Tuesday's 7 Names -Names # 246-252

GIRLS

Passiflora - "passion flower". Passion in the name of the passion flower refers to the Passion of Christ, all the suffering he underwent in his effort to save humanity from sin.

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Quinterria - probably a variant spelling of Quiteria, the name of a Christian martyr who lived in the 5th century, according to Wikipedia. There is a fine article on Saint Quiteria here. The theory put forth on Wikipedia as to the origin of her name is that it may derive from Phoenician, due to the fact that the goddess Astarte was also called Kythere (or Kuteria or Kyteria), meaning "the red one". Another theory they offered was that it is derived from Cytherea, the island where Aphrodite is said to have been born (Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love). The story on Wikipedia on the saint is brief, but it is one of the better saint stories, I think, and well worth the short investment of time to read it (click here.)

Cytherea, or Kythira, is one of the 7 main Ionian islands of Greece, just south of the Peleponnese peninsula. Phoenicians created a community here and also worshipped their goddess Astarte. Even anciently it was believed that the worship of Aphrodite had originated here.

I found the Wikipedia articles on Kythira and on Astarte fascinating. You can read them here: Kythira    Astarte

My final word (for now) on the name Quinterria is this. I had met a lady named Katiria, a Spanish-speaking lady, and that is pronounced 'kah tier ee uh'.

I have to say that this name wound up completely surprising me. It was curious, sure, but I did not expect such a wealth, hey, that's cool, kind of interesting. Hope you enjoyed learning more about the name. I think I may add Cytherea or Kythira or Kythere or perhaps even Quiteria to my list.

Variants of the name offered on Wikipedia:  Quiteira, Quitterie, Kithiriammal

This singer's name is Andra Day

Riya - Sanskrit, meaning 'singer'. It is pronounced 'ree yah'. 

BOYS

Stig - Old Norse, derived from the name Stigr and means 'path' (according to behindthename.com).

Follow Highway 89 south until you reach Salina, then head west on Route 50.
At the junction of these two routes stood Stig's, when I was growing up, the
neighborhood bar. Perfect, ain't it? That the name means path and stood at a
crossroads. The whole Paiute trail is beautiful and you really should go. They 
have a sort of ATV rendezvous in late August or September and that is the 
perfect time of year to tour the beautiful mountains of the area.

Tench - a type of carp. This word is derived from the French 'tenche' or 'tanche' which in turn comes from the Latin 'tinca', which meant something like 'the nibbler'. Tinca derives from tinea which meant 'a moth'. Tinea comes from the Greek. 

I also came across this alternate etymology of the word tench:




Tench became a nickname for a person who resembled the fish (? I have no idea which part of a person looks like this fish!).

It could also come from the surname which is derived from the Dutch surname 'Tenge'. The surname could have been acquired in the same way as the nickname, or could have been used for someone who caught or sold this type of fish or lived near a place where these fish lived.

Vernile - Latin, "servile". It comes from the Latin word vernilis which is based on the word 'verna' which means slave.

Warnock - Scottish, it comes from the surname Mac Giolla Mhearnóg, which, according to ancestry.com means "son of the devotee of St Mearnóg". St Mearnóg is a saint from Kilmarnock. Wikipedia says that Mearnóg may derive from the Gaelic mo meaning 'my', Ernán and the diminutive ag.  Ernán means 'iron' and the Etymology of the principal Gaelic national names, personal names, surnames by Alexander Macbain says that St. Ernan's name in Latin was Ferreolus, meaning 'iron one', and this coming from 'iarunn'. So, Warnock comes from the surname Mac Giolla Mhearnog, meaning 'son of the devotee of St. Mearnog' and Mearnog means 'my little Ernan' or 'my little iron-one'. 

monk's cell and standing stone on Eilach an
Naoimh, or Holy Isle, one of the islands of
 the Inner Hebrides on the west coast of
 Scotland. around 542 A.D. a monastery was
founded here. This may have been Hinba, the
island that St. Columba retreated to, where his
 uncle, St. Ernan, lived. Hinba means 'isles of
 the sea'. The island is uninhabited now and was
 remote and isolated then as well, which made
it a great place for spiritual growth. I'm not a
 'devotee' of the saint, but I would not mind being
 a 'follower' if that meant getting to go to a
pleasant, peaceful spot such as this.