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Girls Names from International Destinations

27 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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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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Famous Name: Georgette

03 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Famous Names

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The SS Georgette was a steamship with a short, unsuccessful career, but in the four years of her existence, played a role in two daring rescues. Built in Scotland in 1872, she came to Western Australia the following year as part of a passenger service between Fremantle, Albany, and Geraldton.

In April 1876, an American whaler called the Catalpa rescued Fenian political prisoners from Fremantle Gaol: the Fenians were Irish republican nationalists, and the organisation was founded in the United States and named after the Fianna. The Catalpa dropped anchor in international waters, and sent a whaleboat to collect the prisoners. While they were still rowing back to the Catalpa, the Georgette (which had been commandeered by the navy) was sent to intercept them, but was too late – the prisoners had already boarded the Catalpa.

The next day, having received official orders, the Georgette returned and demanded the prisoners back, but being in international waters, the Catalpa told them to buzz off. After firing a warning shot and risking a diplomatic incident, the Georgette rather pointlessly pursued the Catalpa until it was low on fuel. The Fenians made it safely to America in a few months, and I think we’ll hear more of their story next year, because now we have to get back to the Georgette.

1876 wasn’t a good year for the Georgette, because around midnight on December 1, while taking passengers and jarrah wood from Fremantle to Adelaide, she sprung a leak near Margaret River. The ship’s pumps would not work, and by 4 am, all the passengers and crew were desperately bailing water out with buckets while the captain made for the shore. The rising water extinguished the ship’s fires, leaving her drifting a few kilometres from the coastline. Lifeboats were lowered, but the first one was thrown against the ship by a wave and broke in half; some of its occupants were rescued by a second lifeboat, but several women and children perished.

As the Georgette drifted into Calgardup Bay, it was spotted from the shore by an Indigenous stockman named Sam Yebble Isaacs, who was employed by the Bussells, a prosperous family of early settlers that the city of Busselton is named for. Sam ran for the homestead to raise the alarm, but the only people there were the Bussells’ sixteen-year-old daughter, Grace, and her mother.

Grace and Sam rode down to the bay on horseback to find the Georgette had now run aground and was breaking up. To the amazement of the watching shipwreck victims, Grace and Sam rode straight down the cliffs and out into the surf, swimming their horses into the sea. They carried as many people to shore as they could, and Grace and Sam continued their exhausting rescue mission for four hours, as the captain kept launching lifeboats which immediately capsized in the dangerous surf. Out of the fifty people on board the Georgette, all but a dozen were saved.

When the survivors had all been carried to Redgate Beach, the Bussell family sent a bullock dray to collect them, and provided food and accommodation for two days, until a ship could be found to take them to Fremantle.

Grace Bussell’s heroism was reported around the world, and she was hailed as “the Grace Darling of the West” – Grace Darling was a young Englishwoman who became extremely famous for helping to rescue the survivors of a shipwreck. Poems were written in Grace Bussell’s honour; the Royal Humane Society awarded her a silver medal for bravery, and the British government gave her a gold watch and chain.

In contrast, Sam Isaacs received far less attention, even though it had been he who first found the shipwreck, and who had worked alongside Grace for hours. His role was underplayed, or even left out altogether, and when he was mentioned, he was often just identified as a “black servant”.

Sam was awarded a bronze medal for bravery by the Royal Humane Society, and Isaacs family history tells us that he was granted 100 acres of land as part of his reward, became a farmer, and raised a large family. There is a monument to Sam Isaacs in Bussellton Park, and another intriguing American connection is that Sam’s father was a Native American who had worked as a whaler. Sam still has descendants in the area.

Grace’s story had a rather romantic twist because a young surveyor from Perth named Frederick Drake-Brockman heard of her heroic actions. Deciding that this was the girl who must become his future wife, he rode 300 kilometres to meet her, and four years later the couple got married in Bussellton.

Frederick, who was also from a prominent pioneering family, later took on the important role of Surveyor General. As a surveyor, he named the coastal village of Gracetown after his wife, as well as the wheatbelt town of Lake Grace. Grace and Frederick had seven children, and two of their sons became decorated World War I heroes.

At Redgate Beach a large rock that sits off the coast is called Isaacs Rock, and there is a plaque commemorating Grace’s bravery; the ship’s bell from the Georgette is on display at the Augusta Historical Museum. The Georgette itself, which ended lives and changed others, lies beneath the waves, and on a clear day, when the tide is low, you may still be able to see her remains.

Georgette is a feminine form of Georges, the French form of George. A famous namesake is actress Georgette “Googie” Withers, who married an Australian actor and moved here in the 1950s. She had a successful career in the theatre, on Broadway, and on television. She was named an Honourary Officer of the Order of Australia in the 1980s, and only passed away a few years ago at the age of 90.

The name will probably remind many people of British author Georgette Heyer, who wrote popular novels from the 1920s to the 1970s. She virtually created the genre of the historical romance, and any name nerd who has become enamoured with the Georgian and Regency eras has probably read a few of Heyer’s well-researched escapist melodramas, filled with dashing highwaymen, damsels in distress, rich earls, bounders, cads, and beautiful girls who become the toast of society but want to marry for love.

Georgette is also a fabric, a thin crêpe material originally made from silk. It was named after the early 20th century French dressmaker, Georgette de la Plante. Georgette is notable for its crinkly appearance, and was a particular favourite for dresses in the 1930s.

Although it has never charted in Australia, Georgette is found reasonably often in historical records from the late 19th century up to the 1970s. Some of the Australian Georgettes have French surnames, and it also made a rather handy middle name, going well with a variety of first names.

Georgette has something of a period flavour, as it was most popular around the turn of the century, and associated with Regency romances and 1930s fashions. On the other hand, it also seems like a viable choice for a baby born today. Vintage names are back in style, George names for girls are fairly common, and we’re used to names ending in -ette, like Juliette.

This is an elegant name that’s more sophisticated than the standard Georgia or Georgina. It doesn’t appeal to everyone, but some will discern its charms. Georgie would be the standard nickname in Australia, but the French would use Gigi (tres chic!), and Jette would be a very cool nickname.

POLL RESULTS
Georgette received an approval rating of 55%. 21% of people saw it as an unusual, stylish vintage choice, but 16% thought it was ugly and frumpy. Only one person thought Georgette should just be used as a middle name.

True Blue Names for Boys

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Happy Australia Day! Here are ten names for boys which are associated with the colour blue, in honour of the saying, a true blue Aussie.

Bay

A bay is a scoop in the shoreline, much prized for providing safe anchorage and opportunities for fishing. Having a long coastline, Australia has many bays, including the Great Australian Bight which forms the southern edge of the continent, and Botany Bay in Sydney – there is even a Blue Bay on the Central Coast of New South Wales. Although bay also describes the colour of a horse’s coat (coppery brown with black markings), and bay tree is another word for a laurel bush, I tend to think of the name Bay as being influenced more by the geographic term, at least in Australia. Bay can also be from the surname – the first English people with the surname Bay took their name from baille, an enclosed courtyard as part of a Norman castle’s fortifications. Although Bay can be used for both sexes, I have only ever seen it on boys, perhaps because it sounds as if could be short for Bailey.

Blue

Blue is a colour of the spectrum, and a primary colour. Because it is the colour of the sky, it has often been seen as representing heaven and divinity. It has been connected to the “blue collar” working class, but also with the wealthy, and “blue blooded” nobility. Blue is a popular colour for uniforms, and the navy, air force, and police traditionally wear blue. Blue can also mean “sad, melancholy”; hence blues music, which arose out of suffering. The Australian flag and Eureka flag are both blue, blue heelers are tough, loyal Australian cattle dogs, and it is an Australian irony that a red-headed man is called Blue or Bluey – some say because of the redhead’s reputation for temper, as a blue is Australian slang for a fight. Since World War II, blue has been seen as the colour for boys (with pink for girls), giving the name Blue a boyish feel – although celebrity baby Blue Carter shows it works well for girls too.

Dean

The Blue Mountains are to the west of Sydney, part of the Great Dividing Range down the eastern side of Australia. Their name comes from the blue-grey haze which can be seen when the mountains are viewed from a distance, believed to be caused by the diffusion of eucalyptus oils from the trees. One of the most prominent is the Mountain Blue Gum (Eucalptus deanei), a tall forest tree. Its scientific name comes from Henry Deane, an Australian engineer who first collected specimens in the late 19th century. The English surname Dean or Deane comes from dene, meaning “valley” – the Mountain Blue Gum grows in sheltered valleys. Dean has been used as a boys name since the 17th century, and seems to have been initially most popular amongst non-Anglican Protestants. Dean first ranked in Australia in the 1950s, probably because of Hollywood star James Dean; it debuted at #134. By the following decade it had reached the Top 50, and peaked in the 1970s at #34. It didn’t leave the Top 100 until the early 2000s, and since then has gently declined into the mid-100s. It has recently got some exposure via Dean Winchester from the television show Supernatural, played by Jensen Ackles; the character is named after Dean Moriarty, from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. A simple, clean modern classic, this still has a touch of Hollywood.

Drake

Drake has been used as a boys name since the late 16th history in honour of the heroic sea captain, Sir Francis Drake – the first babies with this name were born around the time of Sir Francis’ death. His surname is from the Old English nickname Draca, meaning “dragon, serpent, sea serpent”, coming from the Latin draco. The word goes back to an ancient root meaning “to see” – perhaps suggesting that dragons had a mesmerising gaze. In European mythology, dragons are serpentine rather than lizard-like, so the word drake covers a range of creatures. The name would have been given to someone who was very bold and fierce, for dragons were generally viewed as evil. They were often shown guarding a hoard of treasure with avaricious ferocity. In the post-Christian era, they became associated with Satan, but in modern fantasy stories, dragons nearly always seem to be noble and friendly. Although dragons are cool, this name reminds me of the watery Rainbow Serpent of Indigenous cultures, depicted as a blue serpent on Sydney’s coat of arms.

Levi

Levi Strauss was the German-American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue denim jeans, which gain their colour from indigo dye. Originally sturdy workwear for labourers, jeans became iconic fashion items, and are now essential clothing for almost everyone. In the Old Testament, Levi was the son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Tribe of Levi. The Levites became the priestly caste of the Hebrews – perhaps the most famous members of the Tribe of Levi are Moses, and his siblings Aaron and Miriam. The name Levi is traditionally understood as “he will join”, because Jacob joined with Leah to produce Levi, but Biblical scholars believe it simply means “priest”, and comes from Arabic. Levi has charted in Australia since the 1970s – this was the decade that Levi jeans were first manufactured in Australia, and the brand name probably had more impact than the Biblical figure. Levi was #243 for the 1980s, and climbed steeply to make the Top 100 by the early 2000s, where it remains stable. It is #26 nationally, #31 in New South Wales, #30 in Victoria, #24 in Queensland, #40 in South Australia, #22 in Western Australia, #23 in Tasmania, #13 in the Northern Territory, and #53 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Marlin

Blue marlin are one of the world’s largest fish, blue-black with a silvery white underside, and an elongated upper jaw. They can reach more than 500 kg in weight, and have few predators, apart from humans. Because of their size, power, and elusiveness, they are considered to be one of the most highly prized targets for sports fishing. Found in many oceans of the world, blue marlin have been captured as far south as Tasmania. However, the greatest numbers have been caught off the Gold Coast in Queensland, and the largest ones in Bateman’s Bay, on the south coast of New South Wales. Blue marlin are considered be a threatened species, due to overfishing, and most anglers in Australia use the tag and release method. If you would like to use Marlin as a boy’s name, it doesn’t seem too different from Marlon in sound. The word marlin is short for marlinspike fish, as a marlinspike is a pointed tool used by sailors to separate strands of rope; it comes from the Dutch for “fasten, secure”. Like to use this as a girl’s name? What about Makaira, the Latin name for marlin?

Ocean

Australia is entirely surrounded by ocean, and more than 80% of our population live near the sea. 71% of the planet is covered by ocean, which holds most of Earth’s water. Integral to life on the planet, it is believed that life first arose in its waters. It is not known where all the water on our planet came from, but it must have played a major role in cooling it and making it possible for anything to live here. It still continues to moderate our climate and weather patterns, so we can keep living here. From space, Earth appears to be a marbled blue colour, earning it the moniker The Blue Planet. The word ocean comes from Oceanus, which the ancient Greeks and Romans believed was an enormous river encircling the world. In Greek mythology, this world-ocean was personified as a Titan, depicted as a large, muscular man with a long beard and horns, having a serpent for his lower body. He is the father of the ocean nymphs, and all the rivers, fountains and lakes of the world. Despite these masculine origins, the name Ocean is given to both boys and girls.

River

Although it has around a hundred of them, Australia cannot be said to be a land of great rivers – river beds are often dry, and even our largest rivers tend to be on the thin side. Of course, this means that every single one of them is especially precious. It seems slightly cheating to include them on a list of Blue Names, as every river I have seen here was brown or green in colour. However, rivers are marked in blue on maps, and if you saw one from a distance with a quantity of blue sky reflected in it, from the right angle it would probably look blue-ish. The word river is Anglo-Norman, from the Latin for “riverbank, shore”; it is ultimately from an ancient root meaning “scratch, tear, cut”. River has been used as a first name since the 17th century, and from the beginning seems to have been used with the geographic term in mind, since people named River Banks and River Jordan turn up quite early in the records. The name is unisex, but historically much more common for boys – in Australia, it seems to be more than twice as common for boys as for girls.

Steel

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Steel production began on an experimental basis in Australia in the 19th century, but didn’t really get going until World War I, when BHP opened the first steelworks in Newcastle. Its boom years were after World War II, but since the 1980s our steel production has decreased significantly due to global competition. During its heyday, steelworks provided mass employment and were a source of great pride for workers; it was from the steelworkers that the modern working class emerged. Blue steel is steel that has been given a dark finish, in order to increase toughness. Although we often connect blue steel with guns and other weapons, it is used in many useful capacities, such as on the steel-capped toes of work boots. It gives its name to a colour – steel blue, a shade of blue-grey. Last year I saw several boys named Steel or Steele in birth notices, after the release of the Superman movie, Man of Steel.

Suede

Suede is a soft napped leather, popular for making accessories such as shoes and handbags. It was originally used for women’s gloves, and the word comes from the French gants de Suède, meaning “gloves from Sweden”, since this is where the gloves were imported from. Suede features in the Carl Perkins song, Blue Suede Shoes, considered one of the first rockabilly records, and the first million-selling country song to hit the R&B charts. Perkins wrote the song based on a suggestion from Johnny Cash, and a real life encounter with a man who didn’t want anyone stepping on his blue suede shoes. It was soon afterwards recorded by Elvis Presley, who made it a hit all over again, and the song has gone on to become a rock and roll classic. I have met a little boy named Suede, and once I got used to it, found it rather cool and rockabilly. Suede was named in honour of the song, as his parents are Elvis fans. They probably attended the recent Elvis Presley Festival in Parkes.

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Levi, River and Bay, and their least favourite were Ocean, Steel and Suede.

Names of Fictional Characters for Girls

10 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Arrietty

Arrietty Clock is a teenage “borrower” from Mary Norton’s classic children’s fantasy book series, The Borrowers. The borrowers are tiny people who live by “borrowing” everyday items from the Big People, who they call “human beans”. Because of the spirited Arrietty’s curiosity, she and her family end up having far more adventurous lives than the average borrower. In the UK issue of the Japanese animated film Arietty’s World, inspired by the books, Arrietty is voiced by Saoirse Ronan; in the US issue, by Disney actress Bridgit Mendler. Like everything else they own, the borrowers’ names have also been “borrowed”, and used in new ways. Arrietty is reminiscent of the word arietta, meaning “little song, a small aria” in Italian. However, it is also very similar to the name Harriet, and the short form Etty. As Aria and Harriet are quite popular, and Etta very hip, Arrietty is one of those invented names which we are half-surprised wasn’t used before the books’ publication.

Arwen

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings, Arwen Undómiel is an Elven princess, said to be the most beautiful of the last generation of the High Elves. She is the lover of the hero Aragorn, and because she is an immortal, Arwen must sacrifice a great deal to be with her love. In the Peter Jackson films, she is played by Liv Tyler. In the Elvish Sindarin language created by Tolkien, Arwen is said to mean “noble maiden”. However, Tolkien did not invent the name itself, which is a modern Welsh name. It may be a feminine form of Arwyn, which I have seen translated as “very fair, greatly blessed, splendid”. In the UK, the name began charting around the time The Fellowship of the Ring came out, and is currently #654 and rising. This does have a (short) history as a genuine Welsh name, and was given to a very lovely fantasy princess.

Bellatrix

Bellatrix Lestrange is an evil witch in the Harry Potter fantasy series, the Dark Lord Voldemort’s most faithful follower. In the films, she is played by Helena Bonham-Carter. Bellatrix was born into the Black family, and like all members of that clan, she is named after a star. Bellatrix is the common name of Gamma Orionis, a bright star in the constellation of Orion. Its name is Latin for “female warrior”, which was originally given to Capella, and then transferred to Gamma Orionis. It is also known as the Amazon Star, a loose translation of its Arabic name, which means “the conqueror”. Bellatrix Lestrange’s name is apt because she is a skilled warrior for Voldemort, and has won many duels. This name sounds very usable, because it has the popular Bella in it, and the -trix from hip Beatrix. However, while the Harry Potter character has raised the name’s profile, it’s also a stumbling block, because the character is evil – and not in a cool “strong yet misunderstood woman” way. Bellatrix is a fanatical racist with a love for murder and torture, and a starstruck Voldie fangirl with an annoying little-girl voice. So on one hand: great name. On the other: horrible association.

Iridessa

Iridessa is the name of one of the fairies in the Disney Fairies franchise. Her talent is working with light, and she wears a yellow dress, lives in a sunflower, and has clear fairy wings. In the movies, she is voiced by Raven-Symoné. Iridessa is a perfectionist and a worrier; she likes to look on the bright side of things, but can usually sense trouble approaching. When disaster strikes, she rushes in to save the day, and brings sunshine, light and brightness to every situation. The name Iridessa seems to be based on the word iridescent, meaning “producing rainbow-like colours; brilliant, lustrous, prismatic”. The word is derived from Iris, the name of the goddess of the rainbow, so you could see Iridessa as a modern spin on the older name. I have seen a baby with this name, and it’s been frequently Googled, so it seems that people find the name of this fairy intriguing. It’s not surprising, with such an attractive namesake associated with light. Looking for a nickname? Iridessa goes by Dess.

Khaleesi

Khaleesi is extremely unusual as an invented name, because it is not the name of a fictional character, but rather her title. In George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, khaleesi is the word for the wife of a khal or ruler, in the Dothraki language from the novels. The Dothraki are a nomadic indigenous people without a written language, so the spelling of khaleesi in the novels must come from another culture. In Martin’s novel series, shy Daenerys Targaryen adopts the title of Khaleesi when she weds powerful Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo, and as his queen, grows in strength and confidence, becoming a leader in her own right known as “the Mother of Dragons”. In the television series based on the books, A Game of Thrones, the role of Daenerys is played by Emilia Clarke. Since the television series began airing in Australia, there has been a spike of interest in the name, with about 25 baby girls called Khaleesi born this year. For some reason, the name is far more popular in Queensland than elsewhere – possibly because of the connection with queens.

Lorelei

The Lorelei is the name of a famous rock on the River Rhine in Germany, and also the name of a beautiful water sprite or siren associated with the rock, who is supposed to lure men to their doom. More prosaically, the current of the river is very strong here, which explains the many accidents which have occurred in the area. The character of the Lorelei comes from a 19th century German ballad which poet Heinrich Heine turned into a poem called Die Lorelei, where a golden-haired siren unwittingly distracts men with her beauty so they crash onto the rocks. The poem has often been set to music and turned into songs, and is part of German popular culture. The name Lorelei is a combination of German dialect and Celtic, and means “murmuring rock”. Lorelei is the name of the alluring blonde in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; in the film she is played by Marilyn Monroe. The name also features in garrulous gabfest Gilmore Girls, where both mother and teen daughter share the name Lorelei (the younger goes by Rory). Comedienne Kat Davidson named her daughter Lorelei “Rory” this year. Said LOR-uh-lie, this is better known in the US, where it is #531.

Pollyanna

Pollyanna Whittier is the title character of the Pollyanna books by Eleanor H. Porter; the series was continued by a number of writers. Pollyanna is an eleven-year-old orphan who is sent to live with her Aunt Polly in New England, and her sunny disposition soon teaches her stern relative, and the whole town, how to play the “Glad Game” – where you always look for something to feel glad about. While many are charmed by the heroine’s upbeat view of life, cynics find her too syrupy and her philosophy simplistic. Because of this, the word Pollyanna has entered our language to mean someone optimistic to the point of naivety or refusal to face facts. Pollyanna is a combination of Polly and Anna – Polly is a medieval variant of Molly, a pet form of Mary. This would be a difficult name to give a child in many ways, but would make a sunshiney middle, and easily shortens to Polly.

Rogue

Rogue is a character from the X-Men Marvel comic books created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. She is one of the team of mutant superheroes under the auspices of Professor Xavier, who recruits and trains young mutants to use their powers for the benefit of humanity. Rogue considers her special ability something of a curse, as she involuntarily absorbs, and sometimes removes, the memories, strength, and superpowers of anyone who touches her. For most of her life, she limited her physical contact with others, even loved ones, until after many years she was able to gain full control of her abilities. It was eventually revealed that Rogue was a code name, and her real name Anna Marie. In the movies, she is played by Anna Paquin. A rogue is a scoundrel or rascal. More to the point, a rogue animal is one which separates itself from the herd, and in horticulture the word rogue is used to describe a plant which has an undesirable mutation and must be destroyed. Anna Marie seems to have chosen Rogue as her code name to express her bitterness at the biological difference she had been lumbered with. This name can be used for both sexes; I saw it on a baby girl last year.

Scarlett

Scarlett O’Hara is the protagonist of Margaret Mitchell’s best-selling Civil War novel, Gone with the Wind; in the film version she was played by Vivien Leigh. Slender and attractive, Scarlett is flirtatious and charming, but doesn’t fit the mould of a typical Southern Belle. Smart, feisty, stubborn and very strong-willed, she nevertheless is inwardly insecure. What makes Scarlett such an interesting character are her many flaws – she is vain, selfish, spoiled, unscrupulous and manipulative, but hard as nails, with an overpowering survival instinct. Scarlett is an English surname from Norman French, referring to someone who dyed or sold brightly-coloured cloth, which was often red. It has been used as a unisex name since the 17th century, but is now usually thought of as feminine. The character’s full name is Katie Scarlett O’Hara, and she was named after her grandmother. Margaret Mitchell originally planned to call her heroine Pansy, and changed it to Scarlett just before the novel went to print. Scarlett first ranked in the 1990s at #467, the decade in which American actress Scarlett Johansson made her film debut. It climbed precipitately to join the Top 100 in the mid-2000s, and is currently #25 nationally, #23 in New South Wales, #17 in Victoria, #33 in Queensland, #17 in South Australia, #22 in Western Australia, #21 in Tasmania, and #26 in the Australian Capital Territory.

Velvet

Velvet Brown is the heroine of Enid Bagnold’s novel, National Velvet, about a teenager who rides to victory in the brutally difficult Grand National Steeplechase, the most valuable jump race in Europe. The story is about the ability of ordinary people to achieve great things – Velvet is a plain, rather sickly girl from a working-class family, and the horse she wins on is a piebald. The movie version chucks most of this inspiring message aside so they can show a radiantly pretty pre-teen Elizabeth Taylor galloping about on a chestnut thoroughbred. Velvet is a fabric which was originally very expensive to make, and therefore associated with nobility and royalty. The word is from Old French, and comes from the Latin for “tuft, down”, because of velvet’s distinctive texture. It has been used as a name since the 19th century, and has been given to both genders, but mostly to girls. This unusual fabric name is warm and luxurious, perhaps even rather sensual.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Lorelei, Arrietty, and Scarlett, and their least favourite were Rogue, Pollyanna, and Khaleesi.

(Picture is of Iridessa, from Disney website)

Brisbane Suburbs That Could be Used as Girls Names

06 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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Amity

Amity Point is a small town on North Stradbroke Island, 30 km south-east of Brisbane. The town is named after the Amity, a brig which carried the first European settlers to Queensland in 1824. The Amity was later wrecked near Tasmania, and today you can visit a full-size replica of the brig in Albany, because the Amity also took colonists to Western Australia. Amity is an English word which means “friendship”; it comes from the same Latin root as names such as Amy and Amabel, and has been used as a girls name since the 17th century. Amity is #551 in Victoria, and I often see it in birth notices: I think this pretty virtue name is gaining in popularity, and may become a replacement for Amy.

Bethania

Bethania is in Logan City, halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The suburb was founded by Germans in the 19th century, and has a large hobby farm area. The name Bethania comes from Bethanien, the German name for the town of Bethany near Jerusalem. In the New Testament, Bethany is mentioned as the home of siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and is said to be near the place where Lazarus was raised from the dead. The Biblical Bethany may be the same place as the city of al-Eizariya in Palestine – its name means “place of Lazarus”, although others say that the original village of Bethany was slightly higher up on the Mount of Olives, and that al-Eizariya sprung up around the traditional site of Lazarus’ resurrection. The meaning of Bethany has been much debated, but it is thought the most likely derivation is from the Aramaic beth anya, meaning “house of affliction, house of suffering”, with the conclusion being that it was a place for care of the sick and destitute. Although Bethania doesn’t have any connection to Elizabeth or Anne, it might seem like a way to connect these two names, and does give both Beth and Anya as nicknames.

Cashmere

Cashmere is an outer suburb of Brisbane in the foothills of a mountain range surrounded by dense forest, with a nearby lake. Cashmere is named after an early settler, James Cash, famous for his hospitality to passing travellers. Although Cash was not wealthy and lived in a simple shanty, no tramp ever passed his door without receiving a meal or a pot of tea. Because mere means “lake”, and James Cash’s farm was near Lake Samsonvale, the suburb’s name can be understood as “Cash’s land by the lake”. Cashmere is also a fine, high quality fibre taken from Cashmere goats. The name is after the Kashmir region of India, which has been making cashmere shawls for thousands of years. Kashmir’s name comes from the great sage Kashyapa, a legendary wise man whose name is from the Sanskrit for “tortoise”. With Cash a fashionable choice for boys, luxurious Cashmere seems like a way for girls to get the nickname Cash as well. In Australian records, both men and women named Cashmere can be found.

Corinda

Corinda is an older suburb of Brisbane, first settled in the 1860s as a farming community, and with many of its homes dating back to the colonial period. The name Corinda is believed to come from a local cattle station, which was named after a pastoral station in outback Queensland. The name is of Aboriginal origin, but its meaning is not known. Corinda has been used as an English girls name since the 18th century – perhaps based on the Greek name Kore, meaning “maiden”, with an elaborated ending common in 18th century poetic names like Melinda and Dorinda. This name seems elegant and literary, and not so different from familiar names such as Lucinda.

Inala

Inala is a suburb of Brisbane near the industrial estates. It was built in the post-war period to help with the housing shortage that followed World War II, and was one of the earliest and biggest Housing Commission projects in Queensland. Young architects such as Robin Boyd helped design the housing, which features simplicity and lack of ornamentation. In other words, it isn’t pretty, but cheap and efficient to install and maintain. It has an ethnically diverse community, with many migrants from Vietnam, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, amongst other places, settling there. The name Inala is believed to come from an Aboriginal expression meaning “peaceful place, happy place”, but it’s possible it actually means “place of the wind”. I saw a baby girl named Inala in a birth notice early this year, and ever since have been itching to cover this as a name – said ih-NAHL-ah, it fits in with names such as Ayla, Nyla, and even Isla.

Karalee

Karalee is a suburb of Ipswich; originally dairy and farm country, it began to be developed for residential purposes in the 1970s. It is thought that Karalee comes from an Aboriginal expressing meaning “grass around a waterhole”, although the City of Ipswich prefers the translation, “pretty hill beside the water”. This looks like a portmanteau of Kara and Lee, but has its own integrity, and is said KAR-a-lee, like an elaboration of Carol.

Lacey

Laceys Creek is a rural area in the outer suburbs of Brisbane, and was first settled as timber country, soon followed by dairy farming, pineapples, bananas, and bee-keeping. Lacey is an English surname of Norman-French origin. It comes from the village of Lassy in Normandy, which means “Lascius’ place”. The meaning of the Gaulish name Lascius is of unknown meaning. The de Laci family came to England with William the Conqueror, and one of their descendants was amongst the barons who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta. Lacey has been used as a girls name since the 17th century, and part of its feminine charm is that it sounds like the word lacy. Lacey is #234 in Victoria, and I believe this is another pretty girls name which is growing in popularity.

Lucia

St Lucia is an exclusive green and leafy inner-city suburb of Brisbane. It is focused around the University of Queensland, with the university itself, and residential colleges for students, taking up a large proportion of the suburb. There are many wealthy people living in St Lucia, with riverfront houses here costing in the millions. The area was first settled in the 1860s as sugar plantations, and was given its name by William Wilson, who bought and developed one of the plantations for housing in the 1880s. Wilson was born in St Lucia in the West Indies, and he named the housing estate St Lucia because the sugar plantations reminded him of his birthplace. The island of St Lucia is in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group. It was named in honour of Saint Lucy by the French, who were the first European settlers to the region. Saint Lucy was a 4th century martyr, and she has become a popular saint, partly because her feast day of December 13 is near Christmas and originally coincided with the (northern hemisphere) Winter Solstice. Her name’s meaning of “light”, from the Latin lux, became a very appropriate one for a Festival of Light, heralding the Light of the World. Lucia has charted since the 1940s and had a minor peak in the 1960s at #283 before dropping to #808 in the 1990s. Since then it has climbed steeply, and peaked in 2010 at #115. Currently it is #122 in New South Wales and #177 in Victoria. This is an alternative to Lucy that has never become popular, although on the charts since the end of World War II.

Ripley

Ripley is a suburb of Ipswich, which currently has only 1000 residents. However, big things are planned for Ripley’s future, and once fully developed it is expected to be a city of 120 000 – one of the country’s largest pre-planned communities. It is named after the Ripley Valley where it is located; I am not sure if this is after someone named Ripley, or one of the towns named Ripley in England. The surname Ripley is from Ripley in Yorkshire – the town’s name means “farm whose land cuts a strip through the forest”, with the forest in question being the forest of Knaresborough. One of the most famous Ripleys must be Robert Ripley, who created Ripleys Believe It or Not! trivia series for newspapers, radio and television. The name may also remind you of tough Lieutenant Ellen Ripley from the Alien film series, played by Sigourney Weaver, or suave con artist Tom Ripley, from the crime novels, turned into a film, The Talented Mr. Ripley, played by Matt Damon. I have seen this name on both sexes.

Sinnamon

Sinnamon Park is an older suburb with some heritage-listed sites; the suburb is named for the pioneering Sinnamon family who settled in the district. Sinnamon is a Scottish surname; the Clan originated in Fife, and their name comes from their seat at Kinnimonth, which was granted to them by King William of Scotland. The name Kinnimonth comes from the Gaelic for “head of the hill”. Sinnamon sounds like the sweet spice Cinnamon, but has its own meaning and history – although the Sin- at the start may be problematic for some. I did find someone named Sinnamon from Queensland in the records, but can’t be sure whether they were male or female.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Amity, Lucia, and Bethania, and their least favourite were Inala, Sinnamon, and Karalee. Not one person liked the name Karalee.

(Photo shows the University of Queensland in St Lucia)

Requested Name: Dimity

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Requested Names

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Dimity is a type of corded fabric, which since the 18th century has been made with cotton. The name was applied to two different types of corded cotton – one a heavy material used for bedcovers and curtains, and the other a lightweight, sheer fabric, often white with gingham checks, used for women’s dresses, skirts, blouses and lingerie. People usually think of the second meaning when they talk about dimity. The word comes from the medieval Latin dimitum, derived from the Greek dimitos, meaning “double thread”.

There is a great daintiness and femininity to the fabric, but at the same time it is surprisingly tough because of its double weave. These days, dimity is often part of vintage fashion and considered a lovely “old-fashioned” textile.

Its image in the past was twofold. On the one hand, it was seen as very ladylike and respectable, so that in her diaries, the novelist Virginia Woolf used the word in the sense of “niminy-piminy”, to indicate an overly refined and fussy femininity. On the other, it had rather a saucy side, because in Victorian tableau vivants of an erotic nature, the women wore body stockings and were draped in see-through dimity to preserve their modesty.

Information on the history of Dimity as a girl’s name is rather thin, but it seems to be much more common in Britain and Australian than elsewhere, and to be a name from the 20th century. The earliest Dimity I could find in the records dates to World War I, with an apparent peak in the years after World War II, from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

Although the name can be found in records from the United States, it’s a bit confusing, because there the name seems to have been used as a short form of the Russian name Dimitrya. I can’t even tell if the women were actually called Dimity in real life, or if this is used as a shorthand for Dimitrya by the people writing  the records. So although the English name Dimity might have a history of use in the US, it is not possible for me to be sure.

The whimsical and lightly tripping sound of the name Dimity has made it very suitable for fiction, with Australian children’s author Bob Graham penning Dimity Dumpty, about the sister of Humpty Dumpty, and American children’s author Jane Yolen writing of Dimity Duck, the friend of Frumity Frog.

Another American author, Nancy Atherton, has an entire series about an Aunt Dimity who manages to solve mysteries from beyond the grave. Interestingly, Ms Atherton’s novels are set in Britain rather than her homeland, and she also has to explain to her readers how to pronounce the name Dimity (DIM-uh-tee). This lends weight to the notion that the name Dimity is less familiar in the United States.

I get the impression that in times past, Dimity was seen as rather upper-class, and like Verity, had the image of being a Head Girl/Debating Team Captain/Pony Club Champion sort of a name. These days I think it seems much more accessible, with the number of successful women named Dimity in the public eye giving it greater exposure. I suspect that the popularity of the similar-sounding Trinity may also broaden its appeal.

Famous namesakes include news reporter Dimity Clancey, opera singer Dimity Shepherd, ballerina Dimity Azoury, violinist Dimity Hall, United Nations Women Australia board member Dimity Hodge, and speech pathologist Dr Dimity Dornan, who has been honoured for her lifetime working with deaf and hearing-impaired children. There seems to be many successful women called Dimity, considering that the name is apparently quite rare.

Dimity is a dainty, feminine name with a hint of whimsy, but not one to be underestimated. Like the fabric it is named after, there is a strength to delicate Dimity. Although it is an uncommon name, it isn’t unfamiliar in Australia, and has many high-achieving namesakes.

Thank you to Brooke for suggesting Dimity as a featured name.

POLL RESULT: Dimity received an approval rating of 69%. People saw it as poetic and whimsical (20%), delightful (19%), delicate but strong (15%) and dainty and demure (10%). However, its detractors thought it was too odd and eccentric (10%), or even “frightful” (8%). Nobody thought Dimity was a lower-class name.

(Picture is of a 1930s-style white dimity dress)

Less Commonly Used Boys Names

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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

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

Atticus

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

Bryn

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

Corbin

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

Denim

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

Jagger

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

Naiche

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

Occy

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

Pax

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

Veer

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

Ziggy

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

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