August 20, 2013

Names for Pirates and Mermaids


Whoever said pirates and mermaids go together? Pirates are real-life marauders. Mermaids? Fictional fish-women who often wear only seashells. But they do have a few things in common: the sea and the stories we tell about it. If you are looking for some keen gentlemanly-pirate names, or some swimmingly sea-worthy mermaid names, I've got you covered on both fronts.

Pirates
There's something we love about pirates. They capture our imagination and have spurred stories for centuries. Beyond tales of peg-legged charmers who are in search of gold, these are names of the most infamous real-life pirates of all time. The era when piracy was in its peak is from the 1500s to the 1800s, and the names reflect that. Don't be surprised if they sound more like the names of a group of gentleman than sinister scalawags. If you're looking for a name fit for a brigand, you'll find the nicknames they were known for to be a better bet.

Mermaids
Mermaids have played an important part in sea tales and fantasy novels for centuries. But oddly enough, literary mermaids are often not named. The most famous mermaid tale, Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid is never referred to by any name. Nameless mermaids are featured in Peter PanMoby-Dick, the Harry Potter series, and sirens can be found in Homer's Odyssey. So I give you mermaid names from a hodgepodge of sources, some a bit surprising.

Pirates

Mermaids

  • Ariel ~ Disney's name for Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid
  • Ariel's sisters from the Disney movie:
    • Aquata
    • Andrina
    • Arista 
    • Attina
    • Adella 
    • Alana
  • Aquamarine ~ A mermaid creation of author Alice Hoffman, also inspired a movie
  • Clia ~ a mermaid princess from L. Frank Baum's The Sea Fairies
  • Lorelei ~ the name of a mermaid or water spirit popular in folklore
  • Madison ~ mermaid from the 1984 movie Splash
  • Marina ~ a mermaid from Jake and the Never Land Pirates
  • Miranda ~ from the 1948 film of the same name featuring a beautiful mermaid
  • Syrena ~ a mermaid in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

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