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Tag Archives: Anglo-Norman names

Perth Suburbs That Could Be Used As Girls Names

13 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 5 Comments

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Anglo-Norman names, Anglo-Saxon names, Australian Aboriginal names, controversial names, english names, famous namesakes, French names, Gaelic names, historical records, Irish names, Italian names, Latin names, locational names, Lycian names, middle names, mottos, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names of rivers, nicknames, Old English names, royal names, surname names, unisex names

quinns rocks beach

Aveley
Aveley is a neighbourhood of the town of Ellenbrook – an outer suburb in the north-east which is projected to be a future satellite city. Avely is named after a small town in Essex, where the Belhus estate was located: this stately home was once visited by Queen Elizabeth I, and had grounds landscaped in the 18th century by the famous Capability Brown. One of the early settlers to the Swan River Colony in 1829 was Edward Pomeroy Barrett-Lennard, the grandson of Lord Dacre, who owned Belhus. Edward Barrett-Lennard was assigned more than 13 000 acres in the Swan Valley, and his eldest son George purchased a large tract of land which he named Belhus after the family estate: it is this which eventually became Aveley. The name Aveley is Old English and means “Aelfgyth’s meadow”; Aelfgyth is an Anglo-Saxon woman’s name meaning “elf battle”. Avely is also a surname, and has been in rare use as a personal name since at least the 16th century. Historically more common for males, Aveley fits so well with current trends in female names that it seems more suitable for girls. Pronounced AV-uh-lee, this is a pretty, modern-sounding name with a feminine meaning and interesting history.

Carine
Carine is an affluent suburb 14 km north of the city. The area was once owned by the wealthy Hamsersley family, who came to the Swan River Colony in 1837, and before being developed in the 1960s, it was primarily used for farms and market gardens. The suburb’s name comes from the local wetlands, which are now known as Big Carine Swamp and Small Carine Swamp. Their names are a corruption of Careniup, the Noongar name for the wetlands, which means “the place where bush kangaroos graze”; it has the same origin as nearby Lake Karrinyup. The tranquil wetlands provide a home for rare water-birds and other native wildlife. Carine is already used as a girl’s name, the French form of Carina; it can be said in several different ways, but the Australian Carine is kuh-REEN. You would be hard pressed to find anything more Australian than “kangaroo” as part of a name’s meaning, and this is attractive, although perhaps slightly dated-sounding, due to its similarity to Karen, Caroline, and Corinne.

Floreat
Floreat is an exclusive suburb 8 km north-west of the city, close to beaches and filled with parkland. As well as swanky boutiques, it is also well known for its sporting facilities, including Perry Lakes Stadium, which was used for the 1962 Empire and Commonwealth Games, and has now been replaced with the Western Australian Athletics Stadium. The suburb’s name is Latin for “let it flourish, let it prosper”, which is the official motto for the City of Perth (and has been fulfilled, for the city has grown rich on the back of the mining boom). Floreat has been occasionally used as a unisex name since the 18th century. In Australian records, it has mostly been used as a middle name, and examples from Perth may have been named for the city’s motto. In Australia, Floreat has been more commonly used as a girl’s name, due to its similarity to Florence, which has the same Latin origins and meaning. With Florence now fashionable, and girl’s names ending with a T sound, like Charlotte and Violet, popular, Floreat seems a surprising choice as a name, but not an outrageous one.

Jindalee
Jindalee is a new outer suburb in Perth’s far north. Because development has only just begun, the beaches are almost untouched, and it is surrounded by bush, scrub, and heathland. The name Jindalee is believed to mean “a bare hill” in an unknown Aboriginal language of New South Wales; there is a town of Jindalee in New South Wales, and a suburb of the same name in Brisbane. The name may refer to Eglinton Hill in Jindalee, which provides views of the sea. I only found one person in Australian records with the name Jindalee, and it was in the middle; although he was a man, to me Jindalee seems feminine, and could be shortened to Jinny or Jindy. This is a lively name which seems quintessentially Australian in its flavour.

Kiara
Kiara is a quiet leafy suburb in Perth’s northern suburbs. Its name is from an Aboriginal word for “white cockatoo”, and it is not a Western Australian word, but one recorded in the Coffs Harbour region of New South Wales. The “white cockatoo” in question is probably the sulphur-crested cockatoo, a large, handsome, intelligent, curious, and very loud bird, native to the eastern states and far north of Australia. Australian parents seem to have a great fondness for girls’ names beginning with K, and this name sounds much like Italian Chiara, but with a distinctive Australian meaning. The name Kiara has charted since the 1980s, and first joined the Top 100 in 1999 at #67, peaking in 2005 at #49. It left the Top 100 in 2011, and is currently in the low 100s. It’s no longer popular, but still getting plenty of use.

Leda
Leda is one of the suburbs of the City of Kwinana, a coastal centre in Perth’s far south known as a working-class industrial area. Several of Kwinana’s suburbs are named for ships, and the brig Leda brought settlers to the Swan River Colony in 1830. The name was appropriate, because in Greek mythology, Leda was a queen of Sparta whose beauty attracted the attention of the god Zeus, who seduced her in the guise of a swan. Queen Leda didn’t have any unnatural interest in swans – the god-swan fell into her arms for protection while escaping from an eagle. Swans are one of the few birds which have a penis outside their body, like mammals do, and after this the specifics are left to our imaginations. Some artists and poets have depicted the act as a rape, while others show Leda as not just consenting, but positively enthusiastic. The same night, Leda lay with her husband, and from these biologically confused couplings, she gave birth to two eggs – one of which contained the ravishing Helen of Troy. Helen’s birth was commemorated by her father Zeus, who placed the constellation Cygnus, the Swan, in the sky. The meaning of the name Leda is not known for sure; it may be from the Lycian for “woman, wife”, and is pronounced LEE-duh. Simple and elegant, this is a name from Western Australian history which also references Perth’s Swan River.

Myaree
Myaree is a light industrial suburb 11 km south of the city. Its name is said to come from an Australian Aboriginal word meaning “plant leaves, foliage, greenery” (rather inaptly, given the suburb’s purpose). Myaree has been used as a baby name, although not apparently in Australia: it may have been an Anglicisation of an Arabic girl’s name, or a name created from other name elements. Apart from the pleasant meaning of Myaree, and its multicultural possibilities, in many ways it seems quite on trend, because of popular Maya, trendy Marley, and fashionable Myra. In other ways, it seems slightly dated, because of its similarity to names such as Maree and Nyree. To me it’s rather appealing and contemporary, while not unfamiliar in sound.

Quinn
Quinns Rocks is in the outer northern suburbs of Perth. It was first settled in the 19th century by a family of sheep farmers called the Clarksons, who used it as pasturage. In the 1930s it was a place for seaside holidays, with many people building beach shacks along the coast. It began to be developed as a residential area in the late 1950s, and was declared a town in the 1960s. The beautiful white beach is the suburb’s major feature, and still attracts holidaymakers. The suburb gets its name from an offshore reef, and is believed to have been called after Robert Quin, a 19th century government surveyor who made the first records of the area. Another theory is that it is named after Mick Quinn, one of the Clarksons’ shepherds who had a shack in the area. Why it should be named after this shepherd in particular is not related, and the congruence of names seems most likely. Quinn is a common Irish surname, an Anglicised form of the Gaelic mac Cuinn, meaning “son of Cuinn”. Cuinn (which is Anglicised to Conn) means “head, chief”. The surname’s originator is Art mac Cuinn, a High King of Ireland; according to legend, he and his father Conn of the Hundred Battles, also a High King, had dealings with a fairy woman. The Quins were one of the noble families of Ireland, but the line came to an end a few years ago. Quinn is rising rapidly as a unisex name, and currently seems to be almost equal between the genders, while also performing well as a middle name. Expect to see more Quinns in the future.

Serpentine
Serpentine is a small town on the very fringes of the metropolitan area, 55 km south-east of the city, on the railway line between Perth and Bunbury. The town is named after the nearby Serpentine River, so called because of its meandering course. Serpentine has been used sparingly as a name since the 19th century, and in Australian records is found mostly as a middle name, divided fairly evenly between males and females. Most of the Serpentines were from the Perth area, making me think they were named after the river. Serpentine is a problematic name, because while serpentine means “winding, curving” (like a serpent), it can also mean “crafty, deceitful”. The second meaning is an obvious allusion to the serpent in Genesis, who leads Eve into temptation. While this may give some people the jitters, serpents are also ancient symbols of wisdom and healing, and are often depicted guarding sacred places; a serpent holding its tail in its mouth is a symbol of eternity. In Australian Aboriginal myths, the Rainbow Serpent is a significant deity, symbolising life and fertility. Strong and mysterious, sinuous Serpentine may be easier to bear as a middle name.

Viveash
Viveash is a secluded riverside suburb in the city’s north-west. It is named after Dr Samuel Waterman Viveash, a prominent pioneer who arrived in the Swan River Colony in 1838, and took up farming. Viveash is an English surname whose origins are disputed; it may be Anglo-Norman, and come from the French vivace, meaning “lively, vigorous”. However, because it is pronounced like “five ash” with a V instead of an F at the start, it is often linked to places in southern England called Five Ash Trees. Viveash has been used as a personal name for both sexes, almost exclusively found in the middle position. Examples from Australian records are all from Western Australia, and nearly all from the Perth area, making it likely they were named in honour of Dr Viveash. Viveash is a very unusual name, but is vaguely similar to Vivian and Ashley, while having a distinct sound and feel of its own.

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Quinn, Aveley and Leda, and their least favourite were Jindalee, Serpentine and Viveash.

(Photo is of the beach at Quinns Rocks)

Less Commonly Used Boys Names

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by A.O. in Name Themes and Lists

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Anglo-Norman names, Apache names, Australian vocabulary words, celebrity baby names, english names, fabric names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, germanic names, Hindi names, Indian names, Italian names, Latin names, locational names, mythological names, name data, name history, name meaning, name popularity, Native American names, nicknames, popular culture, Roman names, saints names, slang terms, surname names, unisex names, US name popularity, vocabulary names, Welsh names, Yorkshire dialect names

This follows on from Less Commonly Used Girls Names. The names are from the bottom of the popularity charts in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania, and in each case, the name was used less than ten times in 2011.

There seems to be a lot of musical references in this entry, so I’ve linked relevant names to YouTube videos of the person performing.

Atticus

This Roman name means “man from Attica” – Attica being the area of Greece surrounding the city of Athens. This name wasn’t uncommon in the ancient world; there is a Platonist philosopher called Atticus, and there is also a Saint Atticus, a soldier who died a martyr by being burned at the stake. However, today it is most associated with Atticus Finch, the principled lawyer and loving single father in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch, who defends a black man on a rape charge in a small Southern town during the 1930s, is considered a folk hero in legal circles. In the 1962 film adaptation, Atticus is played by Gregory Peck, who was a civil rights activist; Peck won an Academy Award for his performance, and in 2003 the American Film Institute voted his character the greatest hero in American film. It is that decent, understated heroism of Atticus Finch that makes him such a beloved character in literature and film. The character has inspired the names of both a clothing line run by musicians and an alternative rock band. It’s a hip choice which has been burning up the US popularity charts since 2004.

Bryn

Bryn is a modern Welsh name which means “hill”; as well as being a man’s name, it is also a common place name in Wales and England. A famous person with this name is Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel, a bass-baritone best known for his roles in the works of Mozart and Wagner. Apparently he applied to study music in Cardiff, but was so annoyed when they assumed he was a woman that he ended up studying in London instead. Bryn Terfel, whose first language is Welsh, is a patron of Welsh language and culture, and hopefully by now everyone in Wales recognises his name as male. Even though Bryn isn’t a common name in Australia, I don’t think it would seem too out of place either, as there are several boy’s name beginning with Br-, such as Brent and Brody. It looks rather like a cooler version of Irish Brian, which may have a similar meaning.

Corbin

Corbin is an English surname which started as a nickname based on the Anglo-Norman word for “raven”. It may have been given to someone who had raven-black hair, although less flattering possibilities also come to mind. Corbinus, the Latinised form, is found as a first name in the Domesday Book, so it has a long history of use. Despite being an old English name, this tends to be thought of as a modern American one, because it’s been solidly Top 500 in the US since the late 1980s. This may be because of television actor Corbin Bernsen, who began playing lawyer Arnold Becker on LA Law in 1986 and remained on the show until it finished in 1994. Another famous namesake is Corbin Harney, an elder and shaman of the West Shoshone people. He devoted his life to spreading a message about the dangers of nuclear energy, and the environmental issues facing the world. You may also know the name from Corbin Bleu, who was in High School Musical. This name is apparently so unusual in Australia that the article the information came from described it as a “bizarre” choice, although it seems a perfectly nice, normal name to me.

Denim

The fabric denim was originally called serge de Nîmes, after the French city where the tough cotton material was originally made by the Andre family. This was eventually shortened to denim. Denim is inextricably linked with jeans, which began life as sturdy clothing for workers, and then became fashion icons which symbolised teen rebellion. Today they are worn by pretty well everybody. Denim is an interesting name choice; it’s not really a “bad boy baby name” like Axe or Vandal, because while denim is worn by rebel icons like rock stars and bikers, it’s also worn by suburban mums and little kids. Also fabrics are usually thought of as girls names, like Velvet and Paisley, but denim is tough and hard-wearing. It’s definitely an ambiguous sort of name – one that, like the fabric, may grow with the person better than you’d expect. It’s also a soundalike with the surname and place name Denham.

Jagger

This English surname originated in Yorkshire, and means “hawker, carrier”, the word jagger being Yorkshire dialect for someone who carries a pack or load. It is claimed that most people with this surname are descended from a single family who came from Staniland, near Halifax. There was a high concentration of people named Jagger in Yorkshire, compared to the rest of England. The most famous person with this surname is undoubtedly Sir Michael “Mick” Jagger from The Rolling Stones, whose mother was born in Australia. I don’t know if this is correct, but Mick Jagger is said to be distantly related to Joseph Jagger, the 19th century British engineer famous for being “the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo”. Joseph Jagger was indeed from Halifax in Yorkshire. The name Jagger is almost always given in relation to The Rolling Stones frontman, and may have been given a boost in 2011 from the Maroon 5 song, Moves Like Jagger, which is a tribute to Sir Mick. The number of baby boys named Jagger went from 5 to 8 in Queensland last year.

Naiche

Naiche was the last hereditary chief of the Chiricahua band of Apache Native Americans. He was an ally, protege and relative by marriage of Geronimo, the famous Apache leader and war chief. Naiche and Geronimo successfully went to war together in the 1880s, but Naiche ended up being imprisoned. Although he had resisted the process of being moved onto an “Indian Reservation”, eventually he was forced to give in, and ended his days on an Apache reservation in New Mexico. He lived only six years after moving there, and his descendants are still on the reservation. The name Naiche means “meddlesome one, mischief-maker” and it can apparently be pronounced NAY-chee, but I’m not sure if that’s the correct Apache pronunciation, or even whether it depends on which Apache accent you’re using. Naiche is for sure a very unusual name in Australia, but it has a fascinating namesake, and actually sounds slightly like Nate and Nathan. Pronunciation and spelling seem like they would be an issue.

Occy

Occy is the nickname of Australian surfer Marco “Mark” Occhilupo. Occy is short for his Italian surname, which means “eyes of the wolf”. At the same time, it is a play on the Australian word occy straps, short for octopus straps – those stretchy cords which are used by surfers to tie their surfboards onto their car’s roof rack. Mark Occhilupo was a precocious teenage surf god of the 1980s who lost his way for several years as his life spiralled out of control. In the mid-1990s, he made a comeback, and stunned everyone when he won a world title in 1999 at the age of 33. He considered retiring in 2005, but realised he still had a lot left in him. Now aged 45, he only competes part-time, but this year he made it into the final four of the Telstra Drug Aware Pro semi-finals, defeating top-ranked surfers to do so. Mark, also dubbed The Raging Bull, is an inspirational sporting icon who teaches us that mature experience can be more important than youthful talent, and that things are never over until you give up. Although Occy is a nickname and a slang term, it means so much more.

Pax

Pax is the Latin word for “peace”, and the Romans recognised a goddess of this name who symbolised peace, and was associated with the spring. The word pax also means “treaty, accord”, and the Pax Romana is the name given to the two-century period (approximately 27 BC to 180 AD) of stability and minimal military expansion in the Roman Empire. For the Romans, peace wasn’t about everyone holding hands and singing Imagine together in a field of daisies – it described that period during war when all your opponents had been thoroughly beaten and were no longer able to resist. It denoted ultimate military victory, rather than co-operation and unity. Today we see peace rather differently, and the name is probably given with the modern concept in mind rather than the ancient Roman one. In 2007, Angelina Jolie adopted a son from Vietnam and named him Pax Thien. Pax may be the name of a goddess, but this one has very much gone to the boys, as it fits so well with popular male names such as Max and Jax.

Veer

Veer is an Indian name meaning “bravest of the brave” in Hindi. Veer (“valour”) is one of the nine rasas of ancient Hindu philosophy. These emotional states are repositories of energy drawn from our life force, and by learning to master these energies, we gain emotional balance. The rasa of Veer stops us from running away from our problems, and instead face them head on; it also gives us the courage to not allow adversity to defeat us, but to get up after a fall, and continue on. It also allows us to have the healthy confidence and self-esteem needed to achieve in life. Veer Teja Ji is an Indian folk hero and saint, and the highly successful 2004 Bollywood film Veer-Zaara is about the star-crossed romance between Indian Air Force Squadron Leader, Veer Pratap Singh, and a wealthy Pakistani woman, Zaara Haayat Khan. Veer has a very positive meaning, and looks the same as the English word veer, meaning “to swerve”. It’s also a homonym of the English name Vere, so both sound and spelling are familiar to English-speakers, and it seems a very usable heritage choice.

Ziggy

Ziggy is a nickname for Germanic names such as Sigmund, but in practice is used for a variety of names starting with Z. It is famous as the name of pop star David Bowie’s alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. Bowie based the name on a London tailor’s shop called Ziggy’s that he saw from a train one day. The surname Stardust was taken from American country and western singer Norman Carol Odom, a weird novelty act billed as The Legendary Stardust Cowboy. Norman appealed to Bowie because he had a crazy band of misfits who barely understood music, and was unconsciously hilarious. The character of Ziggy was based on pioneering English rocker Vince Taylor, who modelled himself on Elvis Presley. Like so many after him, drugs proved his downfall, and he ended up believing he was the son of God, and existing solely on eggs. Bowie got to know him, and was impressed by his magnificent repertoire of dottiness. So Ziggy Stardust was a mixture of fashion, madness, outsider art, and rock and roll excess. Ziggy is also the nickname of Bob Marley’s son David, although in his case it was a drug reference. Cute name, with a solid musical background.

(Photo shows David Bowie’s final performance as Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, 1973)

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