The Order of the Phoenix, from pentadact via Flickr
No sooner had I hit publish on the first installment in The Hermiones series, than the following question rolled in: “What’s the male equivalent?”
It was a baffling question. Many of the qualities we admire in Hermione – bravery, a stubborn self-assurance, book learning and serious street smarts – are common traits for male heroes in fiction. What makes Hermione exceptional is that she’s also an outsider (Muggle-born, in Potterverse parlance) and an ugly duckling. And a girl. Even in 2012, many girls’ names convey a head cheerleader or a princess-in-training image. Hermione stands out – as I’ve written before, she’s clunky, but still cool, and definitely vintage.
Then there’s Katniss, the more modern equivalent. Katniss names are offbeat and often drawn from the natural world, but they’re hearty, even tough. The fact that Katniss is deadly first and compassionate second in many of the stories is what keeps her alive – typical traits for a male hero, but exceptional for a teenage girl.
I’m indebted to C in DC for suggesting that maybe the male equivalent is Neville, as in Neville Longbottom. At the start of the series, he’s as awkward as they come and it turns out he’s lugging around a crushing secret. But the character also has surprising reserves of bravery and grit, and he turns into a true hero without sacrificing any of his native kindness. That’s not the typical hero’s journey, though Neville eventually proves himself a capable lieutenant for Harry - he organizes the student resistance in Harry’s absence, and in the final battle, it is actually Neville who slays the giant snake, Nagini.
This list includes boys’ names that sacrifice a certain energy for a gentle quality. They’re well-born, gentlemanly names, but they’re still clearly masculine. Like Hermione, they’re antique, even clunky – and likely to inspire others to warn you of playground teasings should you give the name to a son. But the Nevilles come out on top in the long run – you can imagine these names on a valedictorian, a statesman, a poet – or maybe an indie rocker.
The US Top 100 includes a few names that could have made this list – Elijah and Tristan, maybe? Or how about Sebastian? But the final requirement is that the name be relatively underused, at least in the US. And so, I give you … the Nevilles.
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