1403

We have 1,403 names left to learn this year (I've introduced you now to 611 names, minus that from 2,014 and you get 1,403). Here are 7 new names. That means after today you will have learned 618 new names and will only need to learn 1,396 more!

GIRLS

Rosilvia

Scheherazade

Ti

Valla

BOYS

Caesar Augustus

Aku - Finnish, a form of the Latin name Augustus meaning "inspiring awe or admiration". It's interesting to me that Aku Ankka is the name for Donald Duck in Finnish (I suppose because of its rhythmic quality).

Benoni- Just encountered this as a first name yesterday. It seems more like a last name to me, and Italian. But boy am I wrong!! Ben Oni is the original form of the boy name Benjamin and means "son of my sorrow" - this being a Hebrew name. Turns out I am not the only person to think this way - as I came across an article written by someone who, when they also encountered the name Benoni while conducting genealogy research in early New England thought it was Italian and out of place. They found that a couple of the children named Benoni had been born under the same situation as that described in the Bible when Benjamin is born to Rachel (she dies shortly after). It's such a fascinating article that I'm including the link here. This person found 100 different Benonis born during that time period and in that region. Fantastic, right? They were so curious about this phenomenon that they also looked for details about the circumstances of birth of those people and they were usually (not always) born "under a cloud" or some unfortunate thing their family experienced.

I also found in Wikipedia that Benoni can mean "the intermediate one". This is again Hebrew and related to the theology of Hasidic Jews.

There is a St. Benoni in Canada. It is a place but I have not been able to find information on a saint named Benoni.

**Note--- Since I originally posted this I came across my own Benoni in my family's past, New Englander and died young. Benoni Rust born to Henry and Hannah Rust of Hingham, Massachusetts.In the late 1640s. We are distant relatives mainly because of how long ago he lived. He is my 8th great-granduncle.
My Rust line from them goes like this:
Henry and Hannah Rust
Israel Rust - born in 1643, so just a small child when Benoni was born
Nathaniel Rust - his wife Mary (or Mercy) Atcheson had at least one brother also named Benoni - this is one of the Benonis discussed on the website I gave a link to above. Benoni Atcheson was born in Hatfield, Massachusetts in 1677.
Nathaniel Rust
Rebecca Rust
James Kingsbury - his wife Eunice Waldo's sister Hannah married a Benoni Thomson in New Hampshire in 1801
Nancy Kingsbury
Mary Ann Baldwin
Richard Wilson
Junius Wilson
My father
Me

Some of these Benonis also have their name written as Benomi or Benomey, etc, which seems like something someone might say easily rather than Benoni.

One of the Benonis referred to in the article was a Benoni Clough born in 1675 in Massachusetts and I have a Benomey Clough who married a Hannah Merrill who was born in Massachusetts in 1672. The Benoni in the article was born in Salisbury, Massachusetts and my Hannah Merrill died in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Her brother Nathaniel is my 8th great-grandfather, so she is my 9th great-aunt and Benomey Clough, then is my 9th great-uncle through marriage to her. So far that is 4 Benomis (or Benonis) I can count myself related to.

Not sure on gender

Zhivargo  - I could see someone using this for a boy, the character Dr. Zhivago was male. But it 'could' be used for a girl. It's a strange name to use as a first name, I think, but someone in love with the book or movie might use this to name their child. I came across it as an actual first name someone had - I just don't know if it was a man or a woman's name. The fictional character's name is spelled Zhivago, not Zhivargo. I googled this and found at least one man named Zhivargo, though, so maybe it's never been used for girls.