Names #425-431

GIRLS


Herleva - Germanic, from 'hari' meaning 'army' and either 'era' meaning 'honor' or 'erla' meaning 'noble'. Herleva was the mother of William the Conqueror who led the Norman invasion of England. Other names wikipedia listed for her were Herleve, Arlette, Arletta, Arlotte, and Harlette.
(thanks to BehindtheName for the meaning of Herleva)



In use during the Middle Ages, perhaps
Idony was the name of a little girl, whose parents
wanted her to learn to choose things that
were suitable for her, a girl with gold locks
who meets three bears.

Idony- According to behindthename.com, this is the English form of the name Idonea, which seems to be Latin, meaning "suitable", but they also suggest that it is connected to the Norse name Idunn, from 'id' meaning 'again' and 'unna' meaning 'love'. It seems to me that Idonea and Idunn are sufficiently different in meaning and sound. Why would the English change Idunn to Idonea? It seems more likely to me that Idony is from Idonea with no connection to Idunn. But I haven't researched it on my own at all yet, to see if their suggestion holds any water.




the miracle of the seagulls

Juandalynn -  Babynamespedia.com suggests that Juandalynn comes from putting Juanita and Lynn together. I suppose, they are seeing the transformation due to lazy speaking or dialect or whatever where the long e sound is lost and the t sounds more like a d. Since Juana (and Juanita) are female variants of a Hebrew name, they would have the same meaning, which is, 'God is gracious' or 'God is
 merciful'. Lynn comes from English and means "meadow" or "field". However, I could also see someone spelling a name they had heard and did not know the correct spelling for this way, if they were familiar with Juana or Juanita, with a little fudging in some instances on the inclusion of a d. One name like this I can think of is Gwendolyn or its shorter form Wendoline. Gwendolyn is Welsh and comes from the roots "gwyn" meaning "white" or "fair" or "blessed" and 'dolen' meaning 'loop' or 'ring' or 'bow' or 'link' (as in a chain). Thanks to Wikipedia on the meaning of 'dolen'.

When I first saw this name, though, it seemed as though someone had added 'lynn' to the end of Wanda, but instead of spelling Wanda the regular way, had opted for something more exotic in spelling the first syllable (or most of it) like the Spanish Juan. Wanda comes from the Germanic "Wend" which is the name of an ancient European tribe also known as the Vandals, famous for 'wandering' over Europe and bring destruction to many established communities (or 'vandalizing' them). To 'wend' your way is to go in a wavy manner, around this thing, over that way, up this, down that, etc. Imagine a river that follows a curvy route, or a road. The word 'wanderer' comes from this root. Babynamespedia.com pointed out that the name Wanda may also come from a very old word for 'family' or from Polish, as there was an early medieval princess Wanda.

A third way of seeing this name is that is only a modern invention, taking sounds from more than two names and arranging them as it pleases the creator. So that Lynn could perhaps be seen as coming from English while the middle part of the name is contributed by Wanda and the first part of the name derived from the Spanish Juana. Some people feel this means the name has 'no' language of origin and no real meaning'. I'm curious what your opinion is on this name. I am also eager for more information on how people with this name got the name.


BOYS


Kyler - according to Llewellyn's Book of Names this is an English surname meaning "the killer" and they explain it as meaning perhaps the person was a butcher or hangman by profession. Other sources say that it is a Dutch surname meaning 'archer'. Still other sources say it is based on the name Kyle and other that is an invented name, taking Tyler and swapping the t for a k. Personally, I think its current popularity as a first name is more closely related to the recent popularity of the name Schuyler. I managed to find another person of a similar opinion - Louis MacWethy in "The Book of Names, Especially Related to the Early Palatines and the Settlers in the Mohawk Valley". Another genealogy book suggests a possible link with Schuyler and also the surname Keller.

Lilburn - I found two different possible derivations for this name. One is that it is from 'lily' and 'burn' which means 'river'. Lilburn is a city in England 'by a stream where the lilies grow', according to Wikipedia. Lilburn is a surname for an aristocratic family there.

The other possibility I found suggests that the Lil in the family name of Lilburn comes from Danish and means 'little, in which case, it would mean on the whole 'little river'.


Mirabeau - the name of some places in France and the last name of the Comtes de Mirabeau. It seems to be French and mean 'beautiful view', rather like the name Fairview that is so common in English. Its use as a first name in America might be related to the Comte de Mirabeau who lived in the latter half of the 18th century, a contemporary of George Washington. Or it might be more closely related to Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas, who was named for the two important French revolutionaries the Comte de Mirabeau and Napoleon Buonaparte.

beautiful view of the Texas prairie

the northern French city of Rouen

Norvell -French, meaning "northern town", from 'nor' meaning 'north' and 'ville' meaning 'town'. Norvell, obviously is a variant spelling of Norville. (all this courtesy of babynamespedia.com)