Lucy and Caspian in the same sibset?

[sleepysessha]

Lately I've been crushing hard on Lucy. She's magical but familiar, historically established but not too common…I have yet to meet a Lucy. I love the saucy sweetness of her sound, the way the L and the C just dance off the tongue. And there are so many fabulous Lucy namesakes, like L.M. Montgomery, William Wordsworth's poetry collection, Lucy Cavendish, etc. And of course, there is Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Narnia…but two of the books also feature a Prince Caspian as a main character.

My concern is that Caspian is one of the oh-so-very-few names in the world that my husband loves as much as I do. It's pretty tied to the Narnia books; the only other association is the Caspian Sea, and I love it for both those reasons. Lucy, on the other hand, is a very well-known name that is frequently used outside of the series and isn't as specifically tied to the books as say Tumnus or Jadis or Aslan.

So the question is thus: Are Caspian and Lucy too much together in a sibset? Other potential siblings would be Zion, Solomon, Alice, and Ophelia…does that help break up the Narnia-ness?

Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

[gershwin]

My first thought was definitely Narnia. However, if there were other siblings I would be less likely to make the connection. Caspian, Alice and Lucy sound great together and less Narnia ish.

[ottilie]

I wrote a rather long reply to you, and when I was almost done I went to get my tea, and when I came back my cat was lying on the laptop and all text deleted... so this is a less poetic version:

When I see them together I do think Narnia. But they are very beautiful and magical, Lucy is exactly what you want, shimmering silver laughter! I would have no issue with Alice with these two, that would be three names from famous classic British children's literature. Ophelia too for that matter, it's also classic British literature and has that magic feel to it. Zion and Solomon (in my opinion) would sound out of place. They're so Biblical, dark and serious. I actually see these names divided into two groups:

Dark, serious, intense: Zion, Solomon and Ophelia
Light, fun, magical: Caspian, Lucy and Alice

However, they are all beautiful and with that magic flair, and not everyone over think these things.

[millienow2011]

I definitely think of Narnia. I love the name Caspian but to me Lucy is common and overused (in the uk)

[redwoodfey]

I came in to say pretty much everything Ottilie already said.

I definitely think Narnia with Caspian and Lucy. An Alice and even an Ophelia in there would lead me to believe literature was important to the family. That's not a bad thing. The only downside I really see is if you have a Lucy and a Caspian, any other children wouldn't be as tied together as the first two. Lucy and Caspian adventured together, it doesn't get better than that. While other namesakes may have gone on their own adventures, Lucy and Caspian will always have the battle for Narnia and the Dawn Treader in common.

[sparrowfinch]

When I see Caspian, I immediately think of Narnia. So when I see Lucy too, I think "Woowhee. they must really love Narnia." Now, the Narnia books are some of my favorites of all time, so it's not necessarily bad, but it's certainly a little theme. I knew a family with a Lucy and a Peter and it still made me think of Narnia, even though they also had a few other kids with non-Narnian names.

[sleepysessha]

When I see them together I do think Narnia. But they are very beautiful and magical, Lucy is exactly what you want, shimmering silver laughter! I would have no issue with Alice with these two, that would be three names from famous classic British children's literature. Ophelia too for that matter, it's also classic British literature and has that magic feel to it. Zion and Solomon (in my opinion) would sound out of place. They're so Biblical, dark and serious. I actually see these names divided into two groups:

Dark, serious, intense: Zion, Solomon and Ophelia
Light, fun, magical: Caspian, Lucy and Alice

I can see what you mean about that dark/light dichotomy...I think that's part of my "brightshadow" aesthetic. I've always loved putting opposites together for that extra surprise of contrast and texture, whether I'm naming or designing or cooking For example Solomon on his own seems very solemn and serious, but I feel like when paired with Fable, there's an added dreamy, shimmering, ethereal quality that I'm just head over heels for. I feel the same way about Ophelia Fawn.

Zion is the exception...I've always had him as Zion Anthony or Zion Nathaniel, and it's only been in the last year or two that I've discovered this love of word names as middles, so he's out of place at the moment. However, Zion has always been and will always be THE name for my oldest son. The name sort of chose me and it was a very spiritual experience, so he's set in stone. Maybe I just need to start a middle name thread for him and replace Nathaniel with something lighter

An Alice and even an Ophelia in there would lead me to believe literature was important to the family. That's not a bad thing.

Literature is extremely important in this family I definitely want my children to feel connected to that world, so I love names with a lot of depth and story.

The only downside I really see is if you have a Lucy and a Caspian, any other children wouldn't be as tied together as the first two. Lucy and Caspian adventured together, it doesn't get better than that. While other namesakes may have gone on their own adventures, Lucy and Caspian will always have the battle for Narnia and the Dawn Treader in common.

As I mentioned to Ottilie, our set-in-stone name for our oldest son will be Zion. Also, Alice Willow is our favorite girls' name, so if we do have a Caspian and a Lucy, there will likely already be a Zion and an Alice in the picture. Does that make it feel less Narnia-crazy or is it still pretty unevenly balanced in that direction?

What about Lucia (loo-SEE-ah, not LOO-sha) nn Lucy? Does that even things out at all? I'm more drawn to Lucy, because I love the combo Lucy Morwenna, and Lucia Morwenna doesn't have the same flow. But as this is all very hypothetical at this point, I'm still really open to ideas

[sparrowfinch]

I love Lucia, but only the way you pronounced it. Loosha just really feels like a missed opportunity. Lucy is my favorite girl's name, so I prefer it, but I'm attracted to Lucia as well for sure. But, using Lucia instead of Lucy when you REALLY love Lucy would be sad. I do think that having a few other kids does sort of soften the blow, particularly Zion, but any time I see Caspian I think Narnia, so adding Lucy doesn't really make it any worse. Alice, Lucy, and Caspian would be a little Oxford fantasy club. You just need a Curdie and a Legolas. I'm just kidding. I love all those names too.

[missusaytch]

I am not familiar with Narnia but I think Lucy and Caspian are great together. I am not one who thinks siblings need to coordinate in some fantastical way.

I actually know a sib set that includes a Lu.cy and a Cyp.rian. That's pretty similar. The other two kids are Feli.city and Cecil.ia, just for reference. It's a very Catholic family, in case you couldn't tell. :-)

[ottilie]

I totally agree with the light/dark thing, Sessh, I do it too! I like Zion, and I know the dream you had was very powerful and I understand why you need to use it. We just need to find a perfect little combo! What do you have in mind for Lucy and Caspian? I'll throw some suggestions out here that I think will go nicely with Alice Willow, Solomon Fable & Ophelia Fawn.

From your list, I like Zion Sparrow, Zion Swift, Zion Remiel and Zion Timothy. Also Zion Leveret (baby hare), Zion Zephyr (if you're up for some alliteration)

Lucy Juneberry (sorry, couldn't help myself), Lucy Snowbell, Lucy Vivendel, Lucy Myrrha, Lucy Fiol/Fioled

Caspian Hawthorne, Caspian Snow, Caspian Frost