Poll: Name My OC!

[ermingarden]

Well, help me pick her surname, anyway.

The OC in question is my SWTOR trooper, Ruta:

Ruta

Pronouns

she/her

Species

Nautolan

Occupation

Major, Republic Special Forces

Bio

Raised in a large, close-knit Nautolan family on Deralia, Ruta enlisted in the Republic Army as soon as she came of age. After two years in the infantry, Ruta's courage and skill drew the attention of her superiors when she played a pivotal role in defending a vital supply convoy from Mandalorian raiders; her actions earned her both a medal and a place in Special Forces training, where she swiftly excelled.

Ruta is fiercely loyal to the ideals of the Republic. Work in SpecForce is often grim, but there are some lines she will never cross: Victory over the Empire would be meaningless if the Republic became just as despotic in the process.

Trivia

Like all Nautolans, Ruta is as comfortable underwater as on land, and her favorite off-duty pastime is swimming. She is also an enthusiastic dejarik player.

copied from my oc reference post here. template adapted from code by isopods.

The names I've been considering are Ruta Filumen and Ruta Abnik. Each is a little bit punny:

Filumen gestures at three different etymologies, two Latin and one Greek:
– Latin flumen, meaning "river" (since, you know, she's a Nautolan);
– Greek φιλομένα (philomena), meaning "beloved";
– and Latin filia luminis, meaning "daughter of light."

(As a side note, the philomena/filia luminis pun also shows up in the strange history of St. Philomena, who...well, it's not that she wasn't a real person. We can be pretty confident that (a) there was an early Christian named Philomena, who may have been martyred, and (b) the bones identified as St. Philomena's bones belonged to an early Christian, who also may have been martyred, so at least one real person is involved. Whether the bones in fact belonged to a person named Philomena, and whether Philomena, and/or the owner of the bones, was in fact martyred, is the subject of heated debate. Also, a Neapolitan nun in 1833 claimed Philomena came to her in a vision and told her details about her life, which is where the iffy "filia luminis" etymology for "Filumena" comes in; make of that what you will.)

Abnik is more straightforward: It's a pun on the Latvian abinieks, which means "amphibian." (Again...Nautolan.)

Anyway, I can't decide, so I figured I'd outsource it to you all!

Poll #27908 Name My OC!

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

View Respondents

What should Ruta's surname be?

View Answers

Filumen
4 (50.0%)

Abnik
3 (37.5%)

Both of those are bad, not gonna lie.
0 (0.0%)

I have an even BETTER idea and will tell you in the comments!
0 (0.0%)

Oooh, ticky box!
1 (12.5%)

And I'd love to hear why in the comments!

ETA: independence1776 has pointed out that the poll is a lie and these are not ticky boxes! My apologies to the ticky box lovers among you. The last option should be interpreted as "No opinion, but I love answering polls."

Comments

[independence1776]

I wanted to do a ticky box but you don't have ticky boxes. :(

[ermingarden]

Oh, you're right! I meant that as "no opinion, but want to click a box," but neglected to think that people who had an opinion would still like an extra ticky box.

(And thank you for your opinion!)

[ysilme]

POV different first language: Ruta Abnik has a much better ring to it for my ears, and feels more sympathetic although I have no idea why. *g*

[ermingarden]

That's good to consider – thank you!

[hhimring]

I think the whole thing about Filumen is really cool, but to my ear Abnik goes better with Ruta.

[extrapenguin]

I chose Abnik, because when I think Nautolans, I think Kit Fisto, and Ruta Abnik has a more similar rhythm to Kit Fisto than Ruta Filumen does. Also Abnik sounds better imo.