Tag Archives: nature names

Waltzing with … Orange

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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Orange jacket Postcard autumn leavesToday is Banjo Paterson’s birthday, and as we have already covered his name, I thought it would be interesting to look at the name of his birthplace.

At the time of Paterson’s birth, his parents were living at Buckinbah Station, near the town of Yeoval (then known as Buckinbah). Because of the station’s isolation, Banjo’s mother Rose went to stay with her aunt and uncle, Rose and John Templer, at their homestead Narrambla, and it was here that she gave birth to her son. Narrambla is about 2 miles from the centre of Orange, and today lies on the city’s outskirts. Rose herself was born on a homestead near Orange, so it was rather a family tradition.

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales. It was founded in the early 1820s as a convict settlement, and farmers began settling in the area in 1829. The first discovery of gold in Australia was made in 1851 near Orange, leading to the gold rush. Orange became a trading centre for gold, and continued growing due to its good position for agriculture. It was declared a city in 1946. Orange is known for its fruit growing, especially apples, pears and stone fruits; ironically it is too cool to grow oranges in Orange. It is also a thriving wine making area, and has both gold and copper mining. It is a sister city to Orange in California.

Orange was first called Blackman’s Swamp, after John Blackman, the guide who brought the first explorers there. The name was changed to Orange by the Surveyor-General Sir Thomas Mitchell, in honour of William, Prince of Orange. Mitchell and the Prince had both been aides-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington during the Peninsular War in Spain in the early 19th century. The Prince of Orange later became the first King of the Netherlands.

The Prince’s title originally came from the Principality of Orange in the south of France. It began life as a settlement called Arausio, named after a local Celtic water god; the god’s name is said to mean “temple”, meaning the temples that are on the forehead, not a temple as in a building for worship.

The town’s name was corrupted into Orange, and by the Middle Ages, conflated with the word orange, which comes from the Sanskrit for “orange tree”, naranga. The colour was named after the fruit, and first used this way in the 16th century.

As a personal name, Orange has a longer history than you might imagine, for the girl’s names Orenge and Orengia are found in the 13th century. As this predates the name for the fruit, their etymology is extremely uncertain, and possibly has the same source as the French town, which first became a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century.

The surname Orange is either from the place name, or derived from the female name, and when the English name Orange appears in the early 17th century, it may have been after the surname. The name first arises in Devon, and in the beginning was exclusively given to girls, although the name became unisex after William III of England, or William of Orange, gave it a masculine feel.

As a first name, Orange is extremely rare in Australian records, and given to only a few girls, but as a middle name is much more common, and given to boys in almost equal numbers as girls (the middle name Orange was sometimes combined with William in the case of boys, showing that William of Orange still had some naming clout).

Colour names for girls are popular at the moment, with many little girls named Scarlet or Jade; tree names such as Olive and Willow are in the girls’ Top 100, surnames such as Marlowe and Quinn are fashionable for girls, and it’s not unusual to see baby girls named after European cities, such as London or Vienna. Orange seems a more vibrant continuation of these trends. Indeed, you could see it as a hyper juiced-up Clementine.

Orange is such a bright, outgoing, fun colour that it seems very cheerful as a person’s name, but it also has a more serious side, because orange is connected to religion and spirituality. There’s a real yin/yang, East/West dichotomy with the name Orange. Is it as crazy as a clown’s wig? Or as serene as a meditating Buddhist monk?

Orange fruit gains its colour from carotenes, the same thing which makes deciduous leaves turn orange. By chance, the city of Orange is known for its spectacular displays of autumn leaves, and it is therefore known as “The Colour City” (also a play on its name). You might see Orange as a name that evokes the changing of the seasons, and the turn of the year.

Although Orange started life as a girl’s name, it did become unisex, and is so rare that it could be worn by either boys or girls. If you are shy about using this vivid name, it would make an eye-catching middle.

Orange is a bold choice as a baby name, though not without shades of subtlety, and it celebrates Australian geography and history. I think Orange is one of the more distinctive of the patriotic names, and has a real tang to it.

Name Combinations for Orange

Orange Beatrice, Orange Eliza, Orange Lily, Orange May, Orange Ruby, Orange Victoria

Brothers for Orange

Eden, Hartley, Fitzroy, Paterson, Sunny, Tennyson

Sisters for Orange

Audley, Breeza, Corindi, Junee, Kendall, Marinna

Note: Name combinations from historical documents; just for fun, sibsets include names of other towns in New South Wales

POLL RESULT: Orange received an approval rating of only 27% – the lowest-rated featured name of 2013, and the only one to score less than 50%. 40% of people hated the name Orange, and nobody loved it.

(Picture shows a postcard from the city of Orange)

Underused Names for Girls

03 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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sabine women detailLast week we had names from Victoria which were used less than ten times in 2012. Those names are uncommon – but what if you wanted something even rarer? These are names which don’t appear even once in the Victorian data from last year, and have never charted in Australia. However, they are not strange or obscure, and all of them can be found in Australian historical records.

Angharad

Angharad is an Old Welsh name meaning “greatly loved”. It was reasonably common in medieval times, and there are several Angharads in Welsh history. In Welsh mythology, Angharad Golden-Hand is the lover of Peredur, one of King Arthur’s knights. Angharad Morgan is a main character in How Green Was My Valley, and in the film version was played by Maureen O’Hara. Actress Angharad Rees became well known in the 1970s for playing the role of Demelza in the TV series Poldark. Lots of famous Angharads, yet I could find only one woman named Angharad in Australian records. The pronunciation, ang-HAH-rad, may have caused some concern. This is a strong and unusual name with a lovely meaning. It would definitely stand out.

Beatrix

Beatrix is based on the name Viatrix, the feminine form of the Latin name Viator, meaning “voyager, traveller”. Early on, the spelling was altered to associate it with the Latin word beatus, meaning “blessed”, and it was common amongst early Christians. Some baby name books sandwich these two meanings together and interpret it as “blessed traveller”. Saint Beatrix was an early Roman martyr; according to legend, she was strangled by her servants. The name became less common in England after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. One of the most famous people with this name is Beatrix Potter, the children’s writer and illustrator, who gave us such delightful characters as Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. As well as these talents, she was also a scientific researcher, conservationist, farmer, and sheep breeder. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands helps give this name a royal touch, and a famous literary character is Beatrix “Trixie” Belden, girl detective. To me, this charming name seems spunkier and more eccentric than her sister Beatrice.

Cressida

In Greek mythology, Chryseis was the daughter of a Trojan priest named Chryses, and she was captured by the Greek champion Agamemnon as part of the spoils of war; he refused to give her back even after being asked nicely. Chryseis’ dad prayed like blazes to the god Apollo, who obligingly sent a plague through the Greek soldiers until Chryseis was returned. A later legend says that she bore Agamemnon a son. Her name given in the Iliad simply means “daughter of Chryses”; appropriately for a priest of Apollo, Chryses’ name means “golden”, perhaps in reference to sunlight. Some writers say Chryseis’ real name was Astynome, meaning “possessor of the city”. When medieval authors retold the tale of the Trojan War, this story had a complete rewrite. Chryseis became Cressida (KRES-ih-duh), and one corner of a tragic love triangle; she is made the epitome of the false woman and the whore. Some authors were sympathetic to Cressida’s plight, and in Shakespeare’s version, Cressida is complex, highly intelligent and witty. A famous Australian with this name is the artist Cressida Campbell. I find this literary name quite bewitching.

Emmeline

Emmeline is the Old French form of the Germanic name Amelina, based on the word for “work”; it is therefore related to the name Amelia, and not to Emily. The name was introduced to Britain by the Normans, and many people prefer to give it a slightly French pronunciation as EM-uh-leen, while others seek to Anglicise the way it is said as EM-uh-line (like Caroline). My experience is that the British tend to say leen, Americans tend to say line, and Australians have a bob each way and can usually cope with either. There were several prominent suffragists named Emmeline, including Emmeline Pankhurst, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Emmeline Wells. Australia mountaineer Emmeline Du Faur was the first woman to climb Mount Cook (in record time), and the first person to climb several peaks – always dressed in a skirt. Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence was a keen hiker and woodcrafter, and to me the name Emmeline sounds vigorous, healthy, and practical. Emmeline has a solid history of use in Australia, being commonly found in old records, and today its nickname Emmie means it fits in with popular names such as Emily, Emma and Emmerson.

Isadora

Isadora is a variant of the name Isidora, the feminine form of Isidore, from the Greek for “gift of Isis”; the Egyptian goddess Isis was worshipped widely in the ancient world, and she was also important to the Greeks and Romans. Saint Isidora was a 4th century Egyptian nun, considered to be a “holy fool”, and treated with contempt by the other nuns for her eccentric ways, such as wearing a dirty dishrag on her head instead of a veil, and eating only leftovers instead of proper meals. When a visiting saint came to the nunnery, he immediately picked out Isidora as the only person holier than himself; upset by the praise and attention, Isidora ran away into the desert to be a hermit, and nothing more is known of her. The most famous Isadora is the American dancer Isadora Duncan, who developed her own unique style of dance, based on the natural movements of the human body. Like the saint, she was considered eccentric and radical, and danced to the beat of her own drum. Isadora is a beautiful, glamorous and individualistic name!

Lavender

Lavender has been used as a personal name since the 17th century, and was given to both sexes. It may have originally been derived from the surname, which is Norman-French and based on the word lavandier, referring to a worker in the wool industry who washed the raw wool (this is an occupation that both men and women had). Even in the middle of the 20th century, you can still find boys named Lavender. By now, however, it is almost entirely thought of as a girl’s name, and considered to be from the flower. The flower name comes from the Old French lavendre, possibly from the Latin for “blue-coloured”, lividius, but also influenced by lavare, meaning “wash”, because lavender was used in washing clothes. Lavender is often used to scent soaps and beauty products, and has been used as a relaxation aid for thousands of years. The colour lavender is associated with sensuality and decadence, and at one time, was considered symbolic of homosexuality. Like Rose, this is a pretty old-fashioned flower name that is more complex that it first appears.

Sabine

Sabine is a French and German form of Sabina, the feminine form of the Latin name Sabinus, meaning “Sabine”. The Sabines were an Italian tribe who inhabited the region where the city of Rome stands today, and some of them fought against Rome for their independence. According to legend, the Romans abducted Sabine women to populate the city of Rome; the war between the Romans and Sabines ended when the women threw themselves and their children between the armies of their fathers and those of their husbands. The history behind the legend is that the conquered Sabines assimilated with the Romans, beginning a new line of inheritance. Many of the noble Roman families traced their ancestry to Sabine origins, and at least some of the deities and rituals of Rome came from the Sabines. The Sabines were said to have taken their name from the hero Sabus, who was worshipped as a deity. Although it is too long ago to be sure, one theory is that the tribal name Sabine meant “us, ourselves, our own people”. You can either say this name the French way, sa-BEEN, or the German way, za-BEE-nuh; most English-speakers use the French pronunciation. There is at least one famous man named Sabine – the writer Sabine Baring-Gould, whose name was after the surname (derived from the personal name). You can find both men and women named Sabine in Australian records. Sabine is smooth and sophisticated, but comes with a cute nickname – Bean.

Theodora

Theodora is the feminine form of the Greek name Theodoros, meaning “gift of God”. The name pre-dates Christianity, but its meaning appealed to early Christians, and there are a few saints with this name. One of them was Saint Theodora, who as punishment for her pious celibacy, was dragged into a brothel. Her first “customer” was a Christian man, who had came to save her; they were both martyred, but their virtue remained intact. This story is probably fictional, and may have been inspired by sacred prostitution, of which Christians obviously disapproved. An Eastern Orthodox Saint Theodora disguised herself as a man and joined a monastery. Her identity as a woman was only discovered after her death. The name was a very popular one for Byzantine empresses, and Theodora I is also regarded as a saint. A Roman Theodora was a senator, and supposedly the lover of one of the early popes. She was harshly condemned for daring to “exercise power like a man”. The hussy! The image you get from these historical Theodoras is of very strong, independent, determined women – which might explain why Disney has chosen this name for the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz: The Great and Powerful. Pop star Robbie William welcomed a daughter named Theodora Rose last year, called Teddy; he wanted a dignified full name for the cuddly nickname, and Theodora fit the bill perfectly.

Verity

Verity is an English word meaning “truth”, especially in regard to religious truth or doctrine. It has been used as a personal name since the 17th century, and would have been given as a virtue name by the Puritans. However, it was most likely also given in honour of the surname, for births of Veritys in Yorkshire are suggestive, given that the Verity family is a prominent one in that county. The surname is Anglo-Norman, and has the same meaning as the personal name. Originally, Verity was a unisex name, and in early records is given equally to boys and girls. The first Verity I can find born in the United States was a boy, and his family were Puritans in Massachusetts. You can find the name Verity given to both sexes in Australian records, but only as a middle name for boys, and it has never been very common here. Famous Australian women named Verity include the politicians Verity Barton and Verity Firth, the ABC presenter Verity James, and the actress Verity Hunt-Ballard, who played Mary Poppins in the Australian version of the musical. This is a crisp, clean name which sounds intelligent and upper-class to me.

Zia

Zia is a variant of the Arabic name Ziya, meaning “light, shine, splendour” – more specifically, it refers to light which shines by its own illumination, and is connected to the sun and sunlight. Traditionally, Zia is a male name, but Arabic baby name sites usually list it as female, and the name charts in France only for girls. There are quite a few people called Zia in Australian records, and they are not all Arabic men. There are women called Zia from different cultures, including Italian, where Zia may be short for a name such as Annunzia (zia means “aunt” in Italian, but this doesn’t seem to have been a hindrance to its use by Italians). Most women called Zia in the records seem to be of British descent, and I’m guessing either it was seen as a short form of other names, or parents just liked the sound of it. I can imagine parents today also liking the sound of it, because it is so similar to popular names such as Zara and Mia – indeed, it almost seems like a cross between these names. This is a zippy name which sounds a bit different, but won’t seem out of place in the playground.

POLL RESULT: People’s favourite names were Beatrix, Emmeline, and Isadora, and their least favourite were Lavender, Zia, and Angharad.

(Picture shows a detail from The Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799) by Jacques-Louis David)

Famous Name: Rose

16 Wednesday Jan 2013

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Gift_white_rosesThis Friday will be The Day of the Roses, which sounds lovely, but has a tragic meaning. January 18 this year marks the 36th anniversary of the Granville train  disaster, when a crowded train was derailed in a suburb of western Sydney, and hit the supports of a railway bridge. The bridge collapsed onto the train carriages, crushing the passengers inside. 83 people were killed, and more than 200 injured; it was then Australia’s worst peace time disaster, and is still the worst rail accident in Australian history.

The Granville Memorial Trust was established to commemorate the victims and to campaign for improvements to rail safety. Since the disaster, there has been a substantial increase in money spent maintaining the railways, and standards have improved. Each year on the anniversary of the crash, the Trust organises a memorial service, in which a bell rings 83 times, and 83 roses are thrown onto the railway tracks – one for each of the victims.

Rose is not the simple flower name it at first appears, for it began life as the Germanic name Hrodohaidis or Hrodheid, meaning “bright kind, famous kind” (kind in the sense of type, sort). It was the Normans who introduced it to Britain in the forms Roes, Rohais, Roheis and Rohese. The name Rohese was a fairly common one amongst the Norman nobility in England after the Conquest.

The form Rose began to be used by the early 1200s – even this early it was already being associated with the flower, whose name is French, derived from the Latin rosa. It goes back to an ancient word meaning “sweetbriar” (a wild rose also known as the eglantine rose).

Roses are tens of millions of years old, and have been grown in gardens for thousands of years – perhaps first in China, although they were grown in Persia, Babylon and ancient Egypt as well. The flower was sacred to the goddess Isis, and later the Greeks and Romans identified it with Aphrodite or Venus, so that it became seen as a blossom of beauty and eternal love – which is one reason why you are more likely to receive roses on Valentine’s Day than daisies or sweetpeas.

In medieval Christianity, roses became associated with the Virgin Mary, were carefully cultivated by monks, and in both Christian and Islamic mysticism, the rose can be a symbol of divine love. The rose is the national flower of England and the floral emblem of the United States; the red rose is the symbol of socialism; the white rose of peaceful resistance. The Romans used it as a symbol of secrecy, and to alchemists it meant balance and unity.

This ancient flower speaks to our hearts on so many different levels, and the rose has a richness of beauty we cannot help but admire. Yet it is mysterious too, and its thorns urge us to keep our distance, even while its loveliness attracts. Roses are by no means vain beauties, because they can be used to make perfumes, skin care products and medicines; rose hips can be made into jams, syrups and teas (in fact I am drinking a cup of it as I write). Rose petals are also edible.

We often think of Rose as being a quintessentially English name, and a beautiful Englishwoman is even called an “English rose”. Yet the name is also French, and Rose is Top 100 in France, as well as in England/Wales and Scotland.

In Australia, Rose is a classic which has always charted. It was #55 in 1900, and gradually fell until it left the Top 100 in the 1930s. It reached its lowest point in the 1970s, at #287, and after that began a stately rise, with its sharpest increase in the late 2000s. By 2008 it was near the bottom of the Top 100, and each year has continued to steadily gain. In 2011 it was #66 in New South Wales, and in Victoria and the ACT it has proved to be one of the names with the most growth during 2012. Rose is also extremely popular as a middle name.

Rose is an overwhelmingly feminine name, yet isn’t frilly. It’s both sensual and sensible, possessing the ripeness of a mature woman rather than a frivolous girl. It’s a short name, yet doesn’t seem abrupt or harsh but rather, soft and velvety as one of its own petals. Despite being an English word, there are many international variants of Rose, and it is easily understood in other countries. It is a name from fairy tale, reminding us of Briar Rose, the sleeping beauty, and Rose-Red, the vivid sister of fair Snow-White – and yet it also has a practical and wholesome appeal.

Increasing numbers of parents are choosing the name Rose for their daughters. In The Little Prince, the prince, who is in love with the only rose on his planet, cries in dismay when he comes to Earth and sees dozens of rose bushes; he has given his heart to something special, and found it commonplace. But a wise fox teaches him that his rose is unique, because it is the only one that he loves. There may be a garden of Roses in the world, but only one Rose who blooms there will be the one in your heart.

POLL RESULT: Rose received an approval rating of 86%, making it one of the most highly esteemed names of the year. The name Rose was judged to be beautiful and feminine (54%) and pretty and wholesome (21%), although 7% thought it was better left in the middle position. Nobody thought that the name Rose was boring.

2012 Name Trends in Victoria – Girls

12 Saturday Jan 2013

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Biggest Movers Up

  1. Harper +72 at least
  2. Bella +35
  3. Mackenzie +34
  4. Pippa +28 at least
  5. Ebony +21 at least
  6. Victoria +21
  7. Mila +20
  8. Rose +20
  9. Paige +18
  10. Sophia +15

Also Up

Alexandra, Audrey, Ava and Evelyn, Eva and Eve, Eden, Emily, Layla, Kayla, Elizabeth, Isla, Savannah, Sofia, Bonnie, Millie, Billie, Charlie, Willow, Sara, Natalie, Kiara, Madeleine, Maddison, Maya, Mia, Molly, Zoe

Up Slightly

Alice, Eliza, Emma, Evie, Gemma, Hayley, Imogen, Isabelle, Jade, Jasmine, Lola, Ruby, Scarlett, Sophie, Stella, Stephanie, Summer

Victoria Beckham’s daughter Harper seems to have made a real impression on Victorian parents, and Mrs Beckham’s own name was also one of the biggest risers. You can see Victoria and Sophia as “royal sounding” names, but commoner Pippa Middleton seems to have won more hearts than any of the royals (although Elizabeth, Isla and Savannah all went up the charts). Isabella may have gone down, but Bella is surging upward. Eden and Eve seem inspired by Genesis, and while flower names in general seem to have wilted slightly, the lovely Rose is blooming. Back in the charts with a bang were long-time favourites Ebony and Kayla, who obviously have life in them yet.

Biggest Movers Down

  1. Samantha -68
  2. Abbey -43
  3. Amelie -30
  4. Isabel -30
  5. Mikayla -37
  6. Caitlin -27
  7. Holly -27
  8. Charli -20
  9. Lara -20
  10. Anna -19

Also Down

Abigail and Abby, Alana, Alexis, Alyssa, Amber, Angelina, Addison, Annabelle, Isabella, Caitlin, Claire, Georgia, Heidi, Daisy, Poppy, Violet, Olive, Lily, Lilly, Leah, Lucy, Madeline, Ella, Ellie, Jessica, Sienna, Zara

 

Down Slightly

Amy, Charlotte, Grace, Madison, Olivia, Phoebe, Tahlia

Samantha dropped the most places at 68, and fell off the list altogether. The #2 biggest fall from Abbey also took off her list, and Abby and Abigail fell too. In fact, A names in general didn’t do so well, with Amelie and Alana dropping from the list, and Addison, Anna and Alyssa falling significantly. Olive only debuted last year, and is already falling – perhaps a bit of “getting too popular” jitters, or another plant name to suffer; Daisy dropped her petals and her place on the list. Lara was the biggest riser in the ACT, but the name of Sydney socialite Lara Bingle fell 20 places in Victoria. While Kayla bounced back, Mikayla plunged.

No Change in Position

  • Chloe (4)
  • Amelia (8)
  • Matilda (16)
  • Hannah (20)
  • Ivy (27)
  • Milla (35)
  • Piper (75)
  • Indiana (78)

New to the List

  • Harper (29)
  • Pippa (73)
  • Billie (97)
  • Millie (99)
  • Bonnie (100)

While the celebrity names did best out of the newbies, down the bottom of the list are sweet retro names Bonnie and Millie, and Billie, which sounds like a cross between them. Millie and Bonnie have both been steadily rising in NSW, but I expected them to make the Top 100 in Victoria first. They managed to squeak in and prove me right by a whisker.

Back on the List

  • Ebony (80)
  • Kayla (88)
  • Sara (90)
  • Natalie (91)
  • Kiara (95)

Gone from the List

  • Amelie (64)
  • Mikayla (67)
  • Alana (73)
  • Samantha (75)
  • Caitlin (77)
  • Abbey (78)
  • Abby (98)
  • Angelina (98)
  • Daisy (98)

Australian Beaches That Could be Used as Girls Names

30 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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morningtideYou may have noticed that all the names that have been featured on the blog since the weather got warmer have had some connection with water or the sea. With summer holidays upon us, it is only fitting that the last Name List for the year is one of Australian beach names.

Airlie

The town of Airlie Beach in the Whitsunday region of north Queensland is a popular tourist destination and one of the departure points for the Great Barrier Reef. Because James Cook thought he arrived here on Whitsunday, every year there is a Blessing of the Fleet on Whitsunday (Pentecost) – although Cook almost certainly got the day wrong and it was really Whitmonday. The town’s beach is quite small, and infested by sea wasps, the most lethal jellyfish in the world. For the convenience of those wishing to avoid a painful death, a swimming lagoon has been built on the foreshore. The town is named after Airlie in Scotland, the seat of the Earl of Airlie. Airlie Castle is referenced in the ballad, The Bonnie House o’ Airlie, and mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Kidnapped. The meaning is not known, although it’s possibly from the Gaelic for “edge of a ridge”. Airlie is a name reasonably well-known in Australia, although rare elsewhere; there’s ABC presenter Airlie Ward, hockey player Airlie Ogilvie, policy analyst Dr Airlie Worrall, and actress Airlie Dodds. This is a modern name with ties to Scottish history, and would be a great choice if Airlie Beach is meaningful to you.

Bondi

Bondi Beach is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike, one of Sydney’s iconic destinations, and heritage listed. In the fashionable eastern suburbs, it’s a place to see and be seen, lined with hotels, cafes and restaurants from where you can view the beach and beachgoers. Bondi has always had a reputation for showing a lot of flesh, and in stricter times the American actress Jean Parker was booted off it for wearing a bikini. These days topless bathing is common on Bondi. If almost-naked humans aren’t your thing, there is always the chance of seeing dolphins, fairy penguins, and in season, whales. Bondi Beach has many cultural events, including the annual City to Surf charity run, and it stars in TV shows such as Bondi Rescue and Bondi Vet. The name Bondi (said BON-dye) is said to be from boondi, a local Aboriginal word meaning “sound of water breaking over rocks”. The rare use of this name in records may be from the Italian surname Bondi (said bon-DEE), meaning “good day”. I saw a baby girl named Bondi in this year’s Bonds Baby Search. This is an unusual choice, but rather patriotic, and seems ideal for beach-loving Sydneysiders.

Etty

Etty Bay is a picturesque little bay in far north Queensland; the nearest town is Innisfail. Enclosed by rainforest filled with wildlife, it attracts bushwalkers, birdwatchers and picnickers, and is known as one of the best places to see endangered cassowary birds in the wild – cassowaries are large flightless birds around six feet tall. Etty Beach is considered safe for swimming, as long as you avoid saltwater crocodiles and deadly jellyfish. Etty is a pet form of names such as Esther, Ethel, Henrietta and Harriet, and was most common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With Etta tipped as the next retro-chic name, and Arrietty from The Borrowers receiving notice, Etty seems not only cute and usable, but positively stylish. It fits in with other vintage nicknames such as Elsie, Hattie and Millie.

Miami

Miami is a suburb of the Gold Coast which was first developed in the 1920s to entice tourists, and is still a popular place for people to visit. Its clean sandy surf beach make it a favourite destination for family holidays. It is named after Miami in Florida, as being somewhere else that’s hot, humid and beachy – during the 1920s, Miami enjoyed such prosperity and growth that it was dubbed “The Magic City”. This success the Queensland developers no doubt hoped to emulate. The city of Miami was named after the Miami River, and this in turn was named for the Native American people called the Maiyami. They took their name from the lake they lived by (later known as Lake Okeechobee); the name simply means “big water”. Miami is a name I see sometimes on little girls, and its not only an American place name, but an Australian one as well. It fits in with popular names such as Mia, Maya and Amy.

Pippi

The town of Yamba in northern New South Wales lies at the mouth of the Clarence River, and boasts eleven beaches, including Pippi. It’s primarily known for surfing, and the Pippi Beach Classic is a surfing event held here each January. At one end of the beach is the enticingly-named Lovers Point, and from here is an easy walk up to a rock shelf which gives magnificent views of the sea. Dolphins are plentiful, and whales can be seen during winter and early spring. Pippi Beach is named after the pippis or pipis which can be found here – small edible clams which are often used for fish bait. You may recall that John Sutton, co-captain of the South Sydney Rabbitohs team in the NRL, welcomed a daughter named Pippi last year. As John is a keen surfer, I wondered if Pippi Sutton may have been named after this popular surf beach. You probably also know the name from the Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren – the character’s name was invented by Mrs Lindgren’s nine-year-old daughter, Karin. You can see Pippi as short for Phillipa, and if Pippa or Piper delight you, yet seem too common, then sprightly Pippi may fit the bill.

Rainbow

Rainbow Beach is a small town in southern Queensland which was once a centre for sand-mining, but is now a popular tourist destination with an attractive beach and many bushwalking tracks. The town get its name from the brilliant coloured sand dunes which surround it. According to a local Aboriginal legend, the dunes received their colours when the spirit of the rainbow plunged into the cliffs after coming off second-best in battle. More prosaically, the colours stem from the sand’s rich mineral content. The evanescent beauty of rainbows have made them part of mythology for many thousands of years. Both Greek and Norse myth saw the rainbow as a path between heaven and earth; in Irish folklore there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; and in the familiar story of Noah and the Ark from the Old Testament, the rainbow is a sign of God’s promise to never destroy the earth again. In Australian Aboriginal mythology, the rainbow serpent is of great significance and power, creating and marking the earth’s territories, and controlling its water resources. The subject of artists, singers and poets, the stuff of hopes and dreams, the rainbow has long been used as a symbol of social change. The striking name Rainbow is not that rare in old records, and used for both sexes, but is most common as a middle name.

Trinity

Trinity Beach is a suburb of Cairns in far north Queensland; the city lies on Trinity Bay, which is where the suburb gets its name. Captain James Cook named it on his 1770 voyage, as he arrived there on Trinity Sunday, which is the first Sunday after Pentecost (hopefully he had his dates sorted out by this stage). It is a festival to celebrate the Holy Trinity of the three Persons of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although the Holy Trinity is a Christian concept, the idea of a triple deity is found in several religions. The name Trinity was used from the 17th century, and was given to both sexes, in honour of the Holy Trinity. In recent years, it has gained a sci-fi image, for there has not only been a cult science-fiction film called Trinity, but Trinity is the love interest in The Matrix movie series, and Trinity Wells a newsreader in Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. More ominously, the Trinity Test was the code name for the first detonation of a nuclear bomb in 1945, heralding the start of the Atomic Age.

Vera

Vera View Beach is just north of famous Cottlesloe Beach, in Perth, Western Australia. It isn’t one you will see promoted as a major tourist destination; not the most stunning beach in the world, it nonetheless makes a pleasant walk from the main beach, and is near the main cafe strip. It is also a good place to go snorkelling, as there a small reef nearby teeming with sea life. The beach’s name comes from the fact that it is near Vera View Parade in Cottlesloe. Vera is a Russian name which means “faith”; we tend to be struck by its similarity to the Latin for “truth”, while Albanians notice that it sounds like their word for “spring”. Vera was #15 in the 1900s, and by the 1940s was out of the Top 100. It ceased to chart in the 1980s, but has very recently made a comeback, and was #626 in 2011. Its image was severely dented by the sour-faced prison guard, Vera “Vinegar Tits” Bennett, in the 1970s-80s TV series, Prisoner (no wonder it disappeared from the charts then). However, with simple old names firmly back in fashion, and the V sound becoming increasingly popular, retro Vera could do very well.

Vivonne

Vivonne Bay is on Kangaroo Island in South Australia; the island is off the coast of Cape Jervis. The pristine beach at Vivonne Bay is several kilometres long, and popular for surfing and fishing. There is a tiny town of Vivonne beside the bay. Vivonne Bay was named by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin, who came here in 1803. He was the first to map the western and southern coasts of Australia, and his expedition was a great success, discovering more than 2500 new species and meeting the Indigenous people of Australia. Apparently his expedition harboured a spy – one of his men prepared a report for Napoleon on how to invade and capture the British colony in Sydney Cove, but recommended not to. Baudin died of TB in Mauritius on the way home. He named Vivonne Bay after the French town of Vivonne, near Poitiers (or the aristocratic surname which comes from the town – the town’s name comes from the nearby river Vonne). Readers of Marcel Proust will remember he used the name Vivonne for the river in Swann’s Way. I think this name is pretty, and seems like a cross between Vivienne and Yvonne. It’s different, but not too different.

Wanda

Wanda Beach lies on Bate Bay in the suburb of Cronulla; this is in Sutherland shire, in the southern districts of Sydney. Wanda has a dark past, because there were two murders here in 1965. Two teenage girls, Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sharrock, best friends and neighbours, disappeared at Wanda Beach while on a picnic, and their bodies, partially covered in sand, were found the next day. The murder is still unsolved. Wanda Beach gets its name from an Aboriginal word, wanda, said to mean “beach” or “sand dunes”. Wanda is also a Polish name; there is a medieval Polish legend about a Princess Wanda, and the name was popularised in the English-speaking world by English author Ouida’s 1883 novel, Wanda. The name may come from the West Slavic people known as the Wends; their name possibly means “tribe, kinship, alliance”, ultimately from an ancient word for “love, desire”, and related to the name Venus.

(Photo shows the morning tide coming in at Etty Bay)

Names Spotted at Home and Abroad (Spring Edition)

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in Names Spotted at Home and Abroad

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528324_419521648119669_1365182918_nA nurse saved the life of her daughter’s guinea pig Snowflake by giving it mouth-to-mouth. Her little girl is named Fauve, which in French literally means “wild beast”. In the early twentieth century, les Fauves were avant-garde artists whose style was characterised by wild brushstrokes and vibrant colours. Fauve as a name is as bold as the art it is named after, but still seems on trend.

A bittersweet baby story. Nei Nei Anderson, daughter of Pippin, is just about to have her first Christmas, but she never got to meet her father Jahminn, who died from cancer before she was born. Nei Nei is named after her Maori grandmother; neinei is the Maori word for a New Zealand tree whose Latin name is Dracophyllum traversii. These small trees can live up to 500-600 years.

Elvina Robson [pictured] was born very prematurely, and her little life hung in the balance for a while, but she is ready for her first Christmas too. Elvina’s mum and dad are Emma and Brendan, and her siblings are Marguerite, 16, Gilbert, 12, Lucy, 10, Walter, 4, Angelique, 3 and Stella (deceased). A very lovely and original sibset.

A baby who arrived in a great hurry was named Patience Mezzino. Her name was chosen before her birth, and turned out to be rather ironic.

I have been hoping to see a baby Diamond born in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year, and finally I have. Diamond Andre Thomas Thompson arrived very unexpectedly, but that did not stop his mum Regine from attending her graduation ceremony the next day. Regine now has a Masters in Maritime and Logistics Management. Diamond’s dad is named Paul, and his big sister is Herleen, aged 3.

Hermione Quinn Penning was born just outside the local rubbish tip. Not the most glamorous start to life, but what a beautiful name parents Kelly and Travis picked out. Hermione’s older sister is Elena, aged 3.

Kellie-Anne, and her ex-partner Trent Ford, came up with their son’s name when they saw the back of of a Holden Commodore ute with Storm written on the back of it. They couldn’t afford the ute, but they could name their son after it, so they named him Storme Hunter Ford. Storme’s younger brother is Levi Ryder, who was named after a pair of jeans. Name inspiration can be found everywhere!

A gym for babies aged 2 months and over has opened on the Sunshine Coast. One of its first clients was a baby boy named Horizen Earle. The name seems to ask that he reach for the horizon – but in a totally Zen way. It somehow seems very Sunshine Coast!

A couple who each run their own winery have welcomed their first child, and their daughter is named Peggy Mignonne. Mignonne is French for “cute”, and I think this is an adorable name combination. Charles Mignon is a famous brand of French champagne, and Peggy’s Hill is a wine produced in Australia, but I don’t know whether they put two wine names together or not.

A gorgeous sibset I saw in the paper – Sebastian, Raphael and Augustine, sons of Emily and Mark Wolfenden. Emily and Mark have both donated kidneys to save Sebastian and Raphael’s lives; unfortunately Augustine did not survive.

Names of Adults

Peter Drouyn was a champion surfer in the 1960s and 1970s, but always felt different. Today she is Westerly Windina – she chose her new name because she had such happy memories of surfing in westerly winds. Ms Windina is now a lawyer.

Supreme Court Judge, Justice Emilios Kyrou, has a name which came as a shock to his parents. Born in a small Greek village, it was tradition there that the godparent would choose the baby name and have it baptised, and the name would be kept secret from the parents until announced by the local priest. Traditionally, the first-born son would be named after his paternal grandfather. However, Emilios’ godmother had other ideas, and named him after the hero of a best-selling romantic novel. Parents not pleased. His younger brother, now a doctor, was named Theodoros after grand-dad instead.

Names from Television

Did you watch Life at 7 on the ABC? The series has been following a group of children since they were babies, and now in this series they are seven years old, and for the first time, speak for themselves to us as they learn to navigate the world. The boys are Wyatt, Declan, Joshua, Jara’na and Daniel, and the girls are Haleema, Shine, Anastasia, Sofia and Loulou.

On the news, there was a young man who was the unfortunate victim of some white collar crime. He was called Armand d’Armagnac, and he was as romantic and exotic-looking as his name – but his Australian accent made it clear he probably wasn’t a French count after all.

Another news story: it was announced that the new head of Swimming Australia was a businessman named Barclay Nettlefold. His first name is said BARK-lee, like the British bank founder. I feel that just by telling you his name, you automatically know he is from a prominent family and a keen yachtsman.

Names from Real Life

I was persuaded to escort two young ladies to a posh hotel which throws children’s high tea parties each afternoon during the school holidays. I was informed by some mummy blog or other that only the hippest mothers and their progeny would be there (fathers, and most sons, seem to give it a miss). I was interested to see what the cool people are naming their kids; mostly they just seemed to have the same names as everyone else. However, I did manage to overhear a Bee/Bea, an Aspen, and a pair of sisters named Cleo/Clio and Isis. A rare and very small boy was named Roland.

Two brothers I met elsewhere were called Ziggy and Dash, which struck me as pleasingly zippy.

I also encountered a baby boy named Urban; I was too shy to ask his parents if he was named after the popes, or the cityscape, or the musical style, or Keith Urban.

Do some baby names seem controversial to you? I met a little boy named Aryan, which simply means “noble”, and is related to the Sanskrit name Arya. It refers to the Indo-Iranian languages, which together have one billion speakers, stretching from Russia to Sri Lanka. It really shouldn’t be any different from calling your daughter India or Persia. And yet …

I did part of my Christmas shopping with my friend Claire, who is in her 30s. As we joined the queue to pay, we heard someone talking to their baby girl in her stroller – the baby’s name was Claire. The plump grey-haired lady who served us had a name badge that said “Claire”. When I got home, I switched on the news and a pretty young reporter named Claire was covering the story. And the name Claire suited ALL of them perfectly! Go classic names.

On Twitter, Name Sociology mentioned the name Evolet, which is a character from the movie 10, 000 BC, and is “t(h)e love” written backwards. It reminded me of a woman I used to work with whose name was Evol, which is Love backwards. Sounds like a nice idea, except that until I saw her name written down, I thought she was called Evil.

Names of Babies Born to People I Know or Know Of:

Girls: Mary, Phoebe, Roma, Sanna

Boys: Boaz, Castel, Phoenix

If you are able to read this, it means the world probably hasn’t ended, yay! However, something has started – Christmas holidays – and I won’t be around much until January 7. Have a very merry Christmas season, and a happy New Year!

(Photo from The Blue Mountains Gazette Facebook page)

Is the Name Macalla of Indigenous Origin?

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in Naming Assistance

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image_previewA reader named Beni wrote in some time ago to ask if I could verify that the name Macalla was from an Australian Aboriginal language, and had the meaning “full moon”.

If you do a quick Google search, this interpretation does pop up on a few baby name sites, but they do not explain which language it is from. They also offer Mikayla or Makayla as being “derived” from this name, when we know that is not the case at all, so it starts to look rather unconvincing.

Even before searching these dubious baby name sites, I was already suspicious, because there is no letter c in the orthography of Australian Indigenous languages – a hard c sound, such as in the word carrot, is always shown as a k.

Feeling unsure of where to look next, I replaced the c with a k and tried searching for Makalla instead. In the National Library records, I found an album by a Western Australian musician and performer named Mervyn Mulardy; it was called Yatangal, and one of the tracks was Makalla.

I wrote to a music store named Chunes of Broome, and a helpful staff member named Andrew gave me Mr Mulardy’s phone number so that I could ask him about the song title.

Mr Mulardy was kind enough to take time out of his recording schedule to talk to me, and he explained that makalla is a word from the Karajarri language of the Kimberley, in Western Australia’s north-west. It describes the long grey clouds which roll in across the sky like waves, and which bring rain.

I don’t feel at all confident in reproducing Mr Mulardy’s pronunciation (especially as heard over the phone), but it sounded rather like MAHK-uh-lah, and the l in the word almost seemed to be a soft r sound.

I asked if Makalla is ever used as a name, and Mr Mulardy said he hadn’t heard of it being used so, but thought it very well could have been. I asked if it would cause any offence or be culturally inappropriate for non-Karajarri or non-Indigenous people to use Makalla as a name. Mr Mulardy seemed to think for a moment, and then said he didn’t believe so – in fact, he thought it would make a very good name.

As far as Macalla being an Indigenous name, that’s all I was able to find, and as you see, nothing about a full moon.

There is a Hawaiian girl’s name Makala, and this can be translated as “set free” or “myrtle” (depending upon pronunciation) – although other sources suggest that it can be used as a Hawaiian feminine form of Michael, which seems to bring us back to Mikayla again.

Another baby name site simply says that Macalla is a spelling variant of Mikayla, and this seems like the most likely explanation to me.

When it comes to spelling variants of common and popular names, baby name websites sometimes seek to make them seem more like “real names” with their own etymologies, origins and histories, and this can sometimes lead to overly imaginative interpretations of re-spelled names.

So Beni, I’m afraid I wasn’t able to verify that Macalla is an authentic Indigenous name, or even a genuine name in its own right.

But there are similar words and names that you could use, such as Makala and Makalla, and of course there is always Michaela, which could very well be the true source.

It’s interesting that while Mikayla is a Top 100 name, Michaela is only in the 400s, so the original (and some would say, the “correct”) spelling of the name actually makes a less common and more distinguished alternative.

If anyone has further information or insights on the name Macalla, please feel free to send them in to the blog. And which name would you prefer to use – Macalla, Makalla, Makala, Mikayla, Makayla or Michaela?

Much gratitude to Andrew at Chunes of Broome and Mervyn Mulardy for all their help.

(Photo shows a full moon over Lake Mungo)

Names of Australian Male Olympic Swimmers

02 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in Name Themes and Lists

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kpAshley (Callus)

Ashley Callus won gold in 2000 and bronze in 2008. Ashley is an English surname from a common place name meaning “ash tree clearing”. It’s been used as a personal name since the 17th century, and was originally given to boys. It only became popular in Australia after the release of the 1939 movie Gone with the Wind, with the character of Ashley Wilkes (actually George Wilkes – Ashley is his middle name). Played by Leslie Howard, Ashley is a true Southern gentleman, and the one man Scarlett cannot get. The name Ashley first charted in the 1940s, and by the 1950s was #160; it made the Top 100 for the 1970s, and peaked in the 1980s at #62. It was during the 1980s that Ashley became a unisex name, making an impressive female debut at #55 – higher than the peak for boys. Coincidentally or not, it was in 1982 that the popular character Ashley Abbott joined soapie The Young and the Restless, first portrayed by Eileen Davidson. Ashley peaked for girls in the 1990s at #33, and although it left the Top 100 in 2009, it rose again and is now #93. As a boy’s name, Ashley left the Top 100 in the 1990s, and no longer ranked by 2010. However, last year Ashley increased for boys as well as girls, reaching #466. The usual nicknames is Ash.

Francis (Gailey)

Francis “Frank” Gailey won three silvers and a bronze at the 1904 Olympics. Born in Australia, Frank emigrated to the United States, and his medals are credited to the US. However, as he was an Australian citizen when he won them, we claim them toward our own medal count. This doesn’t seem to be accepted internationally. Francis is the English form of the Italian name Francesco. This began life as a nickname, because the 12th century Giovanni di Bernardone was known as Francesco, “the Frenchman”. This may have been because his father was on business in France when he was born, or because the young Giovanni quickly became fluent in French. While still a young man, Francesco began to turn away from the pleasures available to him as the son of a wealthy man, and to live a life of poverty and simplicity. Known as Saint Francis of Assisi, he is the patron saint of Italy, and also the environment. Many stories about him reflect on his deep love for animals, and his sense of kinship with all life. Francis charts as a unisex name from 1900, but by the 1950s was male-only, and in the Top 100. It left the Top 100 the following decade and remained stable for decades before falling out of use in 2010. However, last year Francis was back in the charts at #388.

Garrick (Agnew)

Sir Robert David Garrick Agnew, always known by the second of his middle names, attended the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. A graduate of Harvard, Sir Garrick became a very wealthy businessman, and also a champion fisherman. He died of a heart attack after going swimming in a pool. Garrick is an English surname which is the Anglicisation of two slightly different French surnames of Old Provencal origin. Garric means “kermes oak tree”, a small evergreen oak; Garrique means “grove of kermes oaks” – both names denoted someone who lived near such trees. The surname was introduced to Britain in the 17th century by French Huguenots, Protestants who fled persecution in France. The great 18th century English actor David Garrick was from a Huguenot family; his grandfather changed the name from Garric. Garrick has been used as a personal name since the 18th century, and first appears amongst British Huguenot families. It’s been reasonably well used in Australasia, and I think it still sounds rather distinguished and gentlemanly.

Jayden (Hadler)

Jayden Hadler is a young swimmer who attended his first Olympics this year. Jayden is a modern name of uncertain origin. It’s first found in the United States in the 19th century, and turns up around the same time as other J-D-N names then in vogue, including Jadin. Jadin is a French occupational surname for someone who made bowls, derived from the French word for bowl, jatte, and it’s hard not to wonder if Jayden began as a variant of this name, influenced by Jay, a surname after the bird, whose name means “joyful, lively”. Jaidan, Jadan and Jaden were also in use around this time – some of the variants we see today date back over a century. Jayden became popular in Australia earlier than other countries, and first charts in the 1970s. You can see that it fit perfectly with popular or fashionable names of that era such as Jason, Hayden and Aidan. By the 1980s it was #307, then zoomed up the charts to make #47 for the 1990s. It peaked in 2003 at #14, and by 2010 had fallen to #28. Last year it rose again to #21, and could be considered a modern classic. The question is – is Jayden from the 1970s “the same name” as Jayden from the 19th century?

Kieren (Perkins)

Kieren Perkins was considered one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers, specialising in the 1500 metre freestyle. He won gold and silver at the 1992 Olympics, gold in 1996, and silver in 2000. Since retiring from swimming, he has gained success in the media and the corporate world. Kieren is an Anglicised form of the Irish name Ciarán, a diminutive of the name Ciar, meaning “black, dark”. There are six Irish saints called Ciarán, the eldest of which is known as the first Irish-born saint. Although an educated man of noble birth, according to tradition he was a hermit, who lived like a wild man dressed in skins. Many legends describe him as having a love for and power over wild animals. Kieren is pronounced KEE-ren. Kieren has never charted in Australia, with parents preferring the variant Kieran, currently #240.

Leith (Brodie)

Leith Brodie won two bronzes at the 2008 Olympics. Leith is the port area in the city of Edinburgh; its name comes from the Gaelic word lìte, meaning “wet”. This makes sense when you realise that Leith is at the mouth of a river. Leith has played an important role in Scottish history and been the scene of many battles, as well as a major industrial centre. Leith is an aristocratic surname; the Leith family are of Scottish origin, and descend from William Leith, who was Lord Provost of Aberdeen in the 14th century. Leith has been reasonably well-used in Australia, and from the available records, seems to have been used almost equally on males and females. For boys, it probably seemed like a cross between Lee and Keith, and for girls, maybe a cross between Lee and Beth. This name still seems a bit “mum and dad” to me, but maybe it’s ready for an early retro-revival.

Moss (Christie)

Maurice “Moss” Christie won silver at the 1924 Olympics. Moss can be a nickname for names such as Moses, Mostyn or Maurice, or it can be from the surname. The surname Moss has several possible sources. As an Irish name, it is usually translated as “son of the follower of Saint Munnu”. Munnu was the nickname of Saint Fintán of Taghmon; his nickname means “teacher”. As an English surname, Moss can mean “swamp, peat bog”, given to someone who lived near one, or it can be taken from the name Moses. Although many of these sources are male, the swamp one is obviously unisex, and you could also see Moss as a nature name, directly after the soft springy green plant. This could be used on both boys and girls.

Noel (Ryan)

Noel Ryan was an international swimming champion who attended the 1932 Olympic Games. Noel is another word for Christmas which was introduced by the Normans and comes from the Old French. Ultimately it is from Latin, meaning “birth”, referring to the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s been used for both boys and girls in England since the Middle Ages, originally given to those who were born at Christmas time. Later on, it may have been influenced by the surname, which could be from the personal name, given as a nickname to someone born at Christmas, or to someone who played an important role in Yuletide celebrations. In Australia, Noel has only ever charted as a male name. It was #76 for the 1900s, and peaked in the 1930s at #21. It was out of the Top 100 by the 1970s, and hasn’t charted since the 1990s. This is another 1930s name I would like to see make a comeback, and think it works equally well for girls.

Percival (Oliver)

Percival “Percy” Oliver won thirteen Australian freestyle and backstroke titles, and attended the 1936 Olympics. After retiring from swimming, he became a teacher and was responsible for the administration of the Education Department’s swimming programme. He died last year aged 92. In Arthurian legend, Percival is one of King Arthur’s knights, and connected to the quest for the Holy Grail. In the romance Perceval by Chretien de Troyes, Perceval meets the crippled Fisher King in a mysterious castle, and sees a grail (in this poem, a wide deep dish with a communion wafer which feeds the king), but does not understood its importance. Brought up not to chatter too much, Perceval fails to ask the question that would have healed the king, and once he realises the mistake he’s made, vows to find the castle again and complete the quest. At this point, Chretien abandons his poem, and it was left to other writers to finish the story. In doing so, the role of Percival became much diminished. The name Perceval seems to have been created by Chretien de Troyes from the Old French meaning “pierce valley”. What he was trying to get across I have little idea. This is another Arthurian name which was revived by the Victorians due to Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, which depicts Sir Percival as a spiritual knight better suited to holy quests than the average warrior. Percival was #77 in the 1900s, and left the Top 100 by the 1920s; it hasn’t charted since the 1950s. This is a vintage name which seems very usable, especially with its cute nickname Percy.

Regan (Harrison)

Regan Harrison won silver at the 2000 Olympics. Regan (pronounced REE-guhn) is an Anglicised form of the Irish surname O’Riagain or O’Raogain, meaning “son of Riagain”. Riagain is a Gaelic name of uncertain meaning; one suggestion is that it comes from the Gaelic word for “impulsive, angry”; another that it means “little king”. There was a medieval Irish prince called Riagain; he may have given his name to the town of Ballyregan in Northern Ireland. Regan is also found as a female name in Shakespeare’s King Lear, where Regan is the middle of the king’s three daughters. She is a vile creature full of false flattery, who throws her elderly father out of her home in the middle of a storm. To nobody’s disappointment, she is poisoned by her older sister, who is even more horrible. This revolting namesake doesn’t seem to have put parents off using the name for their daughters. The meaning of it is unknown; Shakespeare got the story and characters from earlier British legends, and Regan is presumed to be Celtic. A popular notion is that (female) Regan is derived from the name of the Celtic goddess Rigantona, who we also know as Welsh Rhiannon. It makes the name slightly more appealing, but I can’t confirm if it’s true or not. Rigantona means “great queen”.

(Photo is of Kieren Perkins after winning gold at the Atlanta Olympics, becoming the only Australian since Dawn Fraser to successfully defend an individual Olympic championship)

Famous Names: Sandy and Sable

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Famous Names

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A group of Australian scientists from the University of Sydney have undiscovered an island that was supposed to be in between Australia and New Caledonia.

Sandy Island showed up on Google Earth and Google Maps, as well as marine and scientific maps all over the world, including the US National Geophysical Data Center. According to the maps, Sandy Island was about 16 miles long and 3 miles wide – just slightly bigger than Manhattan.

Geologists on the Southern Surveyor, an Australian maritime research vessel, were puzzled by the island which appeared on their weather maps, yet navigation charts showed that the water in that area was very deep – 1400 metres (4620 feet). They decided that they had to go check it out, and found nothing there except sea. The scientists recorded the information so that maps can be changed.

According to the Wikipedia article on Sandy Island, the island was erased from Google Maps on November 26, but although the name Sandy Island doesn’t show up in the search bar, when I looked in the Coral Sea I found the phantom island quite easily, but there was no name attached to it.

If I zoomed in on the island, it simply disappeared, and if I switched to satellite, the island showed up as a black streak surrounded by blue streaks, looking remarkably like someone had scribbled on it with two different felt-tip pens.

Interestingly, if Sandy Island had existed, it would have been in French territorial waters – and the island is not on any recent French government charts. Perhaps because of this, the Times Atlas of the World deleted Sandy Island from its maps after 1999.

The history of the discovery of Australia involved – indeed, was dependent on – faulty maps, necessitating voyages to check out what was here or not, so it makes a strange sort of sense that now Australians must voyage forth to check faulty maps for themselves.

The episode shows that this part of the world is still not well known, and incompletely charted. It’s not quite a matter of Here be dragons, but the reply from most of the map-providers when the error was pointed out was along the lines of, Well it is in the middle of nowhere …

Tens of thousands of years of human occupation, and centuries since the first mapping, and we’re still close to the middle of nowhere. Which is rather exciting – what else in our region is still waiting to be discovered, or undiscovered?

Apart from the Pythonesque nuttiness of this story (no wonder the geologists got the giggles as they sailed through the invisible island), the thing that got my attention was the name Sandy, which has been in the news internationally since Hurricane Sandy hit the north-east coast of the United States in late October, after devastating the Caribbean.

According to this article in The New York Times, names of hurricanes can help to influence the way we name our babies. It’s not as simple as everyone suddenly choosing Sandy as a baby name, but it seems that once we hear a word or a name many times, we instinctively like names that sound similar to it. So experts are expecting a spike in the numbers of babies of 2012 whose names begin with an S, as well as those with an and sound in them, and ones that end in -ee.

There was a story in the Australian press, about an expat couple in New York, whose baby arrived at the height of Sandy’s fury. The parents did consider calling their new daughter Sandy, but in the end chose Sophie. The analysts would be rubbing their hands, because they chose a two-syllable name that starts with S and ends with an -ee sound, just like Sandy.

Sandy is a unisex name which is short for Alexander or Alexandra, but also for any name related to them, such as Alistair, Sander, Alessandra, Sanette, Sandrine, or Sandra. You could use it as a short form of Cassandra, Santos, Sanford, Sandon, Santiago or any similar name. Sandy is a traditional pet name for people with reddish or sandy-blonde hair, and you could see it as a vocabulary, colour, and nature name meaning “sand-coloured, like sand, covered in sand”.

However, another possibility occurred to me while reading about The Case of the Non-Existent Island. On a French chart from 1875, the island is called Île de Sables, which is French for Sandy Island. Because of this, The Times Atlas of the World partly Anglicised the name back again to Sable Island.

While in French, sable means “sand”, the same word in English means something quite different. (I feel that I must be channelling Lou from Mer de Noms, who quite often finds name inspiration in French words). I should point out that the two words are said differently: in French, SAH-bluh; in English, SAY-buhl.

A sable is a species of marten (a relative of minks, weasels and ferrets) which is found mostly in Eurasia and still hunted in Russia. The pelt of the animal has been highly valued since medieval times, because the fur of the sable feels soft whichever way you stroke you; it’s not possible to “go against the grain”.

Because of the animal’s colour, the word sable is also a literary way to say “black”, such as when John Milton refers to “a sable cloud” in Paradise Lost. It amuses me that sandy and sable are opposites as colours, with one signifying a pale shade and the other one that is very dark.

Sable can also be used as a personal name, with the first one I can find in the records dating to the 17th century. It’s used for both boys and girls, although from the beginning more often a female name – maybe because it seems like it could be short for names such as Isabel or Sabella.

Sable is more common in the United States, where it has sometimes been used amongst African-Americans as a positive and beautiful word to denote darkness (similar to the name Ebony, which doesn’t have that connotation here).

In Australia, it appears rarely in the records, nearly always as a female name. One of my favourite combinations for this name was Brightie Sable. It also belonged to a 1900s French immigrant to Australia, who had the French form – Sablé.

So if you feel subconsciously influenced to use a name similar to Sandy, or would like to be part of a name trend, then Sable or Sablé seem like possibilities to choose from, and may please trend analysts immensely.

(Satellite image from Google Maps)

Famous Name: Eclipse

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Famous Names

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An eclipse is when an astronomical body is obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body, or having another body pass between it and the viewpoint. The word comes from the ancient Greek ékleipsis, meaning “abandonment, downfall or darkening of a heavenly body”.

Although there are several different types of eclipse possible in the universe, the ones we can see from Earth are the solar and lunar eclipses. We tend to get more excited by solar eclipses, when the Moon appears to pass in front of the Sun, blotting out its light temporarily. The most impressive of all is a total eclipse of the Sun, when the Moon appears to perfectly cover the Sun, so that it disappears from view.

A total eclipse of the Sun can only be viewed along a very narrow band of the Earth’s surface, and on November 13, a total eclipse could be seen in far north-eastern Australia. Although many had gloomily predicted that cloud cover would ruin the eclipse-enjoying experience, just before dawn the clouds obligingly parted, and the Moon passed in front of the Sun. For two minutes it became darker and colder, the birds stopped singing, and tens of thousands of spectators from all over the world gaped in wonder, just as our ancestors did thousands of years ago.

Many indigenous groups, including in Arnhem Land, were watching the event, which has deep spiritual meaning for them. Most Aboriginal cultures believe the Sun is female and the Moon male. In their myths, the Sun is in love with the Moon, but he doesn’t return her feelings, so she chases him around the sky. Occasionally she manages to catch him, and in a jealous rage tries to kill him, but the Moon convinces the spirits which hold up the sky to save him, which they always do.

However, another version is that a solar eclipse marks those rare times when the Sun-woman is hidden by the Moon-man while he relents and makes loves to her, while a similar tale is that a spirit man covers the Earth with his hand to leave it in darkness, so that the Sun and Moon may have privacy together.

In Queensland, the celebrations for the eclipse included a Solar Eclipse Marathon in Port Douglas, and a week long Eclipse Festival at the remote Palmer River Roadhouse. More than 50 000 tourists arrived from Europe, North America and Asia, with some hotels booked out three years in advance. The eclipse was big news, and big business. And why shouldn’t they party? It was the first time in the past thousand years that this part of Australia had experienced a total solar eclipse.

Eclipse can be found as a unisex name in occasional use since the late 18th century. According to blogger Nancy Man at Nancy’s Names, the births of many of those given the name Eclipse can be correlated with either solar or lunar eclipses.

In Australian records, there are only a small number of people listed as having the name Eclipse, and it is exclusively used as a middle name. It is balanced between the sexes, with three women and two men having Eclipse as part of their name. My favourite combinations were Pearl Eclipse and Thomas Eclipse Vivian.

Only a year of birth is given, so it isn’t possible to correlate their dates of birth with eclipses, but it is reasonable to assume that it might have been the inspiration for at least some births. However, there was also a convict ship called Eclipse, although it doesn’t seem to match up with any of the places or dates of birth in the records in any obvious way.

Scientist Dr Natalie Dillon from Mareeba attended the eclipse viewing this year and said:

When it goes dark and the temperature drops, you get a sense of the fragility of life. I just feel in awe. It is like the Moon has wiped a cloth over the face of the Sun and we can start afresh.

An eclipse is a rare celestial event, and one which fills us with a mixture of awe and dread, as well as great joy and a sense of renewal when the light of the Sun is returned. It reminds us how much we need the Sun, and gives us a brief uneasy taste of what Earth would be like without it – chill, dim and silent.

The basis of the word eclipse is the Greek for “I leave behind”. To eclipse someone means to cast them into your shadow, to surpass others with your superior talents or skills – to leave them behind, so that they can never catch up.

As a name, Eclipse has power, a certain foreboding, and perhaps a touch of arrogance. It is little seen, and that gives it an even greater significance. Perhaps it’s not surprising it has been timidly tucked away in the middle.

Nicknames for Eclipse include Clip, Clipper and Clipsie, which give it a much friendlier and more approachable sound.

What do you think – a viable baby name, or a little too much?