English singer Myleene Klass gave birth to her second child in February. She named the baby girl Hero.
Someone on Twitter disliked that choice, and told Myleene so: “is there any chance you could change your mind a give her a name she might appreciate in ten years!”
Surprisingly, Myleene engaged this person by sending an equally ungrammatical response: “are you crazy?! Her names amazing!!!!”
As expected, the ensuing conversation was skewed in favor of Hero, as the people following Myleene’s tweets are necessarily fans (who know that Myleene can see their responses).
So I thought we should take the discussion into neutral territory.
First question: Do you think Hero is a good name for a baby girl?
Second (meta-)question: Do you think it’s smart, from a PR-perspective, for celebrities to engage in online discussions/debates about their baby name choices? Is it “any press is good press,” or does it make celebs look foolish?
(Hat tip to Monsters and Critics for this one.)
It’s originally feminine as a name, but given the way the modern English vocabulary word hero is used, it seems over-the-top and presumptuous as a first name.
Celebrities don’t need to talk about names to make themselves look foolish so I don’t think that makes much difference. They could be talking about serious philosophy and still look foolish making grammatical mistakes like that.
The very first thing that comes to mind when I hear Hero on a girl is Much Ado About Nothing — my favorite Shakespeare story, and one of my favorite movies.
This is one of those names that, by sound alone, is unisex to me. Personally, I would spell it Hero for a girl and Hiro for a boy.
I think Hero has a wonderful sound and “feel” BUT I do think it seems over-the-top and difficult to wear because of “super” heroes etc. Wonder how much she’s going to get “superhero” growing up?!?
From a PR-perspective, I do NOT think it’s smart for celebrities to engage in online discussions/debates about their baby name choices!!! It definitely makes them look foolish. Personally, I’m getting a little sick of knowing TOO much about the private lives of celebrities today. It demeans their work (or over shadows it) when their private lives take center stage, which is no fun :(
I love Hero!!!!!!! And of course only on a girl.
I, personally, LOVE the name Hero. Maybe not with the middle names Super or Kal-el, but on it’s own, I find it beautiful. If they’re at all worried about her being called “superhero” when she gets older, they can nip that in the bud by playfully calling her superhero as a kid and giving it a positive connotation- at least, that’s what I would do.
As for PR, I don’t think they should. First of all, the decision about what to name their child is private and they don’t have to give into someone on the internet judging them. Secondly, they’re probably not going to get any converts for the name, and in her tweet response, she seemed a bit cocky.
Sounds like a boy name, like nearly all -o ending names. Plus “hero” is perceived as masculine, while “heroine” would be the more appropriate feminine choice
Put me in the “love” category. To me it’s first and foremost a Shakesperean, so I’d only consider it as a name for a girl, personally. It is however also having a separate origin as a male name — it’s the latin form of Heron, a name borne by a Greek inventor.
As for engaging in bickering – I can see how it would be hard not to respond… but I think for PR purposes remaining silent would be better!
Just yesterday I was discussing the Greek myth of the lovers Hero & Leander (Hero is female). And I also enjoy Much Ado About Nothing (Hero is female). But there’s also A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Hero is male)…
Look, it’s not a name that I would personally use, but I fully support someone else using it. Nothing wrong with the name Hero.
As for the online fights: It would probably be better PR-wise if the celebrity in question used better grammar and punctuation.
Don’t like it as a name at all. To me,the word/name implies “heroic” or “heroism” related to an amazing act. For a newborn to be bestowed with that seems odd and a heck of a thing to have to try to live up to. To each his/her own.
I love it. I think Shakespeare and romantic myths when I hear the name Hero. I think it’s an empowering name, with very little negative connotations! Yeah, it’s an unusual choice today, but I think it works.
I’m in the ‘eh’ crew. I think it’s a perfectly legitimate name for a girl, given its Shakespearean roots, but I’m not a huge fan. I think most people are not as familiar with Shakespeare’s characters as they are superheroes and such, and that’s the flavor it has nowadays.
I’ve got twin girls and I named one of them Hero. She has Greek roots that I wanted to honor and as a theatre-maker I wanted a nod to the classics. So far, people assume that she is a boy as most people have never heard of Much Ado About Nothing but people always assume I’m a boy too and I am not scarred by it. Love it or hate it, the name is a conversation starter, for sure.
Just learned that actress Cree Summer had her second daughter, Hero Peregrine, back on January 26 of this year.
(Her first daughter is Brave Littlewing.)
Source: Black Celebrity Kids
I’m 48 and I am female and my birth name is Hero. I used to be the only Hero I ever heard about but not anymore. Minuses: dumb references – hero sandwich, Japanese name Hero, people start singing David Bowie or “send me a hero.” Worst con – getting called Hero Zero in grade school. Pluses: it’s a cool name. It’s a conversation starter. You get noticed esp with school applications and job interviews. People reference it’s origin – Greek fable of Hero and Leander (and further down in time, Shakespeare and Lord Byron the Poet. The unisex element of it has worked for and against me. Once I got assigned a boys’ dorm. That was interesting.
One of my favourite names for a girl, because of its classic roots. I love the story of Hero and Leander etc. I would be curious to know more of what people with the name, think of it. Do they like it?
@Bonnie – At least one person named Hero left a comment about the experience of having the name over at Behind the Name (which is an excellent site). And I’m sure other people named Hero have talked about their name at other forums as well.