“Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life!”

As the character John Proctor so famously expressed in “The Crucible,” a name is something attached to us forever, for better or worse. Some parents go with the popular names of the day, and their children end up being one of several in their school or community who share a name. Others, this author included, have a more unusual moniker, often with a special meaning or story behind why it was selected for them.

Junior Lukas Legler’s name might not be too common; it ranks somewhere around 230 for popularity according to babycenter.com. His shortened nickname, however, ranks at #33 for 2023 and has inextricable ties to pop culture. 

“When we were at the ultrasound, my dad went, ‘Luke, I am your father,’ after discovering I was a boy,” Legler said. “Then it just kinda stuck.”

Luke is not the only one whose name was influenced by the silver screen. English teacher Mrs. Tracy McArthur’s grandson Winfield also has a “futuristic,” film-inspired name.

“[Winfield was] born on October 21st of 2015,” said McArthur. “That’s the day Marty McFly went to in the movie ‘Back to the Future,’ so it’s ‘Back to the Future Day,’ and so when [Winfield] was born on that day, [my son Matt] decided to name him Winfield McFly McArthur.”

Popularity is not always influenced by pop culture, and what constitutes a popular name in one region of the world could not be popular in another. Names can also be confusing for others to correctly pronounce. This is often the case for foreign exchange students like Sondre Gullberg Furuhaug who step into another culture. 

“I think [Sondre] means ‘from the south’ in Norwegian,” Furuhaug said. “They say /son-DRAY/ and /son-DRUH/.”  Asked what he planned to name his future child, he said, “[I would give my kid] a Norwegian name, so it would be interesting here.” 

Perhaps bored with the options on baby naming sites, parents might use their creativity to construct an unusual name for their children which might require a bit of explanation.

“My dad came up with it– it’s from Copenhagen, like tobacco,” sophomore Hagen Bradish said. “That’s how I got my name. Most people just really want to know where it came from, and if it was after the tobacco or that place in [Denmark] that’s also called Copenhagen.”

Different cultures can also influence unique names. Junior Keonaikaika Haleakala Wisniewski got his name from Hawaiian traditions. 

“In Hawaiian culture, they believe that names are meaningful, and they can be sent through dreams,” Wisniewski said. “My name was kinda sent through a dream and just a family name.”

People who are less connected to local religions, fads, or communities find their inspirations in a different pool. In my case, astrology.

When my mom suggested to my dad the name ‘Ryan,’ my dad heard ‘Orion’ and proceeded to tell all of their friends and family my name was ‘Orion.’ It is cool to be named after a constellation though; I can find myself in the sky and smile. I would like to carry on the tradition of unusual names and someday have a daughter named “Periwinkle.”

Names come from many different places–whether it’s from popular media, a baby name generator, parental creativity, ancient traditions, culture or astrology. Either way a name is a name, and there is a person behind each one who is special.