The Naming Game

1. What does your first name mean?

“Allyn” is a variant spelling of “Alan,” a Celtic name meaning “harmony.” This was the first name of my great-grandfather.

2. What does your middle name mean?

“Russell” is a French name meaning “red haired.” This was the last name of my great-grandmother.

3. What does your last name mean?

Gibson, one presumes, means “son of Gib.” Whoever Gib was.

4. So what does your name mean when put together?

Harmonious red-haired son of Gib.

5. What would you have been named if you were the opposite gender?

I used to know the answer to this question.

6. Any other name oddities?

Each of the six vowels appears in my name exactly once. I think one could conjure with that.

7. Do you like your name?

Sure. I could have been named “Atworth.”

8. What do you like best about it?

It flows nicely off the tongue.

9. What do you like least about it?

The inability of people to spell or pronounce my first name, combined with a certain gender ambiguity therein.

10. If you had to change your name (witness protection program, whatever), what would you want it to be?

No real thoughts here.

Name etymologies taken from Behind the Name and here. Thanks to Rebecca Anderson for the idea for the post.

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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