Thursday, January 12, 2012

Name Round-Up: Dinotopia

This is getting pathetic. I'm only did four names in my Wicca-lite theme month, and I'm already feeling like I just can't take it anymore. Therefore, I'm taking a short break back into strangeville.

Dinotopia has been a major influence in my life. I'm completely serious. I mean, think about it. Obviously the dinosaurs would appeal to any human child, but it also has beautiful designs that are inspired by multiculturalism and nature. The whole idea of the series is that every human on Dinotopia is a descendant of someone who was shipwrecked there, so you can see that each of the cultures put a stamp on the design of the cities and towns. Also, the dinosaurs are not their pets. They're intelligent beings with equal citizenship. So all of the places are built with animals in mind. The series is written and illustrated by the awesome James Gurney, and I have seen a gallery of the full sized paintings used in these books and they're enthralling.

The series also features some pretty great names. These are from Dinotopia, The World Beneath, and Journey to Chandara. Figuring out which ones are humans and which ones are dinosaurs might be a little harder than you think:

Bix
Arthur
Will
Sylvia
Giorgio
Maria
Alec
Lee
Tok
Malik
Enit
Nallab
Koro
Brokehorn
Grayback
Lightwing
Oolu
Bracken
Fiddlehead
Bigtusk
Moraine
Dorsolith
Seco
Paddlefoot
Magnolia
Draco
Highjump
Norah
Melanie
Claw
Cirrus
Nimbus
Hylo
Petra
Levka
Almaron
Myops
Oriana
Strongbrow
Zeke
Lawana
Meg
Ogthar
Standtall
Fireblood
Copperjaw
Stinktooth
Almestra
Gruff
Duff
Tatania
Goldsworthy
Elias
Augustus
Acanthus
Sima
Fleuron
Igneus
Paolo
Willi
Cornelius
Henriette
Sander
Keebo
Martha
Kamba
Muhimmi
Beeber
Nibor
Sacul
Zemango
Ishten
Sita
Shalashu
Erbettu
Schoty
Soroban
Pavimentum
Ilya
Olga
Valentina
Ivan
Haber
Dasher
Virdis
Vestus
Tarjik
Kotoman
Elly
Menga
Bellina
Kiri
Ogwan-Jay
Zephyr
Vanna
Shoo
Rita Rose
Jeffer

Image Credit:
http://images.wikia.com/dinotopia/images/4/48/Morning_in_treetown.jpg

2 comments:

  1. Oh. My. God. Dinotopia has had a major influence in MY life too! I got the first book when I was nine and absolutely worshipped it. It meant so much to me that as an adult I wrote to Mr. Gurney and thanks him for making it. I got the book when I was going through a very scary and painful time in my life, and the book's beauty and gentle wisdom honestly helped me. He is such a kind man, he wrote back and gave me presents. I adore him, he is my hero. As a result the names from that book mean a lot to me too.

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  2. I don't think just because a name might be popular among the Muggles it necessarily makes it Wicca-lite :). I think it's great that so many of the current top 100 have such fabulous Pagan and Witchy heritages and general "umph."

    Having said that, I know where you're coming from when you prefer the realm of "strangeville" ;D.

    What sticks with me most about Dinotopia are just those wonderful illustrations. I could look at them for hours... Alma Tadema with dinosaurs.

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