Naming the Antichrist

Augustine wins.

I still don't know that I'm fully sold on it.

I'm not sure about it, either. It's a bit too grand. Even "August" is an uncommon name.

Have you considered something obscenely simple, like John? Done right, with the right last name and right in-story development, simple names can carry even more weight than the ones used by Roman Emperors.

(I think I actually prefer simple August over Augustine.) Also, I'm leaning towards Catherine for the visionary, so the ending "in" sounds of Catherine and Augustine would annoy me.

I have considered simple names like John, Peter, etc., but in a story peppered with common names (Michael, Mary, Simon (Magus), Gabriel--theological characters like these will be present), I'm worried about going in that direction.

Thank you for all the help, by the way. I know that I'm picky, but I really appreciate all of this.

I've always loved the name Elijah, though not sure it will work for your character. But paired with a great last name it may work. Even just Eli has a nice ring to it.

Make him a man with no name. That's pretty brutal.

Troy, a city that history best remembers for the Trojan horse, how what seemed like a wonderful gift hid horrible bloodshed.

In the hyper-religious society with heavily Catholic overtones... why would "fate" even be an issue? I mean. Dealing with sort of stuff is a mortal sin for Catholicism. This is not to say that prophesizing is not a real thing (it can be), but a legitimate prophecy of this nature demands an inquisition, such as the one St. Therese of Lisieux got for her mystical writings... which would probably reveal that the prophecy was invalid in the first place. Such a prophecy would probably be considered more demonic than the boy himself.

Plus, if the Church ever said definitely of someone, "Antichrist!" that would probably be something, seeing as no pope has ever declared anybody to be the antichrist. It's mostly the Protestants crying Antichrist to anyone they don't like (especially popes). We haven't called anyone the Antichrist before. Antipope? Sure. Antichrist? Nope...

So, when we do say that someone is the Antichrist, it probably won't be for a flippant reason, nor will it be someone who is trying to get his soul saved.

*mutters*

Anyway, I am not a fan of Augustine in this case. Mostly because when I think of St. Augustine and what kind of person he is, it doesn't really line up. Augustine was a thinker and debater and his struggles were largely internal. You want someone with a little more action involved.

I like Andrew. St. Andrew, from the very beginning, was looking for the messiah. It is utterly religious and normal at the same time. I like it. It would fit your character who is looking for Christ.

Another person I would probably go for is Stephen, but mostly because St. Stephen is awesome and he pretty much begins Saul's reformation to St. Paul.

Have you considered Saul, by the way?

I also like Ignatius. Sword-wielding hopelessly romantic soldier turned into the founder of the Jesuits! HOOAH!

Snoink wrote:In the hyper-religious society with heavily Catholic overtones... why would "fate" even be an issue? I mean. Dealing with sort of stuff is a mortal sin for Catholicism. This is not to say that prophesizing is not a real thing (it can be), but a legitimate prophecy of this nature demands an inquisition, such as the one St. Therese of Lisieux got for her mystical writings... which would probably reveal that the prophecy was invalid in the first place. Such a prophecy would probably be considered more demonic than the boy himself.

Plus, if the Church ever said definitely of someone, "Antichrist!" that would probably be something, seeing as no pope has ever declared anybody to be the antichrist. It's mostly the Protestants crying Antichrist to anyone they don't like (especially popes). We haven't called anyone the Antichrist before. Antipope? Sure. Antichrist? Nope...

So, when we do say that someone is the Antichrist, it probably won't be for a flippant reason, nor will it be someone who is trying to get his soul saved.

*mutters*

("Fated" was a poor word-choice.) My brief premise of my novel didn't provide explanation for any of this. Just trust that I'm taking all of this into consideration.

As for the recent name suggestions:

Elijah - too Old-Testamenty for what I'm looking for; Elias is more up my alley, but that's grossly overused in contemporary literature because it's "edgy" or whatever.

Troy - it isn't really from the tradition I'm wanting and reminds me of High School Musical.

Andrew and Stephen - I have a bad relationship with these names, unfortunately.

Ignatius - I just remembered this one today and love its strength and oddness; it has a few potential nicknames and I can imagine the character having a difficult time growing into it around his peers. But is it a little too... *oomphy*?

But is it a little too... *oomphy*?

Not if you call the antichrist @Iggy.

I like the 'Troy' suggestion.

Would it be an idea to just go with a completely common name though? Without any significant meaning.

I might have gone ahead and used 'Jeff'. Or perhaps 'Steve'.

I don't care at all about what the name means; I do care about where it comes from, though. Parents in a religious society are likely going to name their son something religious.

Biblical names.

You'll probably end up with a lot of Old Testament type names in there, buuuut there's a nice big list.