Cyclone Names for Boys

06 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Name Themes and Lists

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Anglo-Saxon names, Arabic names, Biblical names, classic names, cyclone names, Egyptian names, english names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, germanic names, hebrew names, Irish names, Latin names, locational names, modern classics, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, nicknames, Old English names, pen names, popular names, rare names, Roman names, royal names, saints names, Slavic names, stage names, surname names, underused modern classics, unisex names, vintage names

Dominic
There was a Cyclone Dominic in 1982 and another in 2009; both were quite severe and did significant damage. Dominic is from the Latin name Dominicus, meaning “of the Lord”, and often translated as “belonging to God”. It began as a specifically Christian name, and there are several saints named Dominic. The most famous is the medieval Spanish priest who founded the Dominican Order; he was named after St Dominic of Silos, who answered the prayer of the second St Dominic’s mother that she might become pregnant. As part of that joking folk etymology that religion is so fond of, the Dominicans are said to be named from the Latin for “dog of God” (Domini canis), as a sign of St Dominic’s dogged faithfulness. Dominic has charted since the 1950s, when it debuted at #236. It reached the Top 100 in the 1990s, and has mostly stayed around the bottom quarter of the Top 100, or fallen just below it. Currently it is #88. This is a sleekly handsome modern classic that’s never been highly popular, and comes with the nicknames Dom, Nic, or Nico.

Iggy
Cyclone Iggy was off the coast of Western Australia in 2012: grave fears were held as its power intensified, but by the time it made landfall it had waned considerably. Iggy is traditionally used as a short form of Ignatius, but rocker Iggy Pop (born James Osterberg) took his stage name from his high school band, The Iguanas. Another musical Iggy is Australian rapper Iggy Azalea (born Amethyst Kelly): her stage name Iggy is from her childhood dog, possibly named after Mr Pop. In the Maximum Ride YA series by James Patterson, Iggy is an extremely handsome blind boy whose real name is James Griffiths. This name might feel like “nickname only” territory, but a few people have Iggy as their full legal name. While Ignatius is elegant, Iggy is in-your-face cyberpunk nuttiness, and will appeal to parents wanting something fun and different.

Marcus
Marcus is on the current list of cyclone names. Marcus is a Roman name believed to be derived from Mars, the Roman god of war, and was one of the most popular names in ancient Rome. Famous Romans with the name include the general Marcus Antonius, otherwise known as Mark Antony; the emperor Marcus Aurelius; Marcus Junius Brutus, usually known to us as Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar; and the philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Marcus has been used as an English name since the Middle Ages, but widely used on the Continent and in Latin America as well. It’s currently popular in Scandinavia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Marcus is a classic name which has been almost continuously on the charts. It was #190 in the 1900s, and fell to nothing during the 1930s. After that it continued growing and made the Top 100 by the 1970s. Popularity dipped, but it was back again in the 1990s, and peaked at #51 in 2003. It is currently #82. A popular classic never higher than the bottom half of the Top 100, Marcus combines historical gravitas with European style.

Miles
Cyclone Miles was off the coast of Queensland in 1977. Miles is the English form of the Germanic name Milo, whose meaning is unclear. It may be from an ancient Germanic word meaning “mild”, but it has been argued that it is related to those Slavic names meaning “dear, gracious”, such as Mila and Milan. From early on, folk etymology connected it to the Latin word miles, meaning soldier – in Roman comedies, a foolish stock character was Miles Gloriosus, meaning “bragging soldier”. The name has been in use since the Middle Ages, introduced by the Normans, and is often thought of as rather aristocratic. A famous namesake is Miles Coverdale, who was the first person to translate the Bible into English in 1535. Miles has charted since the 1950s, when jazz legend Miles Davis gave the name an injection of cool; it debuted at #323. Since then, the name has increased in popularity, but never become popular, so this is an underused modern classic. It’s around the 100s currently. Rising in both the US and UK, this is a hip choice with a smooth sound.

Oswald
Cyclone Oswald hit Queensland and New South Wales in 2013, causing widespread storms and floods. A natural disaster was declared, and due to the severity of the cyclone, the name Oswald has now been retired. Oswald is an Old English name meaning “godly ruler, divine ruler”. There are two English saints named Oswald; Oswald of Northumbria was an Anglo-Saxon king, and the most powerful ruler in Britain during his time. The name Oswald became less common after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century as part of the Victorian fascination with ancient British names. Oswald was #75 in the 1900s and left the Top 100 in the 1920s. It left the charts in the 1940s and had unfortunate wartime namesakes – Nazi officer Oswald Pohl, who oversaw the concentration camps, and British Fascist, Sir Oswald Moseley, a friend of Adolf Hitler. In fiction, Oswalds are usually villains or comic characters, but Oswald Bastable from the Treasure Seeker series by E. Nesbit has been claimed as a revolutionary hero name in the Nomad of Time Streams works of Michael Moorcock, and the name is sometimes used in sci fi. A bold vintage choice with a steam punk vibe.

Paddy
Cyclone Paddy was near Cocos Island in May 1981, extremely late in the season. Paddy is an Irish nickname for the name Patrick, or its Irish forms Padraig and Padraic. It was once so commonly used that Paddy became a derogatory term for any Irishman. With such strong immigration from Ireland, the name has a long history in Australia with several famous namesakes, with Paddy either short for Patrick, their full name, or a nickname unrelated to their name. Some examples are: Paddy Hannan, the gold prospector who set off the gold rush in Kalgoorlie; Indigenous artist Paddy Bedford; colourful politician Paddy Crick; Aboriginal elder Paddy Roe; and pioneering bushwalker Paddy Pallin, who founded the chain of outdoor equipment stores. Paddy is also occasionally used as a girl’s name, a variant of Patty; an example is Australian author Paddy O’Reilly. Paddy is around the 500s in Australia, and fits in with the trend for nicknames as full name. Great Irish heritage choice with an Australian flavour.

Rusty
Cyclone Rusty hit the coast of northern Western Australia in 2013. Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain caused flooding and significant damage. Due to the severity of the cyclone, the name Rusty has now been retired. Rusty can be a nickname for either the first name or surname Russell, or a nickname given to someone with red or reddish-brown hair. It is not commonly given as a full name, but after Cyclone Rusty there was a reported increase in the number of baby boys named Rusty, so this is one cyclone at least which influenced local name trends. A rough-and-tumble boyish name in the style of Buster and Sunny: not recommended if your surname is Naylor, Bucket or Lidd.

Seth
Seth is on the current list of cyclone names. In the Old Testament, Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve, born after Abel was murdered by Cain. According to the Bible, Seth was the progenitor of the human race as it exists today, as only his descendants survived the Great Flood. The Bible is coy as to how Seth had children for us to be descended from, but the Apocrypha provides the obvious solution by having him marry his sister. Although the Bible tells us nothing more about Seth, according to tradition he was virtuous and wise; he is regarded as a saint in Christianity, and revered as a prophet in Islam. The name doesn’t seem to have been common for Jews, although in the New Testament the High Priest is said to be the son of a Seth. According to the Bible, the name Seth means “appointed”, to suggest that God appointed Seth as a replacement for Abel. Seth is also the Greek form of the Egyptian god Set, deity of storms and chaos, and murderer of his brother Osiris. The name has a strong New Age resonance due to the supposed chanelled messages of a being named Seth, highly influential to later writers. Seth has been used as an English name at least since the 16th century, and became more common during the 18th. Seth has charted since the 1970s, debuting at #539, and joined the Top 100 in the 2000s. It left the Top 100 in 2014, but cannot be far below it. An Old Testament name that women in particular seem to love as both soft and gentle, and dangerously sexy.

Vance
Cyclone Vance hit Western Australia in 1999, bringing gale-force winds and severe storms, and causing significant damage, particularly in Exmouth. Vance is an English surname that comes from the Old English for “fen”, describing someone who lived near a flat wetlands area or marsh. The surname has a particular association with Scotland, and the Scottish Vances believe their name is Norman, from Vaux in France, meaning “valley”. Vance has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and was strongly connected with Scotland and Ireland. Vance Drummond was a New Zealand-born officer in the RAAF, much decorated for his gallantry in the Vietnam War. The famous writer Vance Palmer was born Edward, with Vance short for his middle name, Vivian. Not only a great contributor to Australian literature, he and his wife Nettie were part of the social movement that promoted Australian egalitarianism. The indie pop singer Vance Joy’s real name is James Keogh – he took his stage name from a minor character in Peter Carey’s novel Bliss. A vintage name ripe for revival with a strong connection to Australian culture.

Zane
Cyclone Zane was off the coast of Queensland in 2013, but by the time it made landfall it had dissipated to almost nothing. The name Zane was popularised by the American western novelist Zane Grey: he was born Pearl Grey (apparently in tribute to Queen Victoria’s mourning dress, which seems a strange way to name a child, especially a boy). Grey used his middle name Zane for his pen name; it was his mother’s maiden name. The Zanes were a famous American pioneering family, and Zane Grey himself was born in Zanesville, Ohio, named after his ancestor, Ebenezer Zane. The Zanes were descended from Devon Quakers, but the name’s origin is a mystery. It has been claimed that the family had either Danish or Italian ancestry, but neither theory has been proven. Sometimes presumed to be a form of John, as Zane is an unusual short form of Giovanni; it can also be a female name, short for Suzannah or Zuzannah. Zane has charted since the 1970s, debuting at #397 – Zane Grey was still a bestseller then, and another namesake for the era was bodybuilder Frank Zane, multiple Mr Olympia winner. It was in the Top 100 during the 2000s, peaking at #83 in 2005, and is probably around the 100s now. Not at all zany, Zane has become a modern standard conflated with the Arabic name Zain or Zayn, meaning “beauty, grace”.

(Photo is of Australian literary powerhouse, Vance Palmer)

Famous Names: Lleyton and Daria

18 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Famous Names

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East European names, english names, famous namesakes, locational names, modern names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, names of rivers, Persian names, Russian names, saints names, surname names, UK name popularity, US name popularity

January is the great month for tennis in Australia. There’s the Australian Open and Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, the Hopman Cup in Perth, the Brisbane International, and the Sydney International, as well one-off events and exhibition matches around the country. I have to watch all of them, because my husband is a tennis fan who started playing as soon as he could hold a racket without falling over from the weight of it.

This year one Australian champion bowed out of competition, while a young player began competing under the Australian flag for the first time.

Lleyton Hewitt retired after making his twentieth appearance at the Australian Open, a former world number 1 and youngest ever male to make number 1, at the age of 20. Not only remembered as someone who was once at the top of the game for several years, he never lost his fighting spirit, and catchphrase warcry of “C’mon!”. He has been an inspiration for many young tennis players, and made the Australia Day honours list year.

Daria Gavrilova is a Russian-born tennis player who was the world number 1 junior, winning gold at the 2010 Youth Olympics. She emigrated to Australia last year, as her boyfriend is Australian player Luke Saville, and became an Australian citizen. Last month she won the mixed doubles at the Hopman Cup with partner Nick Kyrgios, and is the number 2 Australian player in women’s tennis.

LLEYTON
Lleyton is a variant spelling of Leyton. This English surname is derived from several places in the UK called Leyton, Layton, or Leighton. Depending on regional accent they can either be said LAY-ton, LIGH-ton, LEE-ton, or even LAW-ton, but the first is by far the most common.

Leyton in north London means “farm on the River Lea”; the River Lea’s name may come from the Celtic meaning “light, bright”, and possibly refers to the god Lugus. Layton in Lancashire comes from the Old English meaning “farm near water channels” – Layton is part of Blackpool, which had a drainage system of channels running over its peat bog. However, most places with these names are derived from the Old English for “leek farm”.

As a first name Layton and Leighton are the earliest spellings, in use since at least the 16th century. Most people with the names have been male, although from the beginning they were sometimes given to girls too. The names had early associations with Shropshire and Warwickshire, suggesting the inspiration may often have been the village of Leighton in Shropshire.

Leyton has been used as a first name since the 18th century, nearly always given to boys. Also strongly associated with Shropshire and Warwickshire, Leyton shows up in the Leyton area near London. For reasons I have been unable to identify, the name Leyton is also associated with south Wales, and there are several well-known Welshmen with the name Leyton or Leighton.

Lleyton seems to be a modern innovation, and to be found quite rarely. It is interesting to speculate whether the double L is an attempt to make the name seem more Welsh, in the style of names like Lloyd and Llewellyn. The name has become more common in the 21st century, perhaps due to Lleyton Hewitt himself.

In the UK, the spelling Layton has charted in the Top 1000 since the mid-1990s, and rose until a peak in 2011 at #161. It is currently #175 and stable. The spelling Layton has been on and off the US Top 1000 since the 19th century, with its most recent burst starting in 2001 – the year after Lleyton Hewitt won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. It is currently #643 and fairly stable.

In the UK, the spelling Leighton has charted in the Top 400 since the mid-1990s. It hit a peak of #150 in 2013, and is now #154. It has occasionally been given to girls in the UK. In the US, Leighton has been on the Top 1000 for boys a few times since the 19th century, and made #892 in 2014. Since 2009 it has regularly made the Top 1000 for girls, and is currently #540 and gradually rising. The American actress Leighton Meester from TV show Gossip Girl has recently made this spelling of the name seem feminine.

In the UK, Leyton has charted in the Top 1000 since the mid-1990s, and peaked in 2007 at #345; it is now #434. In the US in 2014, there were 131 boys and 27 girls names Leyton, so it is much less common than in the UK.

Lleyton has shown up in the UK data since 2000, the start of Lleyton Hewitt’s career and his first Grand Slam win. The name peaked in 2005 at #747, and in 2014 there were 15 baby boys given the name Lleyton. In the US, 34 boys were named Lleyton and no girls, so if nothing else, this spelling seems to be only one which is currently male-only.

I see this name quite often in Australian birth announcements, with such a variety of spellings that no single variant would ever show up in data. It is sometimes used for girls here, but in these cases is invariably spelled Leighton, perhaps because of Leighton Meester.

This is a contemporary unisex name with a perhaps confusing array of spellings – but only Lleyton will always seem male, and remind people of the famous tennis player.

DARIA
Daria is the feminine form of Darius, a Romanised form of the Greek form of the Persian name Dārayavahush, meaning something like “possessing goodness, holding onto goodness”. In modern Persian, the name Darya coincides with the word for “sea”.

St Daria is a legendary saint. According to legend, she was a Roman Vestal Virgin married off to an early Christian nobleman named Chrysanthus. He converted her to Christianity, and persuaded her to live with him in a state of chastity (which helpfully agreed with her vows as a Vestal Virgin). The pair of them went around converting loads of other Romans, and eventually they were tortured and executed.

The story (written centuries after the supposed events) goes against everything we know about the status of Vestal Virgins in ancient Rome – they weren’t allowed to marry before the completion of their vows, and at one point, Daria’s punishments include being placed in a brothel as a common prostitute, an act of sacrilege which simply could not have occurred.

However, the story must have been appealing as they became quite popular saints. Three cities claim to have the remains of Chrysanthus and Daria, and the ones in Italy have been been confirmed as a male and female in their late teens, dating to roughly the correct era, so they at least got some believable bones.

St Daria was especially venerated in the Orthodox faith, and the name Daria is much more common in Central and Eastern Europe than elsewhere, although also used in Spain and Latin America. It is popular in Poland and Romania.

Daria has been used in the English-speaking world since the 18th century, without ever becoming very common. It’s been on the US Top 1000 a smattering of times, and in 2014 there were 104 baby girls named Daria – the same number as those called Arwen and Memphis. In the UK the name Daria is #439 and rising: a reflection of high immigration from Poland and Russia.

The name Daria isn’t common in Australia. It may be familiar to some because of Daria Gavrilova and Australian gymnast Daria Joura – although perhaps best known from the sardonic teenage cartoon character Daria Morgendorffer.

Daria has several possible nicknames – Dasha, Dasia, Danya, Darinka, and Dolly are a few in use. Both Daria Gavrilova and Daria Joura are known as Dasha (said like DAH-shah, not like Dasher the reindeer), and this makes Dash another possible nickname.

Darius is becoming better used, and the fame of the Australian tennis player could give more publicity to its feminine form. Strong and attractive, Daria would work well multiculturally.

(Photo shows Lleyton Hewitt at the 2014 Brisbane International)

Waltzing With … Sydney

07 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Waltzing with ...

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aristocratic surnames, aristocratic titles, celebrity baby names, english names, famous namesakes, honouring, locational names, name history, name meanings, name popularity, patriotic names, surname names, UK name popularity, unisex names, vintage names

Famous City
On Australia Day, January 26, we celebrate the start of European settlement in Australia, when the First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove in 1788. Not much was actually done on this day – the ships landed, they ran up a flag, and drank a toast to the king. Few people went onshore, and convicts did not begin disembarking until the following day.

It was on February 7 1788, 228 years ago today, that the colony was proclaimed by Governor Arthur Phillip. Everyone gathered for a ceremony where possession was formally taken of the east coast of Australia by Britain – although the description of offshore territories was left sufficiently vague that it’s possible they also took New Zealand at the same time.

They did not acknowledge the Indigenous population as owners of the land, but Governor Phillip did intend to treat them humanely and kindly. Unfortunately these good intentions didn’t work out that well in the long term, mostly due to cultural ignorance and the fact they were about to unknowingly decimate the local population with a bunch of diseases.

People love to make myths about the founding of nations and cities, and in the case of Sydney, it has a strange and salacious foundation myth. It states that when the convict women were finally allowed off the boat on February 6, there was such a burst of pent-up sexual excitement that the day ended with a drunken orgy. How an orgy works when there are many more men than women is left to our imaginations.

Male historians and writers seemed to be especially fond of this urban legend, apparently loving the idea that Sydney was founded on a hotbed of drunken gang rape. They helped spread it even when they knew it wasn’t true, because there is barely a shred of evidence to support it. The soldiers’ wives were allowed off the ships not long after their husbands, and a few hand-picked convict women on February 5.

The next day, the rest of the convict women disembarked in small groups, surprising one commentator who found them cleaner and better-dressed than expected. There were no drunken convicts, because they weren’t given any alcohol. The big event was the weather, alarming to the British but entirely normal for a Sydney summer – a hot, muggy day ended with a spectacular thunderstorm, including a massive lightning strike which killed a handful of sheep. Thankfully the sheep have been left out of the orgy legend.

There was certainly plenty of sex in early Sydney, but probably most of it was between people who were already in partnerships, or at least knew each other previously. Instead of a mass orgy, there was a burst of weddings which took place in the new colony, as people settled down together and raised families – these came quickly, as everyone appeared to get pregnant easily in Sydney, even those considered barren, so that the land seemed healthy and fertile.

That was the start of Sydney as we know it – not the boozy party town you might have thought, but still a place of love and hope, new life and fresh beginnings, myths and legends, sunshine and storms, and minor miracles. Not to mention the occasional lightning-struck sheep: surely the progenitor of the traditional lamb chop on the barbie.

Name Information
Captain Arthur Phillip’s first idea for the city’s name was New Albion, a poetic way to refer to England. However, he soon changed his mind, and named it Sydney after Thomas Townshend, Baron Sydney, who was the Home Secretary. This wasn’t a first – Sydney in Nova Scotia had been named after Townshend three years earlier.

The choice of Sydney made a lot of sense, because Thomas Townshend was recognised as the originator of the plan to colonise New South Wales (at that time, the whole eastern seaboard of Australia).

He also gave the colony its first constitution and judicial system – a sign that he did not want New South Wales to be a mere penal settlement, but a colony of free citizens under English law. Although his ideals may not have always worked out in the reality of colonisation, his determination that slavery be illegal here was at least a promising start.

Townshend had originally wanted his title to be Baron Sidney, after his ancestor Sir Algernon Sidney, the famous republican, patriot and martyr, whose revolutionary ideas would help bring about the founding of the United States.

However, Townshend worried that other family members might stake a claim to it (even barons have to worry about name stealing!), so he thought about making his title Sydenham, the name of a village near his home in Kent which is now a suburb of London.

Sydnenham may mean “Cippa’s village”, which is sometimes translated as “drunkard’s village” (there are many places in England derived from Cippa, so that adds up to a lot of drunk Anglo-Saxons!). Others prefer the less controversial “market village”.

Eventually, Thomas Townshend managed to find a compromise with Sydney. To make it clear he wasn’t trying to steal Algernon Sidney off any relatives, he said it was in honour of his ancestor Sir Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, the brother of the poet Sir Philip Sidney, who brought us the name Stella. Sir Robert was a poet as well, a diplomat and patron of the arts in Elizabethan and Jacobean times.

In the days when people were more relaxed about spelling, the Sidney family often spelled their name Sydney. The aristocratic surname Sidney is from a place name meaning “wide island” – in this case, island refers to a dry patch in a wetland. It can also be loosely translated as “at the watermeadow”. Folk etymology connects it with the suburb of St. Denis in Paris, named after the city’s patron saint. The surname originates from Kent, where the Sidney family had a seat at Tunbridge Wells.

Sydney has been used as a personal name since at least the 16th century, and was in use by the Townshend family. The name was originally given to both sexes fairly evenly, and then gradually became more common as a girl’s name, although still given to boys. By the 19th century, the situation reversed and it became much more common for boys – a variant of Sidney, rather than a feminised form of it.

Famous people named Sydney include Sydney Smirke, the architect who designed the famous Carlton Club in London; witty author Sydney Smith, whom Henry Tilney in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is said to be based; actor Sydney Greenstreet; Sydney Silverman, the British MP whose efforts helped bring about the abolition of the death penalty in that country; American astrologer Sydney Omarr; and Hollywood director and producer Sydney Pollack.

Two famous actors named one of their children Sydney. Comic genius Sir Charles “Charlie” Chaplin had a son named Sydney, named in honour of Chaplin’s brother, actor Sydney Chaplin. Distinguished Hollywood star Sir Sidney Poitier has a daughter named Sydney, apparently named after himself. Both Sidney Earle Chaplin and Sydney Poitier entered the acting profession.

The most famous Sydney in fiction is Sydney Carton, from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Although a flawed character, he redeems himself through an act of heroism, and Dickens gives him some farewell lines that are among the most quoted in English literature.

In Australia, Sydney charted as a unisex name from 1900 to the 1960s. It peaked in the 1910s at 222 births per year, but by the 1950s registered only 4 births per year. Although recent data is hard to come by, it would seem that Sydney is still given to both sexes, with perhaps more girls with the name overall. It is in steady but unobtrusive use.

In the UK, Sydney was a popular name for boys from the 19th century until the 1940s. Since the mid-1990s, it hasn’t been popular for either sex, and consistently charts higher for girls. Currently it is in the 300s for girls, and the 800s for boys. The name peaked for both sexes in 2001, the year after the Sydney Olympics, when it was #206 for girls and #805 for boys.

In the US Sydney charted for boys steadily from the 19th century until the 1950s, after which use became sporadic. It was last on the Top 1000 as a boy’s name in 1996, and has never charted higher than the 300s.

As a girl’s name, Sydney had a burst of use from the 1930s to the 1960s, but at lower levels of use than for boys named Sydney. After coming back in the early 1980s, the name was been consistently on the Top 1000 as a girl’s name, and was a Top 100 name from 1994 to 2013. it peaked in the early 2000s at #23 (around the time of the Sydney Olympics) and is currently just outside the Top 100.

It’s interesting that even though the name Sydney came well before the city of Sydney, the city inspired the name to peak at the time of the Summer Olympics in 2000.

Sydney may have passed its Olympian peak, but this is an appealing vintage unisex name that could honour someone named Sidney, or the city of Sydney. Despite being an “American-style” name, it will always have an undeniable Australian connection.

(Picture shows Circular Quay in Sydney, the area where the First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove in 1788)

Requested Name: Iden

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Requested Names

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english names, famous namesakes, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, names from television, Norse names, rare names, Shakespearean names, surname names, UK name popularity, unisex names, US name popularity

Iden is an English surname which comes from the village of Iden near Rye in East Sussex, whose name in Old English means “woodland pasture where yew trees grow”. The Iden family were once Lords of the Manor in this village, Anglo-Normans who took their surname from the village.

A famous member of the Iden family is Alexander Iden, a medieval High Sheriff of Kent. He is a character in William Shakespeare’s historical play Henry IV, where he puts down a rebellion almost by accident and is knighted for his good deed.

Iden has been used as a first name since the Middle Ages, and was strongly associated with Sussex and Kent (where there is a hamlet named Iden Green). It was originally almost entirely feminine in usage, most likely because it looks and sounds very much like the name Idunn.

This is the name of a Norse goddess of spring, whose name is conjectured to mean something like “one who rejuvenates”, to indicate immortality and ever-youthfulness. In medieval England, the name was Anglicised to Idonae, Idony, and Idonea (the last one coinciding with the Latin for “suitable”). You could therefore see Iden as another attempt to Anglicise the name.

The gender ratio of Iden gradually evened up, and by the 18th century was significantly more common as a boy’s name, although still given to both sexes. It’s interesting that even in the 19th century, births of Idens in England were still strongly tied to Sussex and Kent, showing a local appeal to the name.

Probably the most famous person with the name is the Shakespearean actor and director B. Iden Payne. He went to the United States just before the First World War, and had a successful career as a director and drama teacher, working on Broadway and in the academic world. He finished his career at the University of Texas, and they have a theatre and acting award named in his honour.

Iden has been used as a character name on Star Trek. In the series Iden, played by Jeff Yagher, is a highly intelligent hologram who tries to defend and save his fellow holograms. In the process, he develops a Messiah complex, which leads to his downfall.

Another science fiction connection is the popular time-travelling cyborg novel In the Garden of Iden, by Kage Baker. In the story, the garden of the title belongs to Sir Robert Iden, a 16th century owner of a country manor house.

Nineteenth century English author Richard Jeffries also had a “garden of Iden” in his novel Amaryllis at the Fair. In it, Mr Iden turns his garden into a miniature paradise, with his daughter Amaryllis as its loveliest bloom. The rich prose and detailed descriptions make this a treasure for garden lovers.

The name Iden has never been common, and in Australia just a few examples can be found in historical records, mostly in the middle. I only saw it as a man’s name, but one or two women had it as a middle name.

The name is in occasional use in the UK, and in 2014 5 boys were named Iden. In the US, 42 boys were named Iden in 2014, and numbers appear to be increasing. The name does not seem to be in use for girls in the English-speaking world, despite the name starting out as feminine. Yet another example which shows that names do not always go from male to female when they switch gender.

Iden isn’t a common name, but neither is it bizarre or unfamiliar, and it has a significant history as a first name. Even for people who aren’t aware of the name Iden, it sounds enough like commoner names such as Aiden, Eden, and Arden not to sound too strange (there’s also Idan, a Hebrew name for boys).

On the flipside, its similarity to other names mean that it might be confused with them. Likewise, its deceptively easy pronunciation (IE-den, so the first syllable sounds like the word eye) will no doubt cause a certain amount of misunderstandings.

Short and simple, Iden is a medieval name that sounds completely modern and even space-age. It travels well, and works cross-culturally, because the name Iden is used in several other languages and countries.

I’ve seen quite a few people considering the name Iden, and can see it increasing in use, especially if it becomes more of a favourite in popular culture.

Thank you to V for requesting the name Iden be featured on Waltzing More Than Matilda.

(Photo shows a view of countryside near Iden, East Sussex)

Uncommon Vocabulary Names For Boys

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Name Themes and Lists

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Just as with the girls names, these are ten names I saw given to real life baby boys in 2015 – but only once.

Bear
Bears have been important to humans since prehistoric times, hunted for their meat and fur, and sometimes worshipped as a totem animal or deity. Bears have a starring role in our subconscious: there are legends of saints taming bears, and they feature in folk and fairy tales. One of the best known is Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Winnie-the-Pooh and Yogi Bear show that bears continue to appeal to us. There are bear-related names, such as Bernard, Ursula and Orson, so that Bear as a name does not seem out of place. Bear has been used as an English name since around the 17th century, in some cases possibly from the surname, or used to translate bear names from other countries such as Ber and Bjorn. It has often been used as a nickname, a famous example being British adventurer Edward “Bear” Grylls. The boys’ name Bear showed up in UK and US name data after Grylls’ popular TV series Born Survivor (Man vs Wild elsewhere), and is rising in both countries, on trend with other animal names. It has been chosen as a baby name by celebrities such as Kate Winslet and Alicia Silverstone, while Jamie Oliver’s son has Bear as one of his middle names. Bear is strong and masculine in a shaggy, rough-and-tumble way, yet also sweet and cuddly – like a bear hug!

Courage
Courage is another word for bravery or fortitude; it comes from French, and is ultimately derived from the Latin for “heart”. It is not mere fearlessness, but having the moral strength to perservere and keep going under difficult circumstances. Courage was regarded as one of the highest virtues by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and in some Christian traditions is seen as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is also given high praise in Islam, Hinduism, and Eastern philosophies, while we think of people of courage as the true heroes. Unlike some other virtue names, Courage has only been used as a name since the 19th century and has always been rare, more often given to boys. A good choice for a baby facing an uphill battle, or for families in crisis.

Edge
An edge is the extreme of a margin, or the cutting side of a blade. To have the edge on someone means to be at an advantage, while if you are straight edge, you are a hardcore punk living a clean life. The word edge comes from an ancient root meaning “sharp”. There are names related to the word edge, such as Egbert, and Edge- is part of several English surnames, such as Edgely and Edgeworth. As a personal name, Edge originated in Cheshire in the 17th century – edge is a local term for an escarpment, and there are villages in Cheshire called Edge, or known as The Edge. The name Edge has never been common and is sometimes used as a nickname or professional name. A famous example is the musician named The Edge from U2 (apparently the nickname comes from his sharp features and mind). The name Edge might make you feel a bit edgy, or perhaps you’ll think that it’s right at the cutting edge of fashion.

Kaiser
Kaiser is the German word for “emperor”, derived from the Roman title of Caesar. This comes straight from the surname of Julius Caesar, believed to simply mean “hairy” (perhaps the first Caesar had lovely locks, or it could be a joke name for someone bald). The Holy Roman Emperors were the first to use the title Kaiser, in the belief that they were continuing the role of the Roman Empire. Even after the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, the title of Kaiser continued to be used by the House of Hapsburg. Thanks to high school history class, we tend to connect the title with Kaiser Wilhelm II, head of the German Empire during World War I. Kaiser has been used as a personal name since perhaps the 19th century, although it some cases it may have been a nickname given to a German immigrant. Kaiser was chosen as a baby name last year on the reality TV show Teen Mom 2, and since then the name has been rising in both the US and UK. One possible inspiration is British band the Kaiser Chiefs. Title names are on trend, and this one can be shortened to popular Kai.

Pilot
The word pilot originally referred only to someone who steered a ship, and even now a pilot is one who knows a harbour or coastline well, and is hired to help navigate a vessel: it is one of the world’s oldest professions. More generally, a pilot can be any sort of guide through an unknown area, and pilots are used in road transport as well. However, most people connect the word with airline pilots, air travel having overtaken sea travel in importance. The word is from French, and may ultimately be from the ancient Greek for “oar”. Pilot has been in rare use as a personal name since the 19th century, and was probably once best known as a dog name – in Jane Eyre, Mr Rochester has a magnificent Landseer Newfoundland named Pilot. Actor Jason Lee named his son Pilot in 2003, and since then the name has been occasionally used for boys in the US, but with no sign of growth. Occupational names like Mason and Cooper are common for boys, but this one is still an attention-grabber.

Reef
A reef is a sandbar, or a chain of rocks or coral lying near the surface of the water. In Australia, a reef also means a vein of gold-bearing quartz, so it is connected with mining, while sailors will know it as the part of the sail which is rolled up. The word comes ultimately from an ancient root meaning “arch, ceiling”. Reef has been used as a boys’ name since the 19th century, although never very common. In Australia, the name is often connected with the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, the world’s largest coral reef system. Not only important to Indigenous Australians, the Great Barrier Reef is a major tourist attraction. It has recently been in the limelight as it is the subject of a documentary by David Attenborough funded by Tourism Australia. He warns that the reef is in imminent danger from climate change, although pollution is also a major threat. A masculine counterpoint to Coral, and favourite choice of the surfer crowd, Reef has strong conservation credentials. A possible issue is that it is also slang for marijuana.

Rhythm
Rhythm refers to the beat or tempo of music, and more generally to the flow and regular variations in any task or situation. The word has been in use since the 16th century, and is derived from the ancient Greek meaning “flow, run, stream, gush”. Rhythm is a very modern name, dating only to the 20th century, and has been given to both boys and girls, although currently more common as a boys name (and only a boys name in the UK). A rare musical name that recalls natural life cycles as well. One issue is that it may remind people of the rhythm method of birth control, perhaps ironically.

Rye
Rye is a type of grass related to wheat which has been grown domestically since the Stone Age. Native to Turkey and surrounding areas, it has been a staple crop in Central and Eastern Europe since the Middle Ages. One of the most valuable things about it is that it will grow in even poor soil, and during very cold weather. The English word dates to the 8th century, and the surname Rye may be after the grain, or from places such as Rye in East Sussex, its name meaning “at the island”, or the River Rye in Yorkshire, from the Celtic meaning “river”. (Rye in Melbourne is named after the Sussex town). The word may remind you of the Robert Burns ballad Comin’ Thro’ the Rye; as a misremembered quotation, it forms the title of the classic novel Catcher in the Rye. Rye has been used as a personal name since at least the 16th century, and is more often a boys name. Although rare, it fits in well with familiar names such as Riley, Ryan and Ryder, and seems like a short form for these names (such as the guitarist Ryland “Ry” Cooder).

Warrior
A warrior is one involved in combat; the word is from Anglo-Norman, and is derived from the Latin guerra, meaning “war” (related to guerilla). We tend to connect the word to tribal or ancient societies, and professional military forces formed the basis for warrior castes or classes, such as knights in medieval Europe, or the samurai of feudal Japan. Such castes generally had an idealistic moral code, stressing bravery, loyalty, and service to others, so that a warrior is not just a thug for hire, but has an element of nobility. We might also call anyone fighting for a cause a warrior, as Steve Irwin was the Wildlife Warrior, while using the word in a sneering way towards trolling keyboard warriors who are very brave as long as nobody knows who they are. Warrior has been used as a boy’s since the 19th century, and is very rare. It sounds a little like names such as Warren and Warwick, giving it some familiarity, although its similarity to the word worrier isn’t a help.

Zen
Zen is a school of Buddhism which originated in China during the 7th century, and spread to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It emphasises rigorous meditation practices, and favours direct personal understanding rather than knowledge of doctrine. The word is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán, which is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, meaning “absorption, meditative state”. Such meditation is a way to gain liberation through calmness and awareness. Zen became known in the West in the late 19th century, and it flowered during the 1950s and ’60s – not only because of philosophers such as Alan Watts, but through the writings of beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg. That makes Zen seem cool on several different levels. Zen does have a history as a name in Japan, and has been used as an English name since the end of the 19th century. It is not very common, but the name is increasing in use. Simple yet meaningful, with a quirky letter Z to add interest, there is much to appreciate about tranquil Zen.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Bear, Rye and Reef, and their least favourite were Kaiser, Rhythm and Warrior.

(Photo shows wilderness warrior Bear Grylls having a quiet Zen moment as he contemplates whether to eat bugs or climb inside an animal carcase for the night)

Uncommon Vocabulary Names For Girls

06 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Name Themes and Lists

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Some vocabulary names are popular, like Poppy and Summer, while others are familiar, like Faith and Melody. Then there’s the vocabulary names which are more unexpected. These are ten names I have seen on Australian babies this year – but only once. They are real names, but comparative rarities.

Breeze
A breeze is a light gentle wind, pleasantly cooling and appreciated on a warm day. We say that anything easy or effortless is a breeze. The word came into use around the early 16th century, borrowed from the Dutch bries. By the following century it was in occasional use as a name. It has always been rare, and overall evenly given to both sexes, but in both the US and UK is more common now for girls. That might be because it’s similar to Bree, and sometimes girls with names like Brianna have Breeze or Breezy as their nickname. The name has a literary namesake, as H.E. Bates wrote a novella called Breeze Anstey; Breeze is a young woman and it’s a love triangle story. The name was chosen for the daughter of Levi Johnston, former fiance to Bristol Palin and father of her son Tripp, in 2012, and Vanilla Ice’s daughter has Breeze as her middle name. For a rare name, cool Breeze seems easy to wear.

Chilli
Chillies are spicy fruit from Central and South America, commonly used in cooking. The word comes from Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs, and doesn’t have any connection with the name of the country Chile, despite sounding exactly alike. Amusingly for Anglophones, a chilli is exactly the opposite of chilly! Chillies were introduced to Europe and Asia in the 15th century, but Chilli and Chili (the US spelling) have only been used very occasionally as names since the 19th century. It’s easier to find it as a nickname or stage name, such as vintage British actress Chili Bouchier (real name Dorothy). The name has gained some interest as a girl’s name since restaurateur Pete Evans, later TV host and cooking judge, and now Paleo Diet advocate, chose it for his eldest daughter around 2005. I see Chilli every now and again, and this hot name certainly packs a punch.

Halo
A halo is a ring of light; the word comes from the Greek, meaning “disc”. It can be used in science to refer to bands of coloured light around the sun or moon, and to clouds of gas surrounding galaxies. However, it’s probably best known from religious art, where saints and angels are depicted as having an aura of bright light around their heads, called a halo. It was a common artistic device in ancient Greece and Rome for heroes and rulers, and followed in religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. The word has been used in English since the 16th century, and in the sacred sense since the 17th; it replaced glory, which was the older term for divine light. Being a modern word, it didn’t become used as a name until around the 19th century. Halo is now mostly given to girls, and has become more common since the Halo video game series was released in 2001. In the games, Halo rings are huge structures used as weapons, but do have a religious connection. A space age virtue name and possible honour name for Gloria.

Harvest
Harvest comes the Old English haerfest, which was used for the name of the month we call August, and referred to the season when harvesting took place, in late summer/early autumn. From the 18th century, people began calling the season autumn or fall, and then harvest specifically meant the process of gathering crops. However, if you come from a farming background, you will know that country people still often use the word harvest to mean the time of year when crops are gathered, as in “We can’t make any plans until after harvest”. Harvest has been occasionally used as a name since the 18th century, and shows up as originally evenly unisex. Overall Harvest has been mostly given to boys, but in the US data for last year, still looks fairly evenly unisex, given to 9 girls and 5 boys. It doesn’t appear in UK data at all. Harvest can be seen as pleasantly archaic, referring to the ancient cycles of rural life; it also has Christian and pagan connotations, celebrating harvest festivals of thanksgiving. Rich and ripe, Harvest fits in with popular names like Harper and Harvey, and is a fresh take on names like Autumn and August.

Ivory
Ivory is a costly substance made from the tusks and teeth of animals. The word comes from abu, the ancient Egyptian word for “elephant”, and although we usually think of ivory as coming from elephants, ivory has also been taken from animals such as hippopotamus, walrus, sperm whale, narwhal, elk, and warthog. Ivory has been used since ancient times to make expensive decorative objects, and at the height of its popularity in the 19th century, thousands of elephants were slaughtered every year for their tusks. Although the sale of ivory is now banned or restricted, poaching of elephants for their ivory is increasing, and wild elephant populations are threatened; in many Asian countries, they are almost extinct. That makes Ivory quite a controversial name, even though it’s been in use since the 17th century. Because it fits in with current name trends and is similar to popular Ivy, use of the name Ivory is increasing in both the US and UK (it was #753 in the US last year). Enjoying the name means forgetting what ivory actually is: something I am unable to do.

Magnolia
Magnolias are beautiful fragrant flowering trees native to south-east Asia and the Americas, with a strong association with the southern states of the US. Magnolias are ancient plants, and despite their rather delicate appearance are quite tough (Steel Magnolias was chosen to depict Southern women as both strong and beautiful, but they could have just gone with Magnolias!). They are named in honour of French botanist Pierre Magnol; his surname is most likely a pet form of the name Magne, French form of Magnus, meaning “great”. Magnolia has been used as a name since the 19th century, when flower names were fashionable, and was most common in the American south. The name Magnolia made the US Top 1000 until 1940, and returned in 2013, although almost unknown in the UK. A lovely exotic name with Maggie as the obvious short form.

Ochre
Ochre is a naturally coloured clay, ranging in tone through yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown; it is iron oxide in the clay which gives it its colour. The word ochre is from ancient Greek, and literally means “pale yellow”. Ochre has been used for art since prehistoric times, and Australian Aborigines have used ochre for painting and body decoration. The very earliest human remains in Australia, many tens of thousands of years old, were buried with ochre. Ochre is an exceedingly rare name, found only a few times since the 19th century, and not showing up in any current data. Yet it means much the same thing as popular Sienna (another clay coloured with iron oxide) and sounds similar to fashionable Oakley. A strong earthy nature name that is both unusual and evocative.

Temperance
Temperance is moderation and restraint; it comes from the Latin meaning “moderation, sobriety”. A temperate person avoids excess of negative emotion, such as anger or grief, and is prudent in their habits, never over-indulging. Temperance was one of the cardinal virtues of the Greek philosophers, and was adopted by Christian thinkers; it is also an essential element of the spiritual path in Buddhism and Hinduism. Modern psychology views the calmness and self-control of temperance as a hallmark of maturity and psychological health. The classic image for Temperance is a woman mixing water with wine, and this is the standard picture on the Temperance tarot card (number XIV). The word is often connected with the temperance movement, which advocated limiting alcohol consumption or abstaining from it altogether. Temperance has been used as a girl’s name since at least the 16th century, and was especially connected with the Puritans. Temperance joined the US Top 1000 in 2011, the name rising since comedy-drama crime show Bones, which stars Emily Deschanel as chic geek Dr Temperance “Bones” Brennan. It showed up in UK data after the TV series began in 2005, and is occasionally seen here too. Virtue names are back on trend, and this one is attracting many fans.

Vogue
Vogue means the fashion or style of the time, or of a particular era. The word came into use in the 16th century, from the French meaning “wave, course of success” – it’s from voguer, meaning “to travel through water, to swim, sail or row”. You can see how what’s in vogue is at the crest of the wave, and how those who follow it are in the swim of things. Ultimately it’s from ancient Germanic meaning “to sway, to fluctuate”, a reminder of fashion’s fickleness. It’s famous as the name of iconic fashion magazine Vogue, and the magazine has inspired a dance called the vogue, brought into the mainstream with Madonna’s song Vogue. Vogue has been in rare use as a personal name, mostly since the 20th century. It doesn’t show up in current US data, but has been rising in the UK since 2013. It’s influenced by Irish model Vogue Williams, briefly married to pop singer Brian McFadden, Australian popstar Delta Goodrem‘s ex-boyfriend: Vogue’s grandmother suggested her name after an encounter with someone named Vogue. I see this name occasionally (Vogue Williams lived here at one point), and vaguely wonder how for long it will be in vogue.

Zinnia
Zinnias are ornamental daisies related to the sunflower and native to the Americas; the best known species are from Mexico. Introduced to Europe at the end of the 18th century, they are named after German botanist Johann Zinn; his surname is an occupational one for someone who worked with pewter. Zinnia has been used as a girl’s name since the 19th century, favoured by that era’s trend for flower names, but has never been common. Nevertheless it has several fictional namesakes, including grieving Zinnia Taylor from young adult novel Chasing Redbird, mischievous Zinnia Larkin (twin sister to Petunia) from the Larkin family books by H.E. Bates, and neglectful mother Zinnia Wormwood from the film Matilda. It’s also a bit of a favourite for animal characters. Last year there were 89 girls in the US named Zinnia, and 12 in the UK, the name rising in both countries. A bright, quirky flower name that seems both aristocratic and exuberant.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Magnolia, Zinnia and Temperance, and their least favourite were Ochre, Chilli and Vogue.

(Photo shows Emily Deschanel as Dr Temperance Brennan on Bones)

Waltzing With … Paris

22 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Waltzing with ...

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Like everyone else, I watched in horror and disbelief as the news unfolded in Paris last week. A place where I had briefly lived as a student, my heart went out to my Parisian friends, and to all those in this beautiful but troubled city.

Abby from Appellation Mountain wrote how it sometimes feels almost wrong to write about baby names when the world is torn by tragedy. How can I keep blogging about celebrity babies, birth announcements, birth data, and so on in the face of human suffering?

Not only would it fail to help anyone if I gave up blogging, I believe it is our duty to continue our normal routine as much as possible during dark times. This goes for my own private tragedies as well, having lost a loved one just days before the Paris attacks.

Babies will keep being born, and named, and I will keep writing about it as my small effort towards hope and healing. As memorials all over Paris say – la vie continue. Life goes on.

Paris – The Legend
Before Paris was the name of a city, it was the name of a person. In Greek legend, Paris was a prince of Troy, infamous for starting the Trojan War by abducting the beautiful Helen away from the king of Sparta. There was plenty of warning, because before Paris was born, his mother was told in a dream that he would cause the downfall of Troy.

He was supposed to be killed to avoid this fate, but the king and queen were unable to do it, and handed the job over to their cowherd. Rather like the plot of Snow White, the cowherd reared him as his own, and Paris became an organiser of bull-fights (bulls fighting other bulls, not people).

He impressed the gods with his sporting honesty enough that he was asked to judge a beauty contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris chose Aphrodite, and his prize was the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. Aphrodite neglected to mention that Helen was already married, and that’s when all the trouble began.

The meaning of Paris‘ name isn’t known. It’s thought to be a Greek rendition of the Luwian name Pari-zitis, which has been found as the name of a scribe. The meaning of the first part isn’t understood, but the –zitis part means “man”.

Legend gives Paris the nickname of Alexander, meaning “defender of men” – he gained this while still a child, by saving his foster-father’s cattle from thieves. It’s tempting to wonder if Pari-zitis has a similar meaning to Alexander, such as “protecting man” or “guardian man”, and the Greek authors looked for a name which was a close equivalent.

The Greeks explained Paris’ name as being from the backpack that the cowherd brought him home in – the Greek word for the bag is pḗra. However, this is just folk etymology.

The Paris of legend is described as intelligent and extremely handsome, but he isn’t a very attractive character. He seduced another man’s wife, brought about the destruction of his homeland, and wasn’t a gallant or skilful warrior. Mind you, he was tricked by Aphrodite, and as he was doomed to die by his city you can’t blame him for his lack of patriotism, while being brought up by a cowherd would hardly equip him with courtly manners or battle skills. Nonetheless, he’s generally thought of as rather weak and selfish.

This did not stop people from naming their sons Paris, and there is even a Saint Paris listed as a 4th century bishop of Teano, near Naples. According to legend, he was born in Greece and performed that well known saintly show-stopper of killing a dragon. Another famous Paris was a 1st century actor in Rome who became enormously popular and influential. Unfortunately he followed the legendary Paris too closely by having an affair with the emperor’s wife: he was murdered, and the emperor killed anyone who mourned his death, and even someone who looked like Paris.

Paris is a Shakespearean name, as Count Paris is Juliet’s unwanted fiance in Romeo and Juliet. Handsome, wealthy, and well-connected, Paris is an eminently suitable husband, and little wonder Juliet’s parents are thrilled at this opportunity. Of course any audience member worth their salt is barracking for Juliet’s choice of romantic Romeo, and almost no one sheds a tear for poor Paris at the end.

Paris – The City
The place where Paris is today was settled by a Gaulish people called the Parisii – it is their tribe that the city is named for. The city’s original Latin name was Lutetia Parisiorum, which probably means “swamp or marshland of the Parisii”. The tribal name Parisii could be from the ancient Celtic word par, meaning “boat” – as the Parisii lived on the River Seine, it would make sense for them to be skilled in using boats. Other ideas are that their name means “commanders”, “”fighters”, “workers, artisans”, or “cauldron, kettle”. In other words, nobody really knows.

Interestingly, there was a British tribe with the similar name of the Parisi in Yorkshire. It is unclear whether there was any connection with the Parisii in Gaul, but there is just enough vague evidence to support it that it can’t be ruled out.

Situated between trade routes on land and water, the Parisii had a thriving town on one of the islands of the Seine. After being conquered by the Romans, Lutetia Parisiorum became a prosperous Roman city with a military camp on the island, but the main part of the city where the Left Bank is now. The city became known as Parisius, and in French, Paris.

Paris was claimed as their centre of operations by both the Frankish kings, and the first king of France (the islands were good for defence), and by the Middle Ages Paris was not only the capital of France, but the largest city in the western world. Now we know it as the City of Light, the City of Love; famous for art, fashion and food, its monuments become icons. A cultural centre which remains, even after tragedy, a beacon of light.

The city of Paris provided another inspiration for the name. It is generally felt that when Paris is a boy’s name it is after the legendary character, while girls called Paris are named after the city connected with romance and fashion. However, in practice it is not possible to be so cut-and-dried (the surname Paris makes it even more complicated).

Girls have been named Paris since at least the 18th century, and although Paris was already a fashion capital by then, the French Revolution may have been an inspiration for American parents in particular.

In the US, Paris has charted as a boys name on the Top 1000 intermittently since the late 19th century. Its longest continuous stretch was from 1979 to 2000, and its highest peak in the 20th century was in 1991 at #592. It hasn’t charted as a boys name this century, but last year 96 boys were named Paris in the US, with numbers continuing to fall.

Paris has been on the US Top 1000 as a girls name since 1985. It peaked in 2004 at #157 when socialite Paris Hilton was in the reality TV show, The Simple Life. Paris Hilton’s own name was just ahead of the curve, as she was born in 1981 – although the name Paris had been gradually rising for girls for some time. Incidentally, Paris Hilton was once engaged to a man named Paris – Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis. Currently the name Paris is #269 and relatively stable.

In the UK, Paris has charted for both sexes since the mid-1990s, peaking for boys and girls in 2004 during The Simple Life. At that point, it was #119 for girls, and #717 for boys. Currently it is #463 for girls, while last year just 3 baby boys in the UK were given the name Paris.

Paris has been a Top 100 name for girls in Australia and New Zealand, the only countries where the name has ever been popular. The name was on the Top 100 from 2002 to 2004, peaking in 2003 at #58 when The Simple Life was first on air. In New Zealand it peaked in that fateful year of 2004 at #35, making it the most Paris-loving place on earth. Currently Paris is around the 500s for girls in Australia, while it doesn’t chart for boys.

It is a strange fact that tragedy can help inspire baby names – I reflect on this knowing that the name Boston became more popular outside the US after the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Could an even larger set of terror attacks in another beloved city cause an uptick in the number of babies named Paris?

POLL RESULTS
As a boy’s name, Paris received an approval rating of 52%. 32% of people disliked it, and 11% loved it.

It did slightly better as a girl’s name, receiving an approval rating of 55%. 27% of people thought it was okay, while only 6% loved it.

(Photo of Paris street memorial from the BBC)

Fresh Names For Boys

01 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Name Themes and Lists

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An audit of Featured Names on the site has revealed there are less boys names than girls, so I’m going to cover two lots of boys names this month to give them a chance to catch up. These names seem “fresh” because they don’t have a history of charting in Australia, aren’t popular, and are rising in other countries. They are ones to keep an eye on!

Arlo
May be a variant of the surname Arlow, a corruption of Harlow. Arlo is the Anglicised form of Aherlow, and the Glen of Aherlow is a picture-postcard valley in Ireland. Its name comes from the Irish eathralach, meaning “between two highlands”, as the valley is nestled between major peaks in the Galtee Mountains. The name became part of English literature when Edmund Spenser used Arlo Hill as a place name in his poem The Faerie Queene; Spenser’s estate in Ireland was near the Glen of Aherlow. Arlo has been used as a boy’s name since the 18th century, and originated in the United States: I think probably from Arlow, used at the same time, and in a couple of records the person is listed as both Arlow and Arlo. One of the its most famous namesakes is folk singer Arlo Guthrie, although you may also think of street skater Arlo Eisenberg, and agent Arlo Glass from TV series 24. Around the 200s in Australia, Arlo is climbing steeply in both the US and UK, and is already popular in New Zealand. Arlo fits in with the trends for an AR sound and O-ending, and being chosen for their sons by both Toni Colette and Kasey Chambers can only have helped.

Bodhi
In Buddhism, bodhi is the deep understanding gained about the true nature of reality; this understanding is part of the Buddha’s liberation on the path to Nirvana. It literally means “awakened” in Sanskrit and Pali, but is often translated as “enlightenment”. The great spiritual teacher Gautama Buddha is said to have attained bodhi while sitting under a sacred fig tree in India, now known as the Bodhi Tree, and Bodhi Day is celebrated by Buddhists on December 8. Bodhi has been used as a personal name since the 20th century, with a surge of interest in the 1970s, when all things Eastern became trendy. The name received a notable outing in the 1991 cult film Point Break, with Patrick Swayve as a rebel surf leader named Bodhi. The film ends at Bells Beach in Victoria, which may help explain why Bodhi is such a favourite in Australia, and around the 200s. It is much rarer in other countries, but climbing steeply in both the UK and US. Apart from the spiritual meaning, Bodhi fits in with names like Beau and Brody. Chosen for his son by actor Cameron Daddo, this is a relaxed surf-friendly name.

Casper
A form of the name Jasper, which has a huge number of European spelling variants. It’s been in use since the Middle Ages, when it was most common in Central Europe. Today Casper is a popular name in The Netherlands and Scandinavia, and rising briskly in the UK, where it is in the 200s. It is around the 400s here, and would make a great alternative to popular Jasper – especially as Casper the Friendly Ghost is no longer much of an issue.

Djanjo
Nickname of the great French jazz guitarist, born Jean Reinhardt. Reinhardt was of Romani descent, and his nickname means “I awake” in the Romani language”: it is pronounced JANG-go. There was a revival of interest in his “gypsy jazz”sound in the 1960s, and Django’s musical influence can barely be overstated; he has been an inspiration to generations of guitarists. His music has been used in movie soundtracks, and Djanjo himself is a character in Martin Scorcese’s Hugo, while being referenced in other films. Djanjo is the main character in a popular series of spaghetti Westerns, and got a reboot in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, with Jamie Foxx as freed slave Djanjo Freeman. Django isn’t common in any country, but has been rising in the UK since Tarantino’s 2012 film. Cool and on trend, this is a musical name with a cowboy vibe.

Ezra
In the Old Testament, Ezra was a scribe and priest, and according to Jewish tradition is credited with introducing several of the main aspects of Jewish law and teachings. This makes him a greatly respected figure in Judaism, and also in Islam and Christianity. His name is translated as “help”, although it may be a contraction of the Hebrew name Azaryahu, meaning “God helps”. Ezra has been in use as an English name since since at least the 16th century, and has been more common in the US; a famous namesake is the American poet Ezra Pound, and it’s referenced in the name of rock band Better Than Ezra. Ezra is around the 300s here, but is rising steeply in the US and UK; it is only just outside the US Top 100. This is becoming an increasingly hip choice.

Micah
In the Old Testament, Micah was a prophet of Israel. His name looks a lot like Michael, and has a similar meaning: “who is like Yahweh?”, while Michael means “who is like God?” (in both cases, it it is rhetorical, as nobody is God’s equal). Micah’s prophecies became especially relevant to Christians, as one was interpreted as meaning the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and Jesus referred to the Book of Micah several times in his teachings. Because of this, the prophet is regarded as a saint, and the name Micah has been used since the 17th century, introduced by the Puritans. Micah is around the 100s here, and is even more popular in the US, although not so common in the UK. The name has become a favourite in horror and fantasy works, and will appeal to people who like Michael, but want something with a more contemporary feel.

Rafael
From the Hebrew name Rafa’el meaning “God heals”; the name is often spelled Raphael, with Rafael most common in Spanish-speaking countries. In Jewish tradition, Raphael is one of the seven archangels, and mentioned in the Old Testament. He is an angel of healing and protection from demons, and venerated in Christianity and Islam as well as Judaism. Regarded as a saint in Catholicism, St Raphael is the patron of pilgrims and travellers, as well as of medical workers. The name Rafael has been in use since the Middle Ages and was common in Spain. A well-known contemporary namesake is Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal. Rafael is around the 100s here, and in the 200s in the US and UK. It is a popular name in Europe, especially in Portugal, and is rising in France and Switzerland. Romantic and with strong, positive associations, this comes with the obvious nicknames Raf and Rafe.

Roman
Derived from the Latin name Romanus, which simply means “a Roman” to signify a man from Rome or a citizen of the Roman Empire. There are a number of saints named Romanus, including an early martyr, as well as a pope and several Byzantine emperors. The name is particularly associated with Russia and Eastern Europe, as there were quite a few Russian, Romanian, and Bulgarian leaders named Roman. However use of the name was internationally quite widespread, and can be found in Spain, Germany, and England from early on. There are two famous film directors with this name: Roman Polanski and Roman Coppola, the son of Francis Ford Coppola. Roman is around the 200s here, and is rising very steeply in the US and UK, only just outside the Top 100 in both countries. Rom- names are on trend, and this is a stylish multicultural choice which was selected for her middle son by Cate Blanchett.

Silas
In the New Testament, Silas was an early Christian leader chosen to be a companion of St Paul. The pair were briefly imprisoned together, until a convenient earthquake broke their chains and burst the prison doors open. Paul refers to him by the Roman name Silvanus, which is from the Latin silva meaning “forest”; in Roman mythology, Silvanus was the god of forests. This would identify Silas as the same person as Saint Silvanus, who was one of the disciples of Jesus; tradition says he became a bishop and died a martyr. If so, Silas could be a nickname, or understood as a Greek form of Silvanus. However, Silas is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Saul, meaning “asked for, prayed for”, which was also Saint Paul’s birth name. Whether Silas was two people or one is a question for the scholars, but Silas became an English name by at least the 16th century because of this character. Here the name Silas is around the 500s, but it is far more popular in the US, and rising in the UK. In popular culture, it has become associated with villains – the creepy albino monk from The Da Vinci Code, and serial killer Silas Blisset in British soap Hollyoaks. The wicked factor has actually boosted the name’s popularity.

Thaddeus
In the New Testament, the Apostle Jude is usually identified as being the same person as the Apostle Judas Thaddeus, called so to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot. Thaddeus (said THAD-ee-us) seems to be derived from tadda, the Aramaic word for “breast, heart”, perhaps an affectionate nickname in the same way we might say dear heart or bosom buddy. It could also mean “hearty”, to suggest someone strong-hearted or warm-hearted. Perhaps the closest thing in English is the familiar piratical address my hearty, which has connotations of strength and courage, but also loyalty and camaraderie. Sometimes the name is given as Lebbeus, which could come from leb, the Hebrew word for “heart”, and thus be a translation of Thaddeus. Another theory is that it is from Todos, an Aramaic form of the name Theodore, although this fails to explain why the Bible also translates it as Lebbeus. It is unclear whether Judas Thaddeus is the same person as St Thaddeus, said to be one of the disciples of Jesus who was a missionary in Syria. In use as an English name since the 17th century, and given impetus by American Puritans, Thaddeus has a strong history in the United States. It is in the US Top 1000 and rising, and has been rising steeply in the UK since 2013. It’s very rare in Australia, but this is a handsome traditional name with a great meaning – Thad, Tad, Ted, and Teddy are obvious nicknames.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Arlo, Rafael and Casper, and their least favourite were Bodhi, Thaddeus and Djanjo.

(Picture shows a poster for the movie Django Unchained, with helpful pronunciation guide)

Boys Names from International Destinations

04 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Name Themes and Lists

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animal names, Biblical names, Dutch names, english names, European name popularity, famous namesakes, honouring, Irish names, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, name trends, names from songs, names from video games, names of businesses, nicknames, saints names, Shakespearean names, slave names, superhero names, surname names, UK name popularity, unisex names, US name popularity

Arden
A region of Warwickshire in England, once thickly covered in trees and known as the Forest of Arden. It has strong Shakespearean connections, as William Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford-upon-Avon is one of the region’s main attractions. Furthermore, the Arden family were prominent in the area for centuries – they are one of the few landed families in England who can trace their lineage back to before the Norman Conquest. William Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, was one of this family. Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It is set in the Forest of Arden, a creative mixture of the real forest, a romanticised version of it, and the Ardennes Forest in central Europe. The name Arden is thought to come from the Ancient British word ardu, meaning “high land”; it has been used as a personal name since the 17th century, and had strong ties with Warwickshire. Arden is more popular for girls in the US (perhaps because of cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden), but is fairly even in the UK, and rising for both sexes. This matches my own observations in Australia, and it fits with both male and female name trends.

Boston
The capital of Massachusetts, one of the oldest and largest cities in the United States. Founded by Puritans in the 17th century, it was the scene of many of the key events in the American Revolution – perhaps most famously, the Boston Tea Party. Boston is one of the most economically powerful cities in the world, and a major educational centre, the home of top universities such as Harvard. It has been called “The Athens of America” for its contribution towards literature, art, music, and high culture in general. It is also known for its strong Irish history and culture: former President John F. Kennedy was from a Boston family of Irish Catholic heritage. The city is called after the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, whose name is said to be a contraction of “St Botolph’s town” – St Botolph was an obscure yet strangely popular Anglo-Saxon saint, and his name is believed to be an Old English one meaning “messenger wolf, herald wolf”. Also a surname, Boston has been in use since the 18th century. I saw this name more frequently after the Boston Marathon terrorist attacks in 2013, which matches the situation in the UK, although the name remained stable in the US.

Cairo
The capital of Egypt, and one of the largest cities in the world. Founded in the 10th century, it is close to several ancient sites, including the Pyramids, so that despite being a busy metropolis, it is often associated with the romance of Ancient Egypt. Cairo is a transliteration of the Arabic name for the city: al-Qāhirah, meaning “the victorious”. The reason for the name is because the planet Mars (in Arabic, Al Najm Al Qahir) was rising at the time of the city’s founding. The Egyptian name for the city is Khere-Ohe, meaning “place of combat”, referring to a battle which is supposed to have occurred here between the gods Set and Horus. Not only a strong, war-like name, Egyptian-themed names are very cool at present, and this might appeal to someone wanting a nod to African or Arabic culture. It fits very well with current trends in boys names and can be shortened to Cai.

Cuba
The largest island in the Caribbean, which was claimed for Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1492. It is an ethnically diverse nation with a tumultuous history, and has been under Communist rule since 1965. The island’s name comes from the indigenous Taino language, but the meaning is not certain: it may be from cubao, meaning “where fertile land is abundant”, or coabana, meaning “great place”. Cuba has become well known as a boy’s name due to Hollywood actor Cuba Gooding Jr. As his name tells you, Cuba was named after his father Cuba Gooding Sr, lead singer of the group The Main Ingredient. Cuba Sr’s father Dudley was from Barbados, but fled to Cuba, and met and married a woman there. After she was murdered because of their involvement in the Pan-African movement, Dudley promised her on her deathbed that he would name his first son Cuba. That is a very powerful name story for the name Cuba, and let’s face it, yours won’t be able to compete. However, Cuba has been used as a name since the 18th century, and in the US had strong ties to the African-American community: it may have originally been given as a slave name.

Denver
The capital of Colorado, and one of the largest cities in the American south-west. Set high in the Rocky Mountains, it has the distinction of being exactly one mile above sea level. The city was named after a 19th century politician, James W. Denver, in hopes of currying favour. The surname Denver is after a village in Norfolk, meaning “the passage of the Danes” in Old English – it’s a place on the River Ouse once crossed by Danish invaders. Famous people with the surname include Bob Denver from Gilligan’s Island, and singer John Denver (born Henry Deutchendorf). Denver Pyle played Jesse Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard, while a famous Australian namesake is Denver Beanland, a former Liberal politician from Queensland. The name isn’t particularly strongly tied to the city and can be seen just as easily as a surname name. In use in Australia since the 19th century, it has a reasonable history, so that it doesn’t seem too modern and trendy, despite having a fashionable letter V. Little wonder that it seems to be in quiet but steady use.

Harlem
An area of Manhattan in New York City which has been known as a major centre for African-American culture since the “Harlem Renaissance”of the 1920s. Originally a village settled by Dutch immigrants, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Haarlem is the capital of North Holland, and historically the centre of the famous tulip industry. Its name probably means something like, “home on the forested dunes”, as it lies on a thin strip of land near the North Sea. It is also a surname; one example is former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem. I see this name fairly regularly, and that’s probably because it fits in so well with the strong trend for Har- sounds in boy’s names, such as Harvey, Harley, Harland, and so on. Not only similar to these, Harlem celebrates a place with a cool, and perhaps slightly dangerous image. The Harlem Shake memes could even be a contributing factor!

Jericho
A city in Palestine on the River Jordan. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest walled city; archaeologists have found remains in Jericho dated to 9000 BC. Jericho features in a famous Bible story, which tells how Joshua, the general of Moses, took the city of Jericho. The Israelites marched around the city perimeter for six days with the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, they marched around seven times, then the priests blew a ram’s horn and the Israelites raised a great shout. The walls of the city fell down, and the Israelites slaughtered almost all the inhabitants. There is a very rousing African-American spiritual about the incident, where the “walls came tumbling down” – an inspiration for the Thatcher era pop song. Archaeologists tell us that although Jericho’s famous walls have been brought down during various conflicts, Jericho was temporarily abandoned during the time that Joshua was supposed to have lived. Perhaps more importantly for the name, it fits in with the current fashion for names with an -o ending, and joined the US Top 1000 in 2013, as it has recently become known as one of the Teen Titan superheroes, and a common name in video games.

Kobe
A busy port in Japan, and one of the country’s largest cities. It is famous for its hot springs, which provide a tranquil retreat and have been in use since at least the 8th century, making them amongst Japan’s oldest. The city’s name is connected to its Ikuta Shrine, a Shinto shrine founded in the early 3rd century to venerate Wakahirume, the Japanese goddess of the rising sun and weaving. The city’s name is derived from kamube, an old name for the people who supported the shrine. It is also a Japanese surname, after the city. The name has been popularised by American basketballer Kobe Bryant, whose parents named him after Kobe beef, a very high quality meat from Japan, that they saw on a restaurant menu. Although the Japanese pronunciation is more like KO-BEH, English-speakers generally say it as a homophone of the name Coby, which is one of the name’s attractions. In fact, it is also a Dutch pet form of Jakob. Kobe is around the 100s in Australia, significantly more popular than in either the US or the UK, although it is a Top 50 name in Belgium.

Memphis
The largest city in the state of Tennessee. It is famous as a centre for popular music; because of this, almost a thousand songs are about Memphis, or mention it in some way, and Graceland, Elvis Presley’s famous estate, is a major tourist attraction of the city. Memphis is named after a a capital of ancient Egypt because the American city is situated on the Mississippi, just as the Egyptian one was situated on the River Nile. The Egyptian city is now in ruins, but was once a port and busy commercial centre. Memphis is the Greek transliteration of the Egyptian name Men-nefer, meaning “enduring and beautiful”, and Greek mythology personified it as a nymph named Memphis who founded the city along with her husband, a king and son of Zeus. Despite this feminine history for the name, Memphis is much more common as a male name than a female one, most likely because of Elvis. It is around the 600s for boys in Australia, more popular than in either the US or UK.

Tyrone
The largest county in Northern Ireland. Its name comes from Tir Eoghain, meaning “land of Eoghan”; according to Irish legend, Eoghan was a son of a great medieval king who claimed this land for himself. Eoghan may be derived from Eugene, and thus an Irish form of the Welsh name Owen; others say it is from the Old Irish, and means “born under the protection of the sacred yew tree”. Tyrone has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and originated in the United States, presumably as an Irish heritage name. It later became used in Ireland too. The name was popularised by Hollywood actor Tyrone Power Jr; part of a long line of actors, the name Tyrone was traditional in his family. The original Tyrone Power, the great-great-grandfather of the Hollywood actor, was from a landed family in Ireland. Tyrone entered the charts in the 1960s at #413, and peaked in the late 2000s at #181. Currently around the 300s, it has never become popular, yet never gone out of use, pioneering, and still fitting in with, the well-worn trend for Ty- names for boys, such as Tyler and Tyson.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Arden, Jericho and Boston, and their least favourite were Cairo, Harlem and Cuba.

(Photo of the Ikuta Shrine in Kobe, Japan by Suguri F)

Girls Names from International Destinations

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by waltzingmorethanmatilda in Name Themes and Lists

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Arabic names, car names, Celtic names, Dutch names, english names, ethnonyms, fabric names, famous namesakes, fictional namesakes, gemstone names, honouring, locational names, mythological names, name history, name meaning, name popularity, names of deserts, names of rivers, names of US states, Native American names, nicknames, Sanskrit names, Scottish names, slave names, stage names, surname names, unisex names, vocabulary names

Aberdeen
The third largest city in Scotland, often called The Energy Capital of Europe because of its North Sea oil reserves, and Scotland’s most important city economically. Another of its claims to fame is that it is the coldest city in the UK. The original name for Aberdeen was Aberdon, a Celtic name meaning “mouth of the Don” – the River Don empties into the North Sea north of Aberdeen’s original site. The river’s name may be derived from Devona, a Celtic deity whose name means “river goddess”. I saw a baby girl named Aberdeen in the newspaper, and her mother emailed me to explain that her name is in honour of Kurt Cobain, lead singer for the rock band Nirvana, who was born in Aberdeen, Washington (Aberdeen’s father is a great admirer). The American city’s name is after a salmon cannery which was named for the Scottish city, because it is also situated on a rivermouth. A rare name with a possible feminine origin which can be shortened to Abby or Deeni.

Alaska
The most northern state of the USA, separated from the continental US by Canada. First colonised by Russia, it was purchased by the United States in the 19th century, and eventually became a state in 1959. Once famous as a gold rush area and wild frontier, it is now known for its vast gas and oil reserves, and stunning natural beauty. The state’s name was adopted during the Russian colonial period, derived from an Aleut word meaning “mainland” (literally “that which the sea breaks against”). The name has become better known since the 2005 publication of John Green’s first young adult novel, Looking for Alaska, with the character of Alaska Young a beautiful but unstable teenage girl who is the hero’s love interest.

Calais
A town and major seaport in northern France and a major trading centre since the Middle Ages. It is famously located at the narrowest point of the English Channel, and a popular place to make for when swimming the Channel (or crossing by ferry). It was once a territory of England, and called “the brightest jewel in the English crown” for its rich commercial opportunities. The Romans called it Caletum, apparently in reference to the local Celtic tribespeople; it was from Calais that Caesar launched his invasion of Britain. Pronounced kal-ay, Calais sounds similar to names such as Callie and Carly while having the fashionable AY sound. Calais is also a boy’s name – in Greek mythology, Calaïs was a son of the North Wind, and one of the Argonauts. The name means “turquoise” or “chrysolithe” (another blue-green jewel), so is a rare masculine gemstone name. It is pronounced KAL-uh-ees. I’ve seen several boys in Australia named Calais, but more likely because of the car, the Holden Commodore Calais, than after the Greek hero.

Havana
The capital of Cuba, and a popular tourist destination that’s almost instantly recognisable from its colourful architecture and vintage cars. Under American occupation before the revolution, it was a playground for the middle classes, a sort of offshore Las Vegas with an exciting tinge of corruption and decadence. The city was founded by the Spanish in the early 16th century and named San Cristóbal de la Habana. Saint Christopher is the city’s patron, but the meaning of Habana isn’t certain. It may come from Habaguanex, the name of a Native American chief who controlled the region. The name has become fairly well known in Australia because of the DJ, singer, and dancer Havana Brown. Born in Melbourne to parents from Mauritius, Havana’s birth name is Angelique Meunier. The name Havana was #339 in Victoria in 2012. Pronounced huh-VAH-nuh, it fits in with the trend for names with a strong V sound, and looks like a natural successor to Ava and Harper.

Holland
A historic region of the Netherlands, sometimes informally used to refer to the country itself (Dutch people outside North and South Holland may not appreciate this, just as Scots don’t care for being told they’re from England). The name comes from the Middle Dutch holtland, meaning “wooded land”, but folk etymology connects it to the modern Dutch hol land, meaning “hollow land”, because the Netherlands is famously low-lying. Holland is also an area of Lincolnshire, similarly flat and famous for tulips, but its name comes from the Old English for “hill spur land, ridge land”. It is from this area that the English surname Holland comes, and you can see Holland as a surname name too. Both Holland Park in London and the Holland Tunnel in New York are from the Lincolnshire connection. Holland is also a fabric; this heavy linen was in the past often imported from the Netherlands. Long in use for both sexes, on a girl this name easily shortens to Holly.

India
India is named for the Indus River, one of the longest rivers of Asia, which flows from Tibet into the Arabian Sea; the Sanskrit name for the river is Sindhu, which means “body of trembling water”. Alexander the Great crossed the Indus, and the ancient Greeks called the people of present-day Pakistan and India Indoi, meaning “people of the Indus” – it’s the origin of the word for the Hindu religion as well. The Indus Valley was the birthplace for an ancient civilisation, the oldest urban culture in South Asia. In Britain, India was often given as a name in reference to the British Raj, and still has a rather upper class image in the UK. In the US, India had steady use in Indiana, but overall was more common in the south – a famous fictional namesake is India Wilkes from Gone With the Wind, the sister of Ashley. India was also given as a slave name in colonial America, perhaps because it was associated with a dark complexion. It’s always been a name which symbolises exoticism to Europeans, and is around the 200s in Australia, a natural successor to popular Indiana and sharing the nickname Indi.

Mississippi
An American state in the south, named for the Mississippi River, another inspiration for the name. The Mississippi is the chief river of North America, and one of the largest in the world, rising in Minnesota and meandering to the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River Valley is one of the country’s most fertile areas, and was the focus for the steamboat era, brought to life in the works of Mark Twain. It features in songs such as Johnny Cash’s Big River, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary, and Charley Pride’s Roll on Mississippi. The river’s name comes from Misi-ziibi, the Objibwe or Algonquin for “great river”. Lengthy, and a spelling minefield for the unwary, this comes with two snappy nicknames: Missi and Sippi.

Odessa
A city in the Ukraine founded by Catherine the Great. It was named thus because of a belief that it was the site of an ancient Greek city called Odessos – Odessos is now thought to have been where Varna, in modern Bulgaria, is today. The name is probably pre-Greek, and its meaning and origin unknown. A free port, Odessa was a city where people of many cultures and languages mingled; its cosmopolitan nature made it a place for freethinkers to congregate, and Mark Twain predicted it would become one of the great cities of the world. The first tremors of the Russian Revolution could be felt here in 1905, after a workers’ uprising was put down with a brutal massacre. Odessa looks as if it could be related to all kinds of familiar names, and is sometimes even touted as a feminine form of Odysseus, so it feels like a “real name”. It’s right on trend and would make a great alternative to popular Olivia.

Sahara
The largest desert in Africa, and the largest hot desert of the world, the Sahara stretches right across northern Africa, often very beautiful in its shifting sandscapes. Its name is an intensifier of ṣaḥrā , the Arabic word for desert, to suggest “great desert”. The singer-songwriter Sahara Smith received her name because her father hiccuped while suggesting the name Sara, and liked the result. This is a pretty name which is so similar to names like Sara, Sarah, Zara and Zahara that its main issue is probably being confused with them.

Venice
A city in northern Italy built on a series of islands separated by a maze of canals and linked by bridges. It is seen as one of the most beautiful cities in the world and a very romantic destination, thanks to its ornate architecture and the gondolas providing transport through its waterways. A wealthy city for most of its history, it has a particularly strong connection with the arts and music, and has featured in many plays, novels, and films. The city’s name comes from the Veneti, the tribespeople who populated the area in ancient times. Etymologists believe their name comes from an ancient root meaning “strive, wish for, love” (to suggest strong kinship bonds), giving it a very attractive meaning as well. The name seems to have been used since the 16th century, although in at least some records, may have been confused with the related names Venus or Venetia. This artistic name would make a good alternative to rising Florence.

POLL RESULTS
People’s favourite names were Odessa, India and Holland, and their least favourite were Havana, Venice and Mississippi.

(Photo is of Denali National Park in Alaska)

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Boys Names from International Destinations

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