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What is the meaning of this?

Some members of my family will regularly read the Herald Sun birth notices looking for amusing names. Often they raise a smile.

Here’s one they noticed the other day.

Daemon birth notice

Now, I’ve met people called Damon before. Damon is evidently an Irish name meaning Tame.

But Daemon?

I know the people who read and comment here are a knowledgeable lot. With a minimum of culling, most (though not all) of the comments left here are overwhelmingly intelligent, well thought-out and constructive, even when people disagree. I learn a lot.

So, please tell me, am I missing something? Does the name Daemon have a particular meaning in some language or culture that I’m not aware of, and can’t find searching the Net?

Or is it correct that it pretty much the only meaning it has is that it’s Latin for demon?

Doctor Who fans may remember The Daemons, a terrific story from 1971 involving the third Doctor, The Master, UNIT, a strange village, a white witch and a large horned creature.

Why would you name your kid that? Unless you’re trying to set up some kind of Omen outcome, of course.

Please, tell me it means something else.

By Daniel Bowen

Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.

15 replies on “What is the meaning of this?”

The letter æ is generally pronounced as a short ‘a’ sound so I suspect they were just trying for some trendy variation on Damon.

Daemon “Tyler”.
That’s akin to “The Bringer of Destruction: Kevin”.

Strikes fear and respect in the hearts of hearers.

Sure it means something else. I think they are trying to set the kid up to not be a leader but a quiet acheiver – someone who works in the background, supporting without really being noticed. That’s why he’s a male daemon.

There is an entry for Daemon at babynamebox.com:
Daemon
Meaning: Guardian spirit.
Gender: M
Origin: Greek

Also Wikipedia has the following to say:
The words daemon, dæmon, are Latinized spellings of the Greek δαίμων (daimôn),[1] used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion, good or malevolent “supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes” (see Plato’s Symposium), from the Judeo-Christian usage demon, a malignant spirit that can seduce, afflict, or possess humans.

Another possibility is that the operator who took the announcement details over the phone has made a spelling mistake.

I think some people also like cutesey and “unique” names and spellings for their new baby and they forget that the person will carry the name and spelling with them into adulthood.

Why do people insist on ruining perfectly good names by changing the spelling. Like my own cousin who called her daughter Me’Shell? Why would you do that? The poor kid will be forever spelling it to people.

Under Linux-ish OSs “Service” or “Background” applications are Daemons.

Now you just need to find out if their Blake’s middle name is “Seven” (see below) — if so, then you’ve found yourself a pair of geniune super-nerdy and oh-so-cruel parents.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake%27s_7

I know a couple who named their kid Daemon – but the dad was a super computer geek, and named it after unix daemons (services to those poor sods in the Windows world)

If you send an email to an address that doesn’t exist, you get “mailer-daemon@isp” in the address bar.

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