Tag Archives: Latin American names

Baby, Where Did You Get That Name?

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Names in the News

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On January 6 Selene Garton and Brendan Winter, from southern Queensland, welcomed their son in alarming circumstances. He arrived unexpectedly at home with no time to get to a hospital, and was a breech birth, being born feet first. They rang 000, and during a 17 minute phone call, the emergency medical dispatcher gave them soothing instructions on how to deliver the baby until the paramedics arrived. Selene and Brendan have named their son Izaya Gnarly to indicate the “gnarly” start he had in life, but he will be called Gnarly. I think if you want to give your child a very unusual name, that’s a good way to do it – put it in the middle, and then call them by their middle name.

When Kylee and Robbie Wieczorek from central Queensland knew that they were expecting a baby boy, they involved their seven-year-old son Owen in the name choosing process. Owen suggested the fairly awesome Thor Captain America Ironman, but his parents just laughed in a “kids say the darnedest things” sort of way. However, the name stuck, and once the baby arrived, Thor seemed both strong and different, so Owen’s choice prevailed. They dispensed with the suggested middle names, and Thor’s middle name is Cecil, after his great-grandfather. Owen may not mind that his middle name suggestions were ignored, as he is adoring having a baby brother.

Parker Bowman, aged 4, also loves being a big brother to his baby sister, Lennon Adelaide [pictured]. Their mum Marette Kiernan heard someone call out to their child Lennon on a beach in Florida, and decided she liked the name, while Adelaide is after Marette’s grandmother (dad Andrew hated the name Lennon at first, but seems to have come around). Parker has given his sister a cute nickname: Lemonade.

Natalie and Samuel from Terrigal have a baby boy named Iver, named after their favourite band, Bon Iver. They looked the name up and read it was a Scandinavian boy’s name meaning “archer” (which is said AYV-er). However, the American band’s name is French for “good winter”, and the Iver (winter) part is said ee-VAIR. I’m not sure whether Iver’s name is said the Scandinavian way, the French way, or like Ivor.

More unexpected honouring: Sarah and Jarrad Cook from Geelong wanted to name their son after their favourite AFL footballer, Daniel Menzel. Daniel wasn’t distinctive enough, so their baby son is named Menzel, and he has already met his famous namesake. Menzel is a German surname which is a pet form of Menz, short for names such as Herman and Clemens. You might recall the difficulties John Travolta had with the name of the actress Idina Menzel, from Frozen. Let’s hope no one similarly mangles Menzel’s name.

And another name honouring a sporting hero: Cassie and Kris Pyper from Kurnell in Sydney named their son Maximus John John, after the Hawaiian surfer John John Florence, because Kris is a keen surfer himself. Florence’s name is actually just John, but his mother called him John John after John F. Kennedy Jr, the son of JFK. Aptly, John John Florence is renowned for surfing the huge waves of the Banzai Pipeline often just called the Pipe), so there’s a connection with the Pyper surname.

Dimity and Michael Hand from Sydney’s northern beaches have a baby girl named Zaelia. Dimity picked out the name Zaelia when she was a little girl, because her childhood best friend had a wonderful grandmother named Zaelia. Dimity thinks that Zaelia is derived from Azalea and means “little flower”, but it’s actually a Latin American pet form of Rosalia. However, that still gives it a flowery meaning. Dimity also believes Zaelia isn’t influenced by trends, although it’s right on trend because of Zali and Zalia.

Ina and Dave Mills from the Northern Beaches welcomed their third child late last year. They already had a daughter named Ruby and a son named Roki, and hadn’t picked out a name before the birth. However, there was a painting of a caravan called Ruby and Rosie just outside the delivery room, and they took that as a sign, so their daughter is named Rosie Bea. Why Bea? Because she was meant to be, of course!

Carmen and Adrian Longmuir from Gladstone welcomed their sixth child last year and named him Tyz, said to rhyme with rise. Adrian chose the name because Tyz will be their last child, and he “ties up” the family nicely. The meaning has special poignancy because Tyz’s brother Kash passed away a year before.

Quinn and Ivy Palmer from Adelaide may look like twins, but these baby girls are actually triplets – their sister, the smallest triplet, died while still in the womb. Parents Emma-May and Jim named the third triplet Aurora, because she is their “Sleeping Beauty”.

Interesting Girls Names From the 2014 Birth Announcements

30 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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I’m always on the look-out for unusual names in the birth notices, and here are a dozen that are little used, but have intriguing histories. If you are looking for a rare yet genuine name, but fear choosing something too strange, you can take heart that these names have all been recently used by real life Australian parents.

Anjali
Sanskrit name meaning “divine offering”, from the word anj, meaning “to honour, to celebrate”. The Añjali Mudrā is a gesture of respect used in India as a greeting, where the palms join over the heart. If you go to yoga classes, you may greet each other with an Añjali Mudrā; it’s also part of several yoga positions. Anjali is quite a common name in India, and you may know the name as that of the wife of Indian cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar. A pretty Indian name that works very well in English-speaking countries, it is usually pronounced UN-juh-lee, although English-speakers may prefer an-JAH-lee.

Cataleya
Latin American form of cattleya, a type of South American tropical orchid with large, showy flowers. The orchid is named after English horticulturist William Cattley, who was the first European to successfully bring one into bloom. His surname comes from Catley in Herefordshire, meaning “wildcat wood”. Readers of Marcel Proust may recall that in Swann’s Way, the courtesan Odette wore a cattleya as decoration on her gown one evening, and her lover Swann removed it for her. As one thing led to another, they used cattleya as a private word between them for lovemaking. Cataleya was the highest-rising girls’ name in the United States last year, rocketing into the Top 500 from nowhere. The reason is the 2011 action film Colombiana, where the heroine is the assassin Cataleya, who leaves a cattleya as her calling card. Exotic and with a tough girl namesake, it is pronounced kah-tah-LAY-uh.

Damaris
In the New Testament, a woman named Damaris is mentioned as a convert of Saint Paul in Athens. Very little is known about her, although it is assumed she was a woman of high social status, but she is recognised as a saint in the Orthodox faith, and there is a street named after her in Athens. Her name is a matter of debate: the most popular theory is that is from the Greek word damalis, which literally means “heifer”, but is understood as “young girl”. Another is that it is derived from damar, the Greek word for “wife”. Once fashionable in 17th century England, this is a little-used biblical name that has gained modern glamour by American swimsuit model Damaris Lewis. The name is pronounced DAM-uh-ris.

Esperanza
Spanish form of the Latin name Sperantia, meaning “to hope”; esperanza is the Spanish vocabulary word for “hope”. The name got some publicity in 2010 because of Campamento Esperanza (“Camp Hope”), set up in Chile by friends and relatives after a cave-in at a mine; many weeks later their prayers were answered when all 33 miners were rescued. The following year, jazz singer Esperanza Spalding was named Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards. The name also has a motherly vibe, for Esperanza is the wife of Zorro, and mother of his beloved daughter Elena in The Mask of Zorro, while the mare who gives birth to the stallion Spirit in the animated movie is named Esperanza. Another famous mum is Oscar Wilde’s mother, who wrote under the pen name Speranza. Esperanza is a cool name that’s unusual, but not unfamiliar.

Farrah
Variant of Farah, a unisex Arabic name meaning “joy”. The name is well known because of the glamorous 1970s actress Farrah Fawcett, who passed away a few years ago. Farrah Fawcett posed for an iconic photograph wearing a red Speedo swimsuit, so there is an Australian connection to her. More recently, Farrah King from the hip hop outfit Cherish has given it fresh publicity. Soft and pretty, Farrah is an Arabic name which works well cross-culturally.

Fauve
Modern French name, which is pronounced to rhyme with the word mauve. Fauve literally means “wild beast” in French, referring to beasts of prey, and especially the big cats, such as lions and tigers. The word has a very artistic heritage, because in the early twentieth century, les Fauves were a group of modern artists who were known for their bold use of bright colours; they got their name because their work was criticised as looking like something a wild beast would produce. Henri Matisse is one of the most famous of this group. However, fauve has another meaning in French, and that is “yellowish-brown” – a tawny lion colour which would suit someone with dark blonde hair. Fauve is an uncommon name in France, and a rare one here, although not unheard of. It’s very daring, but also on trend.

Jerusha
In the Old Testament, Jerusha was the daughter of a high priest, and a queen of Judah, the wife of King Uzziah. Uzziah was considered one of the greatest rulers of the kingdom, but he became too proud, and began to usurp the role of the priests. Struck down with a disfiguring skin disease, he was replaced by his son Jotham, who is listed as one of the ancestors of Jesus in the New Testament. The name means “possession” in Hebrew, in the sense of something precious, and is said jeh-ROO-sha. A literary namesake is the teenage girl in the children’s book Daddy Long-Legs: she goes by the name Judy, although Roo would be a very Australian nickname.

Odette
French name which is a pet form of the Germanic names Oda or Odilia. These names may both be feminine forms of names which became the German name Otto, meaning “wealth”, although Odilia might instead mean “fatherland”. The name is forever associated with swans, because Princess Odette is the White Swan in the ballet Swan Lake; a sweet, gentle girl, she has been transformed into a swan, and can only take human form at night. Only true love can break the spell, but thanks to nefarious scheming by the baddies, Odette’s story ends in tragedy. Odette is a dated name in France, but to English-speakers, sounds glamorous and romantic. The Disney movie The Swan Princess, based on the ballet, makes it more accessible as well.

Persephone
In Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of the agriculture goddess Demeter, and she is central to one of the oldest myths. Legend says that Demeter kept her daughter hidden away from the other gods, so the two could live in companionship with nature. Hades, the god of death, fell in love with Persephone, and one day when she was gathering flowers, he kidnapped her and took her to live in the Underworld as his wife. Demeter was so grief-stricken that she neglected the earth, and nothing would grow: seeing that people were starving to death, Zeus demanded that Persephone be returned. However, Persephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds in the Underworld, and having tasted its food, was obliged to spend several months of the year with Hades. While Persephone is underground, Demeter mourns for her, and it is winter: when she returns in spring, life is renewed. This ancient myth of death and rebirth comes from the Near East: many rituals and mystery traditions are associated with it, with special significance for girls and women. The name Persephone is interpreted as “female thresher of corn”, because she is an agricultural goddess, but another theory is that her name means “bringer of death”, as she is goddess of the Underworld. The Greeks had so many forms of her name that it would seem they had trouble pronouncing it, suggesting that her name was pre-Greek; it is said per-SEF-uh-nee. Beautiful and elaborate, primal to the human urge for life everlasting, this would be a wonderful choice for someone who thought that Penelope had become too popular to use.

Reeva
Variant of Riva, a pet form of Rivka, modern Hebrew form of the familiar name Rebecca. This comes from the Hebrew word ribhquh, which literally means “a connection”; it can thus be understood as “joining together, securing”. Reeva is also used as a name in India, a variant of Reva, which is Sanskrit for “one who moves”, and often translated as “swift, agile”. It is one of the epithets of Rati, the Hindu goddess of love. The name came into the public eye in a shocking way when South African model Reeva Steenkamp was shot and killed by her boyfriend, world renowned paralympian Oscar Pistorius, now serving a prison sentence for culpable homicide. Due to the notoriety of the high-profile legal trial, Reeva became the fastest-rising girls’ name in England and Wales last year. Reeva fits in with popular names like Ava and Eva, but the very public tragedy of Reeva Steenkamp’s death may make some parents uneasy about using it.

Sephora
Greek form of Zipporah, variant of the Hebrew name Tzipporah, meaning “bird”. In the Old Testament, Zipporah is mentioned as the daughter of the priest Jethro, and the wife of Moses. When Moses fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian man, he took refuge in the desert country of Midian, on the Arabian Peninsula. When Zipporah and her sisters went to water their flocks, they were driven off by shepherds who wanted the water for themselves, and Moses went to their defence. Moses ended up living with Jethro and working for him, and was given Zipporah in marriage. Zipporah had problems with the in-laws, because Moses’ sister Miriam criticised him for marrying a dark-skinned woman, but she was struck down with leprosy in punishment, showing that God approved of the marriage. Sephora is more popular in France than elsewhere, because of the Parisian cosmetics company of that name, but this lovely name isn’t common anywhere.

Vesper
Roman form of the Greek name Hesperus. In Greek mythology, Hesperus was the personalification of the Evening Star (the planet Venus as seen in the evening); his half-brother Phosphorus was the Morning Star. Vesper can be intepreted as “evening, supper time, west”, and Vespers is the name for the evening prayer service in the Christian church. You may know the poem Vespers by A.A. Milne, about Christopher Robin saying his nightly prayers: it was made part of the minature library collection for Queen Mary’s Doll House. Although a rare name in real life, Vesper has had several outings in the world of fiction. Vesper Lynd was James Bond’s lover in Casino Royale, played by Eva Green in the 2006 movie; her parents gave her the name because she was born on a “dark and stormy night”. The famous “shaken not stirred” martini that Bond invents is named the Vesper after her. Vesper has been picked used as a celebrity baby name – one is the daughter of American rock musician Sam Farrar, whose parents are Australian.

POLL RESULTS
The public’s favourite names were Persephone, Odette and Vesper, and their least favourite were Cataleya, Damaris and Jerusha.

(Picture shows Purple Robe and Anemones by Fauvist Henri Matisse – 1937)

Famous Name: Chaxiraxi

18 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Famous Names

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The weather is getting hot now (super hot in some areas), and we are drawing close to the Summer Solstice, which is on Saturday. That means Christmas holidays are just about to start, or have started already! It seems like a good time of year to look at a name connected with both sunshine and Christmas.

I only learned about this name a few months ago, when I saw a Tasmanian chef called Chaxiraxi Afonso Higuera on television. Her first name absolutely fascinated me, and I had to look it up. I don’t know quite what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

Chaxiraxi is a goddess known as the Sun Mother in the Guanche religion – the Guanches are the indigenous people of the Canary Islands. The Canaries belong to Spain, but are situated just off the coast of north-west Africa, and the Guanches are Berbers, who have been in the Canary Islands for perhaps as long as three thousand years. The Guanches are not considered to exist in the Canaries as a distinct ethnic group, but traces of their language and culture can still be found there, and DNA tests show a high proportion of the Canarian population have Guanche ancestry from their female lineage.

Not much is known of the Guanche religion, but their gods lived in the mountains, descending to hear the prayers of the people. The Guanche worshipped outdoors, under trees, in caves, or near mountains, with particularly fervent prayers during times of drought. Chaxiraxi was their mother goddess, who had a special festival on August 15 to celebrate the end of the harvest season, and at that time food such as milk, flour made from roasted grains, and sheep and goat’s meat was shared.

The worship of Chaxiraxi continued in the Canaries in a very surprising way. According to legends told by early Spanish settlers, a statue of the Virgin Mary, holding a child in one hand, and a green candle in the other, was discovered on a beach on the island of Tenerife by two Guanche goatherds. This was in 1392, before the islands were conquered by Spain.

One of the goatherds tried to throw a stone at the statue, but his arm became paralysed; the other tried to stab it with a knife, but ended up stabbing himself. The goatherds took the strangely self-protecting statue to their king, who recognised it as a sacred artefact, and kept it in his cave-palace, where it was venerated as an image of Chaxiraxi. Holding a baby it was easy to see it as a mother goddess, and holding a source of light made it easy to associate with a goddess who gave birth the sun.

Later, a Guanche who had been enslaved by the Spanish and converted to Christianity recognised the statue as the Virgin Mary. The Guanche then took it to another cave, where it was venerated as the Virgin. Archaeologists tell us this cave was a holy site long before Mary was worshipped there, and many of the Guanche continued to see the statue as Chaxiraxi, or saw no difference between the mother goddess and the mother of God. When the islands were conquered, the Spanish believed that the Guanche were already Christians because of the statue.

In 1497 the first mass was performed at the holy shrine, and a hermitage built there in 1526, in the name of Our Lady of the Candelaria – the name coming from the candle the statue held. The Virgin of Candelaria was named as the patron saint of the Canary Islands in 1559, and prayers to the Virgin have been offered against epidemics, plagues, droughts, and volcanic eruptions. Her feast day is August 15 – the same day as Chaxiraxi’s festival, which coincides with the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

The original statue was lost in 1826 when a tsunami carried it out to the sea from which it emerged; the present statue is a copy, always dressed in rich robes and jewels (it’s possible the one lost at sea was a copy of the original).

The cult of Our Lady of Candelaria swept through the Americas when the Spanish conquered there; Canarians emigrating to America took the veneration of the Virgin with them, in the same way Irish emigrants would later bring Saint Patrick. She is venerated in South America and the Caribbean, where she is the patron saint of cities in Bolivia, Colombia and Puerto Rico, and there is an image of her in San Antonio, Texas. The oldest Catholic cathedral in the United States is in San Fernando, Texas, and here you may see a replica of the statue of the Virgin of Candelaria.

As the veneration of the Virgin of Candelaria spread through different countries, she came to be identified with other goddesses. In the Caribbean religion of Santeria, with the Yoruba storm goddess Oya; in the Brazilian Canomble, with the love goddess Oshun; in Hinduism with the goddess Kali, who rules over Time; and in the indigenous religion of the Andes, with Pachamama, the mother goddess of earth, time, fertility and the harvest – the closest one to Chaxiraxi.

The original statue is believed to have been a medieval Gothic image of the Virgin Mary, perhaps from the prow of a wrecked ship. Because it had dark skin and held a baby, it was one of the so-called Black Madonnas which were created in medieval Europe.

Their significance is not understood, but one theory is that they were an attempt to convert images of ancient earth goddesses to Christian use. Many goddesses such as Isis and Demeter were depicted with black skin, because black is the colour of rich soil, and thus a sign of fertility. The Black Madonnas appear around the time of the Crusades, when Europeans travelled to the Middle East and Africa, and possibly saw such images.

If so, it would seem that the Virgin of Candelaria is a pagan mother goddess become Christian icon become multiple pagan goddesses merged with a Christian symbol of womanhood and motherhood.

I have seen the meaning of Chaxiraxi given, by scholars of the Guanche language, either “she who holds up the heavens”, or “bearer of he who possesses the world”. It is often translated as “sun mother” or “mother of the sun” but that is the goddess’ title rather than the meaning of her name.

Because Chaxiraxi is so strongly associated with the Virgin Mary (and could even be seen as her forerunner, paving the way for easier acceptance of Christianity), the name was acceptable for use by Catholics. It isn’t that rare in the Canary Islands, although more common as a middle name. The name is also used in the Caribbean and Latin America, in areas where the veneration of the Virgin of Candelaria, and Canarian culture, has spread.

I’m not completely sure on how Chaxiraxi is pronounced. In some South American countries it seems to be something like hahk-see-rahk-see, but the lady I saw, who is originally from the Canary Islands, only used the first half of her name, and pronounced it SHAH-see, which sounds much softer and prettier.

This is a genuinely unusual name, very ancient and redolent of a mysterious power. Chaxiraxi has managed to not only survive, but flourish, and attract followers from a range of religions and cultures around the world. So much of her history is myth and legend, but the mother of the sun who has become merged with the mother of the Son, while not being submerged by her, continues to captivate me.

POLL RESULT: Chaxiraxi received an approval rating of 58%. People saw the name Chaxiraxi as being an interesting part of African-Spanish culture (22%), and fascinating and mysterious (19%). However, people also thought it was too difficult to spell and/or pronounce (17%), and too strange and complex (13%). Only one person considered Chaxiraxi too pagan for Christians, but too Catholic for pagans. 

(Picture shows the statue of the Virgin of Candelaria in her shrine at Tenerife)