What’s In A Name: Crystal Norris

This is the tenth in our series of articles examining the meanings behind the names of characters on True Blood. For previous articles looking at Sookie, Eric, Alcide, Tara, Bill, Arlene, Lafayette, Sam & Pam click here.

Crystal Norris

Enigmatic Crystal Norris harbors a powerful secret: she’s a werepanther. Her human appearance is a reflection of her name, however. Crystal is, of course, the English word for a clear, colorless glass used in jewelry, dining ware and objets de art. It derives from the Greek word, krystallos, which means “ice”, another term we could apply to the reserved character who fears letting Jason get too close. Delicate and fragile, our Crystal is also somewhat colorless – all pale hair, eyes and skin.

The surname Norris has two meanings, both deriving from English/Scottish origins. The first is to denote someone who moved from the North, implying that the bearers of the name are immigrants. The second is from the Old French word norrice when means “wet nurse or foster mother”. The latter doesn’t fit anything we know about Crystal so far, so assuming the name was chosen for a reason, we might assume that the Norrises aren’t native to the area. Perhaps they relocated after encountering some difficulty up North? It would explain their remote location and penchant for inbreeding.

Next week: Russell Edgington