville College, Oxford)

Frederick ‘Wynn’ (1974, Trinity College, Cambridge)

Geffyn (1986, Jesus College, Oxford)

Geoffrey (1963, Leicester)

Gwilym (1997, Magdalen College, Oxford)

Jerzy (1975, Keble College, Oxford)

Kwasi (1995, Trinity College, Cambridge – two in one post? Yes!)

Madeleine (1963, Leicester)

Meredith (1970, Churchill College, Cambridge)

Reuben (2009, Manchester)

Stefano (2005, Corpus Christi College, Oxford)

Siegfried (2001, Imperial College London)

Thor (2003, Birkbeck College, London)