About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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25 Comments

  1. How about Nikander? The Nike part means victory, so Nikander means “victorious man” or “winner.” There was also, FWIW, an ancient Greek poet named Nikander.

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  2. I’m a 32 yr old man from England and my christian name is Lysander. No-one has ever forgot my name, though quite a few folk have had trouble pronouncing it – I’ll always remember one particular rustic wurzel-woman who managed to mangle my name into ‘Lou Sammidge”(?!?). As regards abbreviations, a couple of people have tried ‘Sandy’ which I think is naff and makes me sound like an androgynous surfer. What I’ve ended up with is the nickname ‘Lice’. My hair does not have an infestation of what we call here in the UK, ‘nits’ (head lice), and actually I don’t mind the nickname as it is memorable and suits my slightly unkempt character, but it was one of the readiest associations made by the pundits of the playground – ‘Lysander has lice!’ – so you have been warned. On the other hand, I am trying to put you all off the name anyhow: as Levi-Strauss (the anthropologist) put it, ‘Une Jean est un membre de la classe des Jeans’, and I like the relative exclusivity of being a member of the class of Lysanders. Regards, a real-life Lysander

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  4. The Potter/Shakespeare links redeem the name for me. Lysander/Leander/Leland/Evander/Anders (Ander is actually the Dutch & Afrikaans word for ‘another’) etc aren’t really my style, so it’s a choice for someone else. It doesn’t remind me of the medication, but of a salamander. I can understand the appeal, but it’s an option for someone else

    I do love Luna & Lorcan. Luna because the Potter books introduced me to it & it has ‘moon’ links. I’ve got a week spot for names with links to the moon i.e. Selene etc. Lorcan because an Irish friend introduced me to it. It’s the Irish form of Larkin & I ADORE Irish names

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  5. Is the Harry Potter connection a big deal? Meaning, would many people be aware of it?
    I’m a literature snob, so it’s a negative connotation for me.

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    1. Well, I read mainly popcorn fiction, so the Harry Potter connection was the first thing that I thought of as opposed to the Shakespearean one.

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    2. I read everything – highbrow, lowbrow, trendy, dusty, classic, forgotten, what-have-you. And while Luna is strongly Harry Potter to me, I’ll give you that the names of her sons are mentioned just once, briefly, in the epilogue. But then, I’m 36-going-on-37. Anyone younger have a reaction? I suspect HP might have generated more chatter amongst the younger set, and so Lysander and Lorcan might be more quickly recognized and linked to the novels.

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      1. Well, I’m under 25 & I grew up with the books which is I might think Luna first.Also, I have looked up Harry Potter names before, as I find them all very fascinating.They’re not names that are used in every day life. I’ve also got a weird book memory. I can remember the names of a lot of the characters in books that I’ve read from long ago(if only I could remember my studies the same way) .Which could all explain the initial association. I’ve only started to read Shakespeare & some of the other old classics lately, as when I was younger I wasn’t really into them & didn’t have a proper appreciation for it. That’s why most literary associations I have are usually from a contemporary novel. I’m also a full time student, so the time that I get to relax, I tend to go for the lighter reads (Grisham,Roberts,Sparks ,Patterson etc) as opposed to something like Kafka or Tolstoi

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    3. I am part of the under 20 set and am an HP fan. The two names (Lorcan and Lysander) do not imediately shout “Harry Potter!”, at least to me. I thought of Midsummer’s first when I read Lysander. So I doubt you would have any issues.

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