I'm open to the idea of her having a name, though I think Lewis very intentionally made her a mysterious character without a name or backstory.

More thoughts:

ETA: I also just want to say that if they're looking for a name, that means they're not going with Jadis, which means they don't consider the LotGK and the White Witch to be the same character, which makes me a very happy person.

I agree, Watchful Admin. Will be thinking of a name. I'm kind of neutral on this but having a mysterious title in the book worked well.

Maybe a really cool name could make it OK for some of those who are opposed to the idea.

Nice that they are asking fans to participate and contribute.

That's interesting. Hope they pick well, because we'll be hearing it for quite a while.

I guess Lilliandil wasn't too bad for a name; just wish they hadn't changed the character so much (and it would have been nice to have seen Ramandu)

And I hope they won't choose a name that is too common. Like naming your dog a top favourite human name, and seeing heads turn when you call it.

Reading some of the comments on the newstory, I wonder if it'd be possible to inundate them with suggestions for Milady?

I mean, I guess it's okay for her to have a name (she must have called herself something!) but I'm not sure we need to know what it is.

I guess Lilliandil wasn't too bad for a name; just wish they hadn't changed the character so much

Did they ever call her by her name in the movie? It's been too long since I've seen it and I can't remember.

Yes, Lilliandil introduces herself in the film.

Does LotGK need a name in the book? Evidently not. But film is a different medium and it would be odd indeed if the major villain did not have a name, just as it would have been odd to refer to Lilliandil only by "Ramandu's daughter" in the film.

As a comfort though, Mr. Magee has been on the project for a while now and this is the first we've heard of them needing a name. Perhaps the production team tried to go without one and finally agreed that it was necessary. The explanation on the website seems to suggest their coming to this conclusion, at least. Who am I to argue?

On name suggestions: one approach would be to pick her characteristics and translate them into another language, such as Latin. (Studying the etymology of the word "Kirtle" has already yielded some fascinating insights.)

In case you were wondering, the name of Lewis' other witch, Jadis, is apparently French for "of old" or "once upon a time." Whatever name is chosen for the LotGK, my hope is that, in honor of Lewis, its construction is well thought-out.

Yay for Silver Chair news! This is quite exciting. Slightly scary as well, though. I just hope they get a lot of good names to choose from.

Luckily, I think there are a lot of good possibilities for names. For instance, I was just looking at the etymology for "emerald" and I found these gems, from Middle English, Anglo-French and Old French:

Emeraude
Esmeraude
Esmeralde
Esmeragde

Aren't those lovely? I love how the esmer sort of rhymes with mesmerize, too. If anyone likes any of those, feel free to submit them.

I also love the idea of a name that ends with lind, linde or linda. While that can mean "soft, tender" from the Germanic element linde, it can also mean serpent or dragon, ultimately from Old Norse linnr. (See the meaning of Belinda and the origin of lindworm.)

It's hard to say for sure "where" her name should come from, as in what culture, but she has such courtly language (shalts and thithers and fie upon thees, that sort of thing), I'm inclined to think that a name from Middle English, Old English, or Old French could do very nicely. Of course, she may just be mimicking Rilian's own manner of speaking—but then, her "name" may mimic it similarly.

That's one thing to bear in mind, really. The name that's chosen here may not be her real name. If they don't delve into her backstory too deeply, we may never be able to verify that it's her original name. It could just be another alias; another part of her disguise.

Perhaps we could call her Esmerlinde?

Perhaps we could call her Esmerlinde?

According to the internet, Erlinda is actually a name, so I guess that wouldn't be too much of a jump.

I do love the idea of coining a brand new name for her, though! There are a lot of possibilities for names that end in lind, et cetera. Even names that ended in lin or lyn would probably "count" as well, if anyone wants to go that route with naming.

I also think Greek names could potentially work as well, seeing as the Lady of the Green Kirtle bears quite a resemblance to Lamia from Greek Mythology. (The name Lamia itself means something like female vampire.) The "green kirtle" part of her name comes from the John Keats poem Lamia, after all. Drakon means serpent or dragon in Greek, but I'm at a loss as to how you could feminize that.

I also love the idea of a name that ends with lind, linde or linda.

I can't help but immediately think of Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz when I see this, so I personally wouldn't go in this direction.

I'd like to see her with an Irish or Irish-inspired name. A Kirtle was an irish dress so that's why. And is it the Irish or Scottish that tends to roll their 'r's like the LotGK does in the book?

ETA: Oh, I got it, how about Jade?

Ironically, I just spent the past two weeks trying to come up with a name for a villain character of mine, and the idea I was going for was "a name that would be appropriate for the Lady of the Green Kirtle". (I'm not suggesting it because I don't think it's actually that good....)

I'm a bit on-the-fence about naming her at all, but I can see why they would (as Movie Aristotle described earlier). However, I'd be inclined to let someone like Douglas Gresham come up with the name--he came up with "Lilliandil", didn't he? I feel like letting us know what all the suggested names were, then picking one, will lead to some satisfied fans, while others won't be able to forget their favorite suggestion which wasn't used. I'd rather be surprised entirely when we find out what the name was and are able to judge it in isolation, like what happened with "Lilliandil" (and I do like the name just fine, even if I don't appreciate what they did with her character ).

But, since the contest exists, I suppose I should get into name choices, huh?

Aren't those lovely? I love how the esmer sort of rhymes with mesmerize, too. If anyone likes any of those, feel free to submit them.

While I also like these names, I think having the "esmer" in there is a bit too... obvious, if you know what I mean. Admittedly, it also makes me think of "Esmeralda", which is a name that I have a hard time associating with a villain.

I also love the idea of a name that ends with lind, linde or linda. While that can mean "soft, tender" from the Germanic element linde, it can also mean serpent or dragon, ultimately from Old Norse linnr.

I like this idea a lot! I love both the double-meaning hidden in there. Also, I do like the sound it makes--I think the Lady of the Green Kirtle should have a name that sounds smooth and sweet, though it should still sound dangerous when invoked properly. (Yes, it's really easy to say things like this when I'm not that good at coming up with names myself. )

ETA: Oh, I got it, how about Jade?

*Ahem* At the risk of broaching this particular subject... you mean like, as some people pronounce it, "JADE-is"?

Would it be too obvious if I went with the name Grenelinde? -Green-snake or soft-green, depending on your interpretation.

Just so everyone knows, the rules PDF (the link is under the submit button on the sweepstakes page) say that the contest is open until July 28th at 11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time. We've got plenty of time to mull over possibilities.

I can't help but immediately think of Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz when I see this, so I personally wouldn't go in this direction.

Ooh, that's an interesting point. I was thinking more along the lines of names like Rosalind, which has a strong name element at the beginning to counterbalance the second element, but I see what you mean.

I'd like to see her with an Irish or Irish-inspired name. A Kirtle was an irish dress so that's why. And is it the Irish or Scottish that tends to roll their 'r's like the LotGK does in the book?

It's an Irish dress? Looking at the etymology for kirtle, the word itself is from Middle English, and you'd think that it would be an Irish Gaelic word if it were originally from Ireland... *shall have to do more research*

According to wikipedia, I don't think that the Irish roll their Rs, but the Scottish do seem to sometimes have an alveolar trill.

An Irish name would be very pretty, though! There are so many gorgeous ones.

ETA: Oh, I got it, how about Jade?

Nooooo. Anything but that!

I like this idea a lot! I love both the double-meaning hidden in there. Also, I do like the sound it makes--I think the Lady of the Green Kirtle should have a name that sounds smooth and sweet, though it should still sound dangerous when invoked properly.

That's my feeling as well! Probably the most challenging aspect of trying to name her is finding a name that can sound both sweet and dangerous/commanding. It's a difficult balance.

Would it be too obvious if I went with the name Grenelinde? -Green-snake or soft-green, depending on your interpretation.

I honestly think that's a beautiful name. It's a little similar to the name Gwendolen, but with a twist. It's lovely, yet while in the right circumstances, it could also seem ugly and formidable. "My name is Grenelinde," very warmly and sweetly, yet on the other hand, you can imagine the gnomes trumpeting with despair, "Make way for Queen Grenelinde!"

One other plus is that there's hardly any results if you google it. Seriously, if you google it with quotation marks (which makes google only show results with that exact spelling), you get only two results. So you wouldn't have to worry about it being a copyrighted name, or already belonging to a famous character.

I'm pondering 'Gravina' --apparently it's Italian for mattock, or a gorge; but it sounds like a cross between 'grave' and 'divina' (which is Italian for devine). It rolls off the tongue nicely, and could be sweet or imposing depending on circumstances.