It's not short for anything nor based on a bird! It's funny, it's from a set of novels by David and Leigh Eddings that I was into as a kid, and I was really into the name because I felt it disconnected me from the practices of my own family with my government name. There's more of a story there but it winds up in a real bummer of a place, so I'll just leave it at "I was given it when I joined a circle of fans of a fantasy book series I liked."
