Does "Lorelei" Sound Pagan???
Find a Conversation
Does "Lorelei" Sound Pagan???
| Fri, 08-04-2006 - 4:02pm |
I recently had someone comment that the name Lorelei sounded pagan to them (I suppose because of the siren association). In reality, Lorelei simply means "murmuring brook," which really doesn't have anything to do with paganism. What are your thoughts? Do you associate Lorelei with paganism? This is definitely not what I'm going for when choosing this name....

Pages
That would not be my first thought if I heard Lorelei, but then again I don't know a lot about Paganism.
Michelle
I don't associate it with a paganism at all. It reminds me of the mother on Gilmore Girls (though maybe it's spelled differently- I can't really recall....)
Also, it sounds more Hawaiian than "pagan" to me, so if you want to stretch it and say that it's "pagan" b/c some Hawaiian natives have more pagan beliefs... I don't know...
Edited to add:
There are names that are FAR more "pagan" than this one... I think you'll be fine with this name. I don't think many pagans would associate paganism with this name, lol...
Edited 8/4/2006 4:20 pm ET by veildancer
What?! If they meant to say it sounded like a mythological name or that they'd heard of the legend behind the name Lorelei, I could understand that, but I can't believe someone would comment that a name your considering for your child sounded "pagan" -- unless you actually were a practicing pagan, but that would be a different story. Just seems a bizzarre comment to make, and I'd take it as exactly that. Something to write in the baby book, in any case! LOL
Also, keep in mind that the term Pagan may have been used lightly, referring to the name's mythology or relationship to nature, etc. -- not necessarily the strong negative association many in America would have.
~Kelli
Ps. I just did a search for names with "pagan" connotations, and Julian came up as the name of the last pagan Roman emperor! I doubt you'd get any such comments with the name Julian, however, so perhaps that could be a good comeback if this is a person you will see again. Just a funny little tidbit.
Powered by CGISpy.com
No. It reminds me of a Valkyrie in Wagner's Ring opera cycle. My first impression would be that it is a German name, and maybe the child's parents had German parents (like Heidi or Gretchen).
What does "Pagan" sounding mean anyway? Is any name not in the bible pagan? This person's comment sounds a little bit extreme to me.
What on earth!? Exactly what is a pagan name? I'm really confused as to how someone thinks Lorelei is Pagan! I love the name and my first thought is Lorelei off of Gilmore Girls!
Dawn
Well, it doesn't sound Christian...
To me, though, 'pagan' doesn't seem especially negative, just non-Christian. At least she didn't say it sounds heathen - that would be more explicitly negative, I think.
I love the name Lorelei from one of my favorite Pogues songs and would likely have seriously considered using it if it wasn't for the Gilmore Girls. I like the show, but wouldn't want everyone to think I had named my kid after a TV character!
I probably know more about pagans than the average person. And Lorelai is NOT pagan. As a pp said 'extreme comment'
I wouldn't let it bother you.
Everyone, thanks for the feedback! My concerns have been alleviated. My main reason for wanting to use the name is that I have German/Austrian roots, and I wanted a name reflective of that. Plus, I just think it's a beautiful name - exotic yet recognizable.
Thanks again for the input!
Pages