Bran, after Bran the Blessed. I was reading The Mabinogion at the time. The effect was mitigated by the fact that the name Bran is a thing in Dungeons and Dragons, which was popular as he was growing up and of which he was a reasonably avid player. Then more recently — need I even mention its prominence in the Coolest Book and TV Series of All Time? I have to wonder what he’s complaining about. I’ll bet there are boy children being named Bran right, left and center nowadays so he’s way out in front.

All the same when I remarried and my wife wanted to name our daughter Madrigal, I argued against it and we compromised on Meridith. The first letter needed to be maintained because her then recently deceased father’s name was Max. It’s a tradition in Judaism. I’ve always honored my wife’s commitment to Judaism. Meridith was raised in it and I even learned to maintain two sets of dishes.