gagisc [/ˈgagisk/] n - The name “gagisc” comes from a project with my friend D.

My friend D teaches me German vocabulary. We look at old paintings and read their titles; then we hunt synonyms and antonyms for the words. One day we came upon a painting from 1882 by Arnold Böcklin, Heiliger Hain. It shows a sacred forest, which some call a funeral forest, where people lay their dead; the painting shows figures at a grave.

We looked closely at the words and their history. Two words mattered to me:

gaj [/ˈɡaɪ/] n - (This Polish word means “grove”)

waldisch [/ˈvɑldɪʃ/] adj - (This Germanic word means “forest-like dwellers”)

Heiliger Hain, by Arnold Böcklin

The meaning of the painting pleased me; it is spooky, and it suits the visual art.

Now my name is gagisc. I joined the two words and took the name for myself; I translate it as “grove-like”.