Rigel is the male interest in a romance novel, ‘The Tearsmith’. It is a tear jerker & amazing film/book. He is dark, mysterious, and villainized. In the end it is uncovered that his intentions were never evil, rather pure and self-sacrificial. Whenever an explanation is asked of his name, they say he was named after a star, NOT FOOT. He was the favorite of his orphanage, and the evil woman that ran the establishment named him after a star as a symbol of his superiority.
Rigel could be my favourite male name. I love both English and Croatian pronunciation, yet everything is against this name. Even though it is beautiful to me, I feel repelled by the fact that its meaning is foot. And in Croatian, first three letters are the same as in the word "vomit"... too sad. I love love love it, but even naming a cat this way would be in danger of teasing and misunderstandment.
My cat's name is Rigel. I didn't name him, but I like it. It means foot which fits since he LOVES feet. He sleeps at my feet, and doesn't really like being petted for very long unless you use your foot. Really, he'll bite your fingers but cuddle your toes.
I think it's a pretty name, but better as a middle name. I don't think there'd be much problem of explaining what the name meant; they could easily say, "I was named after one of the brightest stars in the sky" and it would be the truth.