What's in a Name?

Val halla
(val-hal-a) n. Norse mythology, the great hall of immortality in which the souls of warriors slain heroically were received by Odin and enshrined.

Val's halla
(val's-hal-a) n. The modest hall of mortals in which the "soul" of music lovers seeking contentment is welcomed by experts and fulfilled.

The bottom line is that I have always loved puns and knew for many years that if I ever owned a business, I couldn't resist calling it Val's halla -- a rather clever play, I thought, on the mythical "hall of the Gods." Ironically enough, the store is a long narrow space between two buildings, ergo, an alternate reading of the name has been suggested as: "Val's, Hall of Records."

To complicate the nonsense, back in the 70's there was a Halla -- she was a white German Shepherd mix. When she was given to me, I didn't know what to name her. Someone suggested Halla.

"There's no such word," I said.

"So what?" they said. 

"That way she'll be Val's Halla."

“I thought about buying a boat and calling it Val’s hulla -- but that’s kind of silly”