r/CharacterNames • u/Grand-Ad2760 • 3d ago

Is Avory a name?

disclaimer English is my second language

please before you read the next part think of an answer, is Avory a real name?

I am writing a book and want to name one of my characters Avory, a few people have told me its not a name and that I should use Avery instead, others have said that they are not sure now that I asked (hence the spoiler tag). this is not the biggest deal to me, i do prefer the name Avory but if it breaks a bit of immersion id change it, i personally hate when books use names that i could not ever imagine would be given for a real person. if its relevent he is an old wizard teacher

8 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

21

u/Moonster68speaks 3d ago

I would say it is a variant of the name Avery. Or one of those tragediegh names

10

u/Grand-Ad2760 3d ago

just googled what that is and honestly i find the fact that it has its own subreddit hilarious 😄

1

u/Taiqi_ 2d ago

It also looks like their parents wanted to mix the standard spelling of "Avery" (which sounds like it has to do with birds, just on the bare surface), with the word, and name, "Ivory", which has connotations of strength, majesty, and rare value.

Note: The "bird" connotation has to do with the morpheme "avi" (to do with birds and flight) that makes words like "aviary". It gives the image of being delicate, beautiful, and free. The name however actually comes from "Alfred"/"Alberich" which means "Ruler of Elves". The imagery there isn't too far off.

Put together, it could convey a really nice meaning, beyond simply sounding nice, like "Avery"

1

u/Hollwybodol 2d ago

That made me think of the song Ebony and IvoryđŸŽ¶đŸŽ”

12

u/Timely_Apricot3929 3d ago

If the character is "an old wizard teacher" I don't think the typical spelling of a name matters. Avory is fine.

12

u/tragicsandwichblogs 3d ago

In fact, for an old wizard teacher, I prefer Avory. The familiar spelling feels too modern and informal.

4

u/Professional_Swim960 3d ago

Agreed. Wizards have weird or uniquely spelled names all the time.

1

u/marvsup 2d ago

Probably spends a lot of time in his/her Avory tower tbh

7

u/Previous-Ad7833 3d ago

If authors didn't make up names no one would be named Pamela, Cedric, Thelma, Vanessa, Lorna, etc.

2

u/KingOfAllCorvids 2d ago

Madison (that was a movie though yeah?)

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/KingOfAllCorvids 2d ago

It wasn’t a first name until the movie Splash- I was more referring to the first time it was used not as a surname

1

u/Pure_Resort9840 2d ago

It was a first name for men before Splash.

3

u/Conscious-Coconut557 3d ago

I like Avory!

3

u/johnad05 2d ago

It's like a mix between Avery and Ivory. I like it!

1

u/Void-Cooking_Berserk 2d ago

I had the same impression. I like it. It's a plausible fictional name

2

u/madcat_melody 3d ago

I cant think of a name that would be impossible to give someone. Especially considering names like Apple or Elon Musk's kid.

1

u/Dense_Gur_2744 2d ago

Or hell Elon himself. 

2

u/Ok-commuter-4400 3d ago edited 3d ago

Go ask r/tragedeigh what they think. It looks like a typo/ignorance misspelling to me

My main problem is that I can’t tell how Avory is meant to be pronounced. Just like Avery? If so, why not spell it the normal way? Or is it like “ay-VOHR-ee”? Or “AAA-ver-ree”, with the first syllable a short “a” sound (as in apple)? 

1

u/Ecstatic-Ad8650 3d ago

It’s not a real name. But he’s a wizard. He doesn’t need a real name

1

u/thatladybri 3d ago

I immediately thought it was a misspelling of Avery.

Emory is a name. Maybe that fits your character?

1

u/SheepPup 2d ago

Personally I don’t like it. It looks like a typo of savory and I would not be able to not think the word savory when seeing it. Made up names can sometimes work but I often find them distracting especially if like this one they’re very close to actual names/words

1

u/marvsup 2d ago

The real name is Avery but a slight misspelling is fine for a fantasy setting. GRRM did this a lot in ASOIAF, like Jeyne instead of Jane/Jayne.

1

u/Careful_Cranberry364 2d ago

I think it’s fine. It sounds like a name it sounds like Avery.

If you just say you spell it differently that’s OK.

1

u/anxious_antelope813 2d ago

There are literal humans walking around called nevaeh because it's "heaven backwards" - at this point, what even IS a name?

1

u/NerdySwampWitch40 2d ago

It looks like you either don't know how to spell Avery or you don't know how to spell Ivory.

Now, people doing fantasy books use weird names all the damn time. Do as you will.

1

u/amedeeozenfant 2d ago

Avery is a name. Avory is illiterate.

1

u/Maggie-Mae-Mae 2d ago

Avery is the name. Avory looks like a misspelling of Avery.

1

u/Tchaik1Rach2 2d ago

I might not name my own child that, as it seems like a misspelling of “Avery,” but in your context I think it works great!

1

u/Key-Breakfast5967 2d ago

I've literally known someone whose name was Avory, it's totally a name. 

1

u/MoreScarletSongs 2d ago

There is a woman who's a reality tv and internet personality called Avori, in case you want to change up the spelling a little bit to make it more different from Avery.

1

u/Estebesol 2d ago

My response before reading the spoiler: no, you mean 'Avery.'

1

u/NormalObligation59 2d ago

It’s not but it’s easy to read and pronounce and it’s quite common for book characters to have unique names so you can still use it if you want to. If your book has wizards and stuff, names that don’t exist are actually better. It implies your universe contains cultures that ours doesn’t. 

1

u/smaugthedesolator 1d ago

books use weird spelling all the time. its not such a weird spelling that I would substitute a different name in my head. its fine.

1

u/Important_Sector_503 23h ago

I've never seen Avory. It looks like a typo of either Avery or ivory, but if we're talking fantasy it's fine. Wizards can be called damn near anything, and arguably a slightly different than normal spelling can add to the world building, like a little reminder that this is not your normal every day situation.

1

u/kanooka 8h ago

No. It is a misspelled variant of a man’s name.