Merida

Merida is familiar both as a place name and as the name of the heroine of Pixar's Brave. The Spanish city Mérida developed from the Roman name Augusta Emerita. Founded under Augustus, the city was settled by veterans, and the emerita element refers to that history of completed military service.

The film character places Merida in a fictional Scottish setting, but that setting does not make the name an ancient Scottish one. Her association with archery, family, and independence belongs to the story, while the Spanish city has its own much older geographical history. Mérida in Mexico is another recognizable place bearing the name. For parents, the appeal may therefore be literary, geographical, or both, rather than a single abstract translation about achievement.