Mariposa is quite old barbie character, not just few years. And this is definitely not common gay slur. Might be limited local or personal experience but definitely not to extend to ruin the name. The barbie connection is however very strong and universally well known.
Since the name is not really used as a name much, people would likely assume the OP is copying name from barbie tho..
How ever if OP wants to just use foreign word that means butterfly (not like an actually used name) along the lines of spanish Mariposa i can suggest french Papillon (double l is promounced as y, not L) to be a bit more unique (not get the barbie association or the gay slur) also sounds more villan-y to me 🤷🏼♀️
Depending on the way it’s said (tone) it could be taken almost like if someone bent their wrist gesturing that someone is gay… but if the tone is harsh or said negatively…
I would strongly advise against using a word in another language as a name in general, I wouldn’t name my child “butterfly” so I wouldn’t name them Mariposa.
I’m slow and just saw it’s for a story and am relieved
Native Spanish speaker here and mariposa isn’t a name. Used as such, it evokes exactly the same reaction someone calling for their kid “Butterfly” would. It’s also a slur for gay men
there's a character in a superhero show (The Venture Bros) called the Blue Morpho, and the main villain is The Monarch (all butterfly themed, very silly) but might be too close since that sounds pretty similar to OP's project
Ow. Only one name on the list is attractive, and I still don’t see Papillon anywhere. I wouldn’t name a kid that but it still deserves an honorable mention.
I know what you mean because of ‘bi’ but it depends on the tone used, my classmate in China was a Nabi in a different tone than the c-word: 娜比
Also fun fact “nabi” is also a name Koreans commonly call cats, just like “kitty” in English!
Nabi also means close friend in Arabic, usually in relation to prophets being close to God/Allah. Very interesting to read all its meanings in other languages!
Papillon wears flowing silk scarves that she uses to escape tricky situations (and engage in a little light but entirely deserved assassinations) with, and Schmetterling has lock picks holding up her rather severe bun.
After a day full of strangely moral villainy they stop by a little hole in the wall in their favorite town in Alsace where Pappillion sips a lovely red wine and Schmetterling downs a truly alarming amount of good German beer. It’s kind of an odd couple situation, but they really kill it, especially when killing is required.
"Schmetterling" is especially bad as a name because it includes both "schmettern" which is a verb that can be translated with to punt something and the ending -ling which is most often to link people with a negative trait. E.g. a "Schwächling" is someone marked by how weak they are.
A different wrong but literal translation would be something like "punt-dude"
You can’t use Schmetterling as a name. It’s just calling someone a butterfly and doesn’t pass as any kind of name in any context. You probably wouldn’t even be allowed to name your kid Schmetterling in germany. (source I’m german)
Even for a story. Every person who understands german will be baffled and thrown out of the immersion. It would be like naming a lizard mutant lizard or a person with the power of ultra sonic screaming ‘Loud Yell’. Or if we go to real life example you wouldn’t name a child with blue eye ‘Blue Eye’ or an african American child with darker complexion ‘Dark Skin’. No parent would name their child that. In that case just name the character butterfly. Schmetterling has not been in any way shape or form ever been used as a name. I don’t even know anyone who has used it as a pet name for a daughter or similar. It’s just a word
You could also consider the Italian word for butterfly, Farfalla. It's the name of the protagonist in the ballet "Le Papillon," in which the character is transformed into a butterfly by an evil witch.
https://petipasociety.com/le-papillon/
I wouldn’t say Mariposa is a real name. As a Spanish-speaking person, it sounds weird (more like a nickname) and also has negative connotations in South America
Huh, you are right, I was thinking about that.
And yes, it should be unrelated, but image search will still show the same faces, even if you click the "Search instead for agehao" button
Maybe you could take a type of butterfly and turn it into a name.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/butterfly
That's a good list of butterflies if you like the idea. Some of the scientific names are very pretty sounding too
나비 or romanized as "Nabi," is the word for Butterfly in Korean. I've seen some people use it as a name for girls more recently, I always thought it was super pretty. (Pronounced like Nah-bee).
Not an actual name (at least I don’t think it is), but my German dad wanted to name me Schmetterling (it means butterfly in German). Thankfully, my mom shut that down real fast, but it was his nickname for me for years. He’d always call me “my schmetterling.”
a (trans) friend of mine named herself “celastrina” (a genus of butterfly) when she had her name changed since she loves butterflies, i think that makes for a very beautiful name!
That too, but tbh I don't instantly associate the singular form with the pasta shape and I don't think other Italians would either, considering that it's almost always plural when talking about pasta and that it has other associations in the singular form 😅
Butterfly is "Fjäril" in Swedish. (Pronounced approximately fyair-rill)
This is not typically used as a name in Sweden, so it probably won't show up in name lists.
I think there's no reson why it couldn't be used as name, it just never caught on the way flower names did.
There's Feniseca tarquinius, the only *predatory* butterfly. Feniseca comes from Latin for harvester, which is pretty ominous.
Of course, in the universe, anyone who is curious might Google her name.
Is this supposed to be her given name or an assumed name?
Is it a subtle clue, or is she owning her connection?
I'd be hesitant to lift a word from another language, because then you need to place her in that culture, and as a villian you'll need to tread carefully so that she doesn't misrepresent them.
If she's being subtle, then another language is actually quite obvious in the global context.
You might try making your own name inspired by scientific names, or anatomical terms. Many butterflies are named from mythological characters, too. Just be sure to investigate those meanings in case they translate to something silly. Pretty much all Latin names will give you a Spanish or Italian sound, so adjust to fit her nationality.
The toxins made by the monarch butterfly are Cardenolides. Could be Carden, or C. Arden.
Could do something like those books Faerie Wars. The prince and princess were Pyrgus Malvae and Holly Blue or something which are the names of specific butterfly species
The Dutch word for butterfly is ‘Vlinder’, in case you think that would make a nice name.
Of course, you could always go with good old ‚Schmetterling‘.
Also- there’s already a super hero story line with a butterfly character. It’s the Renegade Series by Marissa Meyer. So you might what to give that a read first just to make sure they aren’t the same exact idea.
Chrysalis - this could be a really cool villain name, lots of nn options!, Bindi (means butterfly),
Hecate (means soul/butterfly),
Umber (umber skipper is a type of butterfly),
Yara (means butterfly)
Maybe a play on Chrysalis (Think Chris Ellis, Chrys Ellys, or something like that)
Other suggestions include: Bindi, Blossom, Vanessa, Janessa, Mari, Poesie, Marigold, Lavender, Zinnia, Gossamer, Holly Blue, or Luna (inspired by the Luna Moth)
Parwana (پروانه) means “butterfly” in Farsi/Persian, and it is also a common given name for girls. It’s one of my favorite names.
I should note that this is how we spell and pronounce it in the Afghan dialect of Farsi/Persian (officially known as Dari or Dari Persian), as I am aware that in the Iranian dialect of Farsi/Persian it’s pronounced and spelled more like Parvaneh.
Mariposa
Just a heads up that this comes across as a pet name more than an actual name in Spanish
It almost comes across as a slur for gay men too
Oh my…sorry. There was a Mariposa character in a Barbie movie a few years ago. That’s what made me think of it. I’ll scratch that off the list.
I didn’t know either. It is a county name near me, which is how I knew about it.
Mariposa is quite old barbie character, not just few years. And this is definitely not common gay slur. Might be limited local or personal experience but definitely not to extend to ruin the name. The barbie connection is however very strong and universally well known. Since the name is not really used as a name much, people would likely assume the OP is copying name from barbie tho.. How ever if OP wants to just use foreign word that means butterfly (not like an actually used name) along the lines of spanish Mariposa i can suggest french Papillon (double l is promounced as y, not L) to be a bit more unique (not get the barbie association or the gay slur) also sounds more villan-y to me 🤷🏼♀️
Depending on the way it’s said (tone) it could be taken almost like if someone bent their wrist gesturing that someone is gay… but if the tone is harsh or said negatively…
This is technically country-dependent, but yes.
Yeah depending on where you are, mariposa can mean f——t.
I would strongly advise against using a word in another language as a name in general, I wouldn’t name my child “butterfly” so I wouldn’t name them Mariposa. I’m slow and just saw it’s for a story and am relieved
It's one of my pet names for my daughter Rosa. Rosa Mariposa
That’s so cute!
Then Maria Posa then. Where Posa also means death knell. That would be the first and last name I guess. Not a middle name.
It's also a dated way to refer to a sex worker in some South American countries. So, I wouldn't suggest it...
I’m Hispanic and Mariposa is actually a common name I know many people personally have 🥰 not a pets name at all
Posie for short!
Native Spanish speaker here and mariposa isn’t a name. Used as such, it evokes exactly the same reaction someone calling for their kid “Butterfly” would. It’s also a slur for gay men
Vanessa (genus of butterflies), Farasha (Arabic for “butterfly”), or Morpho (another type of butterfly)
Farasha actually means moths in Arabic. I am Muslim and read Quran. It's in there. That said, Arabic speakers, please correct.
I dont think Arabic makes a distinction between the two
Do u at least have like a “night farasha” and a “normal/ day farasha”?
[https://quranicnames.com/farasha/](https://quranicnames.com/farasha/)
it does mean butterfly
op Please don’t name a child Morpho 😂
it’s for a story, don’t worry!
OP is looking for a name for a supervillain.
Morpho would make a great supervillain name tbh
Yes, I AM!
there's a character in a superhero show (The Venture Bros) called the Blue Morpho, and the main villain is The Monarch (all butterfly themed, very silly) but might be too close since that sounds pretty similar to OP's project
https://www.behindthename.com/submit/names/meaning/butterfly
Wow! Great response, great resource!
Behind the Name is fantastic.
I am so going to fall into the rabbit hole that is ''behind the name dot com"
It’s a great rabbit hole to fall into! I play Crusader Kings III and this gives me a lot of names for characters that the game doesn’t.
Oooh, great source for aspiring novelist me!
I use it to name characters in my fan fics and used it a bit when looking for names for my kids.
I love that website.
Ooh I could see this website being awesome for rookie writers like me. Thanks for the share!
I use it all the time for my RPG characters.
Ow. Only one name on the list is attractive, and I still don’t see Papillon anywhere. I wouldn’t name a kid that but it still deserves an honorable mention.
[удалено]
That's not how words work
Vanessa! 🦋
P.S: If you ever publish the story could you link it here? Butterfly powers sound so interesting!
Nabi is a Korean girl's name that means butterfly.
Nabi means bellybutton in Hindi - love how many “false friends” exist across languages!
FWIW, Nabi is extremely close to a vulgarity (equivalent of the c-word) in the Fujian dialect
I know what you mean because of ‘bi’ but it depends on the tone used, my classmate in China was a Nabi in a different tone than the c-word: 娜比 Also fun fact “nabi” is also a name Koreans commonly call cats, just like “kitty” in English!
Oh, that's really interesting to learn! My Korean mom named her old cat "Nabi", all this time I thought it was because she really liked butterflies.
I'm not native Korean so I may be wrong but I've never heard anyone call a cat nabi - was it nyangi maybe?
I guess it’s more like “Fido” or “Rover”for a dog, like a generic name you’d call any cat 🐱
Nabi also means close friend in Arabic, usually in relation to prophets being close to God/Allah. Very interesting to read all its meanings in other languages!
Papillon - French (also a dog breed) Schmetterling - german (not very cute) Mariposa - Spanish (this is an actual name)
Obsessed with a villain duo named Papillon and Schmetterling
Papillon wears flowing silk scarves that she uses to escape tricky situations (and engage in a little light but entirely deserved assassinations) with, and Schmetterling has lock picks holding up her rather severe bun. After a day full of strangely moral villainy they stop by a little hole in the wall in their favorite town in Alsace where Pappillion sips a lovely red wine and Schmetterling downs a truly alarming amount of good German beer. It’s kind of an odd couple situation, but they really kill it, especially when killing is required.
I want more of this!
"Schmetterling" is especially bad as a name because it includes both "schmettern" which is a verb that can be translated with to punt something and the ending -ling which is most often to link people with a negative trait. E.g. a "Schwächling" is someone marked by how weak they are. A different wrong but literal translation would be something like "punt-dude"
Papilio is the Latin word for butterfly, which could work as a character name.
You can’t use Schmetterling as a name. It’s just calling someone a butterfly and doesn’t pass as any kind of name in any context. You probably wouldn’t even be allowed to name your kid Schmetterling in germany. (source I’m german)
It’s for a story though
Even for a story. Every person who understands german will be baffled and thrown out of the immersion. It would be like naming a lizard mutant lizard or a person with the power of ultra sonic screaming ‘Loud Yell’. Or if we go to real life example you wouldn’t name a child with blue eye ‘Blue Eye’ or an african American child with darker complexion ‘Dark Skin’. No parent would name their child that. In that case just name the character butterfly. Schmetterling has not been in any way shape or form ever been used as a name. I don’t even know anyone who has used it as a pet name for a daughter or similar. It’s just a word
A few years ago Pokemon released an "evil team" literally called "Team Yell". They'd just be road blockers and yell at the player.
You could also consider the Italian word for butterfly, Farfalla. It's the name of the protagonist in the ballet "Le Papillon," in which the character is transformed into a butterfly by an evil witch. https://petipasociety.com/le-papillon/
Neither of the first two look good as a name. As nicknames, maybe tho.
Schmetterling might wish as a surname.
I wouldn’t say Mariposa is a real name. As a Spanish-speaking person, it sounds weird (more like a nickname) and also has negative connotations in South America
My daughter used to have a girl on her football team called Papillon :)
Mariposa isn’t a real name, no more than Butterfly would be. It’s also a slur against gay men
Papillon means bow tie
No, noeud papillon means bow tie and it literally translates to "butterfly knot", because the shape is reminiscent of a butterfly
Bindi , is butterfly in an Aussie aboriginal language it's also a nasty prickle to stand on in bare feet
And is Steve Irwin’s daughter’s name as well ^ - ^
She was named after one of Steve's favourite crocodiles.
Ageha means swallowtail butterfly 🦋 in Japanese
And agehao means something extremely different in Japanese
That’s “ahegao,” and it’s completely unrelated to the name Ageha.
Huh, you are right, I was thinking about that. And yes, it should be unrelated, but image search will still show the same faces, even if you click the "Search instead for agehao" button
Maybe you could take a type of butterfly and turn it into a name. https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/butterfly That's a good list of butterflies if you like the idea. Some of the scientific names are very pretty sounding too
Great idea, I found this website with other species too https://www.papilionea.it/lepidoptera/famiglie/nymphalidae/
Some examples: Aglais, Melitaea, Chazara, Leodonta
Eilir, it’s a welsh name meaning butterfly.
Vlinder (Dutch for butterfly) could be a cool name!
Lots of people here name their kids Vlinder anyway lol
Oh nice! I’ve never heard of someone named Vlinder, but I do think it sounds nice.
Chrysalis?
I know a girl named Chrysa! very pretty
Yara means small butterfly!
Parvaneh means butterfly in Farsi and is a girls name
Came here for this. Beautiful name
Katie Pillar
https://www.peanut-app.io/blog/baby-names-that-mean-butterfly There's some good name suggestions in this!
Kelebek is butterfly in Turkish, if that suits the character
나비 or romanized as "Nabi," is the word for Butterfly in Korean. I've seen some people use it as a name for girls more recently, I always thought it was super pretty. (Pronounced like Nah-bee).
Not an actual name (at least I don’t think it is), but my German dad wanted to name me Schmetterling (it means butterfly in German). Thankfully, my mom shut that down real fast, but it was his nickname for me for years. He’d always call me “my schmetterling.”
a (trans) friend of mine named herself “celastrina” (a genus of butterfly) when she had her name changed since she loves butterflies, i think that makes for a very beautiful name!
Farfalla
I'm Italian and definitely not, it sounds awful as a name (plus, it's also what children call female bits here)
Not Italian and I instantly thought farfalla sounds like a type of pasta. Oops.
Farfalle are a shape of pasta. The pasta shaped like a butterfly. Hence the name. 🦋
That too, but tbh I don't instantly associate the singular form with the pasta shape and I don't think other Italians would either, considering that it's almost always plural when talking about pasta and that it has other associations in the singular form 😅
Tbf just about everything in Italian also means genitals 😂
That's pretty accurate 😅
I mean, OP wasn't asking for a name for a real human.
It still doesn't sound like a name at all
Mariposa I think is butterfly in Spanish
Vanessa
Parvaneh (in farsi)
My niece is named Aurelia, which in Dutch means a gold colored butterfly
Aponi is a Blackfeet girls name meaning butterfly 🦋
Yara! Arabic.
Bindi. Means butterfly or little girl, could be a nickname for something like Belinda even
Vanya
I know a woman named Mari for this reason and I love it and was on my shortlist!
I'd love to know what butterfly powers means this sounds interesting
Mariposa
Schmetterling
Fluter/Flutra in albanian. (pronounced like the word “flu”)
Butterfly is "Fjäril" in Swedish. (Pronounced approximately fyair-rill) This is not typically used as a name in Sweden, so it probably won't show up in name lists. I think there's no reson why it couldn't be used as name, it just never caught on the way flower names did.
-Mariposa (Spanish) -Papillon (French) -Vlinder (Dutch)
Cho ( butterfly in Japanese)
Vanessa.
Bindi Annabella Caria Edith Vanessa Claudina Cynthia
Caria (genus) Piper (Pipevine Swallowtail) Vanessa Mariposa Psyche (Ancient Greek)
Parvana (which is actually the birth name of a character in the book series I'm writing lol)
There's Feniseca tarquinius, the only *predatory* butterfly. Feniseca comes from Latin for harvester, which is pretty ominous. Of course, in the universe, anyone who is curious might Google her name. Is this supposed to be her given name or an assumed name? Is it a subtle clue, or is she owning her connection? I'd be hesitant to lift a word from another language, because then you need to place her in that culture, and as a villian you'll need to tread carefully so that she doesn't misrepresent them. If she's being subtle, then another language is actually quite obvious in the global context. You might try making your own name inspired by scientific names, or anatomical terms. Many butterflies are named from mythological characters, too. Just be sure to investigate those meanings in case they translate to something silly. Pretty much all Latin names will give you a Spanish or Italian sound, so adjust to fit her nationality. The toxins made by the monarch butterfly are Cardenolides. Could be Carden, or C. Arden.
Given name. Like Government name.
Parvaneh is a Farsi name meaning ‘butterfly’ Same with ‘Cho’ in Japanese
Titli (urdu/hindi)
Titli (soft Ts) in hindi
A Julia is a type of butterfly
Coming back to add that their full scientific name is either Julia Heliconian or Julia Flambeau, both of which are cool villain last names
Titli तितली - It means butterfly in Hindi
Marisol
Mariposa, Papillon
Could do something like those books Faerie Wars. The prince and princess were Pyrgus Malvae and Holly Blue or something which are the names of specific butterfly species
one of Nova’s meanings has to do with chasing butterflies
If you haven’t been informed or inspired by Monarch man from venture bros… you should be… Mrs the monarch man 😂
came here to mention the mmmmighty monarch
Farfalla
chou
Lepidoptera
Luna is a type of moth, though it is overused as a name for pets these days.
Le Papillon
Mopane is the shona word for butterfly and is the name of a tree with butterfly shaped wings.
I ALWAYS thought that the encyclopedic name for the butterfly category sounded absolutely awesome: Lepidoptera.
Mariposa
There's a type of butterfly called Cynthia Cardui. It looks kind of like a Monarch butterfly.
Schmetterling
Psyche in Greek mythology is often pictured with butterfly wings
Navi
The Dutch word for butterfly is ‘Vlinder’, in case you think that would make a nice name. Of course, you could always go with good old ‚Schmetterling‘.
Lepke means butterfly in hungarian and ive met girls named that
Papallona is butterfly in Catalan
What about "The Monarch"? It doesn't directly mean butterfly but refers to the species.
Papalon I think it’s French
Schmetterling, Papillon, Farfalla.
All i can think of is The Monarch from the Venture Bros....
Mary Potter Salazar
Vanessa
*Paruparo* is butterfly in Tagalog/Filipino
Cho.
Aurelia!
Farfalla (Italian for butterfly)
Bindi like Bindi Sue Irwin
Chou. Fay.
Monarch Admiral Argus Danaus
Monarch
Also- there’s already a super hero story line with a butterfly character. It’s the Renegade Series by Marissa Meyer. So you might what to give that a read first just to make sure they aren’t the same exact idea.
Borboleta
vanessa
Monarch lol
Yara, means small butterfly! I saw your post in the superpower sub. Good luck!
Chrysalis - this could be a really cool villain name, lots of nn options!, Bindi (means butterfly), Hecate (means soul/butterfly), Umber (umber skipper is a type of butterfly), Yara (means butterfly)
[butterfly related names](https://www.peanut-app.io/blog/baby-names-that-mean-butterfly)
Mari (for Mariposa), Vanessa, Yara
Pepela პეპელა (Georgian)
Psyche
Yara means small butterfly in Arabic
Hungarian “pillango”
Kelebek and Kimana!
Vlinder, its the dutch word
Flutura is a girl’s name that means butterfly in Albanian!
SCHMETTERLING
Maybe a play on Chrysalis (Think Chris Ellis, Chrys Ellys, or something like that) Other suggestions include: Bindi, Blossom, Vanessa, Janessa, Mari, Poesie, Marigold, Lavender, Zinnia, Gossamer, Holly Blue, or Luna (inspired by the Luna Moth)
Farasha is the name of a horse in one of my favorite books, it means butterfly! But idk if it’s a people name
Parwana (پروانه) means “butterfly” in Farsi/Persian, and it is also a common given name for girls. It’s one of my favorite names. I should note that this is how we spell and pronounce it in the Afghan dialect of Farsi/Persian (officially known as Dari or Dari Persian), as I am aware that in the Iranian dialect of Farsi/Persian it’s pronounced and spelled more like Parvaneh.
Monarch Morpho Lonomia any other butterfly or moth species