Comments on: Name of the Day: Alaric

By: Scale the Heights at Appellation Mountain | Waltzing More Than Matilda

Scale the Heights at Appellation Mountain | Waltzing More Than Matilda — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:08:19 +0000

[...] modern names like Indigo and Madison, old-fashioned names like Donald and Lois, ancient names like Alaric and Hypatia, and exotic names like Zoltan and Sumarlina. Each entry looks at the history of the [...]

By: Sebastiane

Sebastiane — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:37:39 +0000

I really like this. Always have, he is a nice alternative to Eric.

By: Christina Fonseca

Christina Fonseca — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:06:00 +0000

Alaric rocks! Great name and it’s even better that he won’t bump into another one every time he turns around.

By: jillian

jillian — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:33:12 +0000

a little too “pass the mead” for me; sounds more emo than marauder to my ear. Atilla, on the other hand, is totally bad ass.

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:15:40 +0000

Engloutie, that makes sense – and I’m certainly influenced by having a father and a brother called Eric and a friend named Aric. (As it happens, I work with someone named Arica, too!)

With any rare name, I do think parents get the luxury of choosing – and the burden of explaining.

By: engloutie

engloutie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:58:07 +0000

PS on pronunciation…

I’m no authority, but my linguistics undergraduate degree suggests to me that AL-ar-ic is the older pronunciation. It’s less likely that the middle syllable would be elided in the alternate forms Alrek & Alrekr if that were the syllable to receive primary emphasis. That would also follow the German pattern of emphasis (think Alderich). Then again, I could be totally wrong!

By: engloutie

engloutie — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:51:01 +0000

I’m in love with this name too! The historical connection is so masculine and just plain cool, that I think it balances out his softer sounds. It even sounds good with our crazy Germanic/Scandinavian (different sources claim different lineage) last name, so I’d use it in a heartbeat. Thanks for profiling it today!

By: appellationmountain

appellationmountain — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:42:41 +0000

You know, since we call our son Aly you would think I’d have thought of that, Charlotte! D’oh. As a boy’s nickname, Aly/Ali rocks.

I went to school with an Aric – fabulous guy. Not sure why he got the A- spelling instead of Eric, but his older brother is Aaron. (And their younger brother is Adam.)

I looked at the pronunciation for a while before deciding I just didn’t have enough info to say anything intelligent about it – though personally, I put the emphasis on the middle syllable. Which makes me think that Lars could be a nickname, too …

And yes, Bewildertrix – the Barbarian king bit is just beyond cool. You’d think it would appeal to fathers.

By: Charlotte Vera

Charlotte Vera — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:10:25 +0000

I’m in love with this name — is it any wonder I suggested it? Sadly, my husband doesn’t seem to be feeling the love as much as I am. Personally, I prefer Ali as a nickname.

I’d like to add that I’ve heard this name pronounced two different ways: “AL-uh-rik” and “a-LAHR-ik”. I’m not sure which I prefer.

By: Bewildertrix

Bewildertrix — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:16:58 +0000

I read the Dark Tower series and I missed that. D’oh. It’s a lovely name and I really have no explanation as to why it’s no longer an option for me. I haven’t thought about it in a long, long time.

Barbarian king aside (how cool is that?) I also find it endearing as it reminds me of ALAn RICickman *lust*. It’s like a contraction of his name.

As far as Visigoth names are concerned, Reccared was another one I liked.