#with Rhaenys now it's just about impossible to imagine it on a man (skill issue)

[chaosordoffl]

Crazy how Targ/Valyrian names can sound feminine or masculine because of their association with a character

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

#like yeah there's linguistic bias like names ending in 'a' seeming more feminine #but sometimes I look at a name and tilt my head #the 'ys' ending isn't gender specific #without Daenerys would we think Daenys was feminine? #it could pass for a fantasy version of Dennis (Daenys sweetie I'm so sorry) #Denys (ugh) #(it sounds fine in Valyrian context) #could you tell if Maelys is feminine or masculine #with Rhaenys now it's just about impossible to imagine it on a man (skill issue) #and fanon names like Laenys have no context so anything is possible! #and then there's names like Aerys and Naerys where a single letter changes the vibe entirely #previous connotations baby! #thoughts #anyway something something DRAGONS HAVE NO GENDER

Yes, exactly, I love how just one letter can make a Valyrian name “feminine” vs “masculine”, even though really it's just connotation from context. Like, the infamous perfectly feasible Valyrian name Baegel sounds male to me. But what makes "-gel" male, other than it being used solely for Prince Rhaegel Targaryen, a pretty obscure character? Is it because I also know Princess Maegelle (with that our-world French feminine -elle ending) Targaryen was a woman, so that a girl must be Baegelle instead?

But take a name like Aeryn, belonging to a retconned-out child of Jaehaerys and Alysanne. If you never saw the TWOIAF Targaryen family tree -- the only place Aeryn ever existed, with only a tiny square or triangle distinguishing AMAB from AFAB, would you think that name's a Valyrianizing of Aaron or Erin? As it happens, Aeryn was apparently male (typos abounded in the TWOIAF family trees mind you), but in a completely other fandom, Aeryn is a woman's name, so there's a competing previous connotation!

Also Denys already is a non-Targaryen male name in ASOIAF, it's even rather common. We read Denys as male but Daenys as female... and why? As you said, it must be due to Dany's (not Danny) name's influence.

It's all really fascinating, and says a lot about how our minds work, re gender and linguistics and everything. And yes, about Valyrians and dragons too.

Crazy how Targ/Valyrian names can sound feminine or masculine because of their association with a character