Today is Wednesday, Though, These are for Thursday

GIRLS

Vanda - a form of Wanda in a few different languages. Wanda means "wanderer". Vanda is also a species of orchid.

Budingen

Zettie

Bedinger  this was the middle name of an American female poet, which is why I thought it was a female name. It is just a surname stuck in the middle after all. It is German and derives from the city of Budingen.

Budingen coat of arms

*side note genealogy-wise. This lends credence to my idea that the name Dellet is a surname indicating the town that family was from. I have now come across at least a few German surnames of this sort.

Add caption

Calceolaria- Latin, from 'calceolus' meaning 'small shoe', this is a genus of plants, a kind of orchid. I thought it might make a nice name. It's more commonly called lady's slipper.

BOYS

Elbert -  Old English, meaning "noble, bright.

Heman

NOT SURE WHICH GENDER

Dowdell - Old English, either from "dow", which derives from "dufe" meaning "a dove" or from "do" which derives from "da" meaning "a doe" and "dael" meaning "a valley". So the name either means "dove valley" or "doe valley", or more romantically "valley of doves" or "valley of does". Dowdell is an English surname, but I encountered it being used as a first name. I consulted the book Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary by Henry Harrison for this information.

Wait! What? It's Wednesday Already?

GIRLS

Nevaehtnes - this name is along the lines of the name Nevaeh, which is Heaven spelled backward. The last part of the name is sent spelled backward, so "heaven sent". I do not know how it is said.

Omolara - Benin, meaning "child born at the right time".


Pascalina - feminine form of the name Pascal which comes from the Latin "paschalis" which is used for things relating to Easter. Pascha is the word for Easter in Latin and derives ultimately from the Hebrew word "pesach" which is used to mean "passover". It is given to a child born on Easter day or on Pentecost.

BOYS

Rodolfo -Spanish and Italian form of the German name Rudolph, which means "famous wolf".






Taverner- English, meaning "one who keeps a tavern" from the French tavernier which comes from the French taverne which comes from the Latin "taberna" meaning "a hut".

Avin - I'm not sure of the origin of the name for the person I met with this name. But since I do not find a separate etymology for it, I'm classifying it as a variation of Haven. It sounds similar and follows the name patterning that is current. Haven is Dutch and comes from the Old English 'haefen' which comes from the old Norse 'hofn', which means "harbor". There is Avon, which comes from the Welsh 'afon' meaning 'river'. But Avin is pronounced 'ay vin' and therefore is closer in sound and spelling to haven than Avon.

NOT SURE WHICH GENDER

Sigabor-

Let's Begin Tuesday With 7 New Names!

GIRLS

Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris

Genevieva - a variant of Genevieve. britishbabynames.com suggests that Genevieve is Gaulish, from geno- meaning born or people, family, tribe and wifu meaning noble. Other sources suggest the name is Celtic or Germanic and means "woman of the people".

Heatherlyn

Idella

Jennaleigh



BOYS

Levanus - Latin, from the verb "levare" meaning "to lift". Levana was the Roman goddess of childbirth, part of the ritual of a father accepting that a child was his by picking it up or holding it after the midwife had delivered the child and placed it on the ground at the father's feet. Since women of that time period often squatted when giving birth, the ground was a natural place to put it.


Mosén - Spanish 



NOT SURE OF GENDER


Kyrone

7 Names at the end of the day (though really they're for tomorrow)

GIRLS




Zeruiah - Hebrew, meaning "perfumed with mastic". Mastic is a
Mediterranean tree of the cashew family that yields mastic and has aromatic leaves and fruit, closely related to the pistachio.

Aikaterini - Greek, some think it may derive from Hekaterine which comes from 'hekateros' meaning "each of the two". Hekateros was the 'daimon' spirit of the rustic dance of quickly moving hands and possibly of the skill of hands in general. Hekateros' name is connected with the Greek words hekateris, a dance of swiftly moving hands (kheirôn kinesis) and hekatereô, meaning to kick the rump with one heel after the other in a dance. Hekateros was also a word meaning each of two, or with both hands. Alternatively the name might mean "the marvellous hundred", from the words heka, hundred and teras marvel, and refer to the hundred skillful fingers (daktyloi) of his ten sons and daughters.

Hecate

It may come from Hecate, the name of the goddess of witchcraft, tombs, crossroads, demons, and the underworld which may derive from 'hekas' meaning "far off".

Aikaterini might be related to 'aikia' meaning 'torture'.



It might also be Coptic, rather than Greek, meaning "my consecration of your name" (I like this option since Katherine is believed to come from Aikaterini and St. Katherine of Alexandria was an Egyptian saint of the early Christian church). For a long time Katherine has been associated with 'katharos' meaning 'pure'.

St. Katherine of Alexandria 

St. Katherine's wheel - shown broken in the painting - was the torture device that broke when she touched it, the sword represents the one used to behead her (since the torture wheel did not work), and her unbound hair her unmarried status. She was one of the saints that advised Joan of Arc. Her finger bones are preserved in Rouen, France and her head and other relics at St. Katherine's Monastery on Mt. Sinai in Egypt.

Beehive Peak which is near Mt. Catherine, where I grew up in UT

Another possible origin is the Armenian word 'gadar' meaning 'peak' or 'summit'. The Armenian form of Katherine is Gadarine and the ending, if combined with the meaning 'peak' or 'summit' would be "she is the summit" (or "she is the peak").






Bindi


BOYS

Caden

Demosthenes

Ecky - North Country nickname for the Greek name Hector.

Finloe - Manx, meaning "fair Lugh". Lugh was an ancient sun god on the Isle of Man.

Lugh

Adrizzle With Names

GIRLS

Rachella - variant of the Hebrew name Rachel, meaning "ewe".

Saadiya

Tana - possibly a form of Janus, ancient Roman god of doorways (see "On Dr. Donaldson's Opinion of the Origin of the Etruscan People and Language" by William Freund in Journal of the Ethnological Society of London, Vol 4, p 65).



Vivica


BOYS

Whip

Xenophilius - Greek, meaning "one who loves that which is foreign".


Yakir- Hebrew, meaning "darling"

A Sprinkling of Names

GIRLS

Haylyn 

Cyprus, a view of the sun

Idalí - Spanish form of Idalia, which probably comes from the Greek Idalium, the name of an ancient city of Cyprus. There is a city there now called Dali. An early form of the name of the city was Ed-di-al. According to legend, the name would mean "I saw the sun".

Another possible connection is to



It is also possible that the name comes from the Basque word "idia" meaning "ox".

Idalí is said in Spanish "ih thah LEE".

Lavandula - Latin, meaning "lavender". It may derive from "lavare" meaning to wash, since lavender was used in this process, or to "livere" meaning "blueish". 

BOYS

Mahmud- Arabic, meaning "the praised one".


Nahum  - from the Hebrew "nacham" meaning "comforter".

Osvaldo - Spanish, from the Anglo-Saxon name Oswald, from "os" meaning "god" and "weald" meaning "power" or "ruler".


Parley-

A Breath of Fresh Names

I have only met one person with any of these names. I probably could come up with Florabell and Guillermino on my own, but I honestly would never have dreamed of the others. Do you know anyone with any of these names?




GIRLS

Yekaterina

Zepheretta - so far I've seen that Zephyretta was in the Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope and would come from the Greek "zephyr", etta making it "little zephyr" and feminizing the name. The zephyr is the soft or mild west wind. Zephyrus was a son of Astraeus and Eos (dawn) in Greek mythology, and dwelt in a palace in Thrace.

Edana - according to behindthename.com, a Latinized form of the Irish name Etain, which derives from "et" meaning "jealousy".

Florabell



BOYS

Guillermino

Jasiel - Hebrew, meaning "made by God". I encountered this on a Hispanic boy, so his name was pronounced "hah see EL".


Kiedrich - possibly a form of Keidrych or Ceidrych.

A Gust of Names

GIRLS

Selinda

Theda

Verlene


BOYS

Ausias- Catalan, a variant of Oseas, which is a Latin version of the Hebrew name Hosea, which means "salvation".

Benajah


NOT SURE WHICH GENDER

Canoll

Dencie (?girl)

Names # 731-737

GIRLS

Keela

Laureana

Marisleysis

Nonila


BOYS


Obadiah - Hebrew, meaning "servant of God".

Persiles

Rudolphus

1284

Elizabeth's German garden

 could just as well be Zenta's garden.

That's how many names we have left to learn this year, after today's 7 names.

GIRLS

Zenta - according to Nordic Names this is a nickname for the German Kreszentia, which comes from the Latin name Crescentia, which derives from the word 'crescens' meaning 'growing'.

Earline - feminine form of the English name Earl, which comes from the title of a nobleman. It was a word 'eorl' which meant 'nobleman, warrior'. It can also be a form of the Irish name Arleen, which means "a pledge".

warrior

Falina - as a variant spelling of Felina, it relates to the masculine name Felinus, which is Roman and means "cat-like" (or feline).


BOYS

Godofredo - Spanish form of the German name Godfrey or Gottfried, which is known in English as Geoffrey. It means "traveller" or "peaceful one".

Painted in the 19th century in a wooden chest from New Mexico.
Maybe one of these folks might have been named Godofredo, a traveler.

Honecle -  perhaps a spelling of Henkel or Hinkle.

Ifan - Welsh form of the Hebrew name John, which means

Jabari -

723 Names Learned this year, including today's 7 names

GIRLS

Vennela

Williamina

Xara

Yelizaveta


BOYS

Belian

Cardell

Dickon

Names for Easter Sunday

GIRLS

Othelia

Perlita -Spanish, meaning "little pearl".


Racheline


BOYS

Silvieus

Teterick

Ulick

Asabel - I can think of 2 or 3 possible origins of this name. I can only say for certain that it IS found as a man's name in the early history of Colonial and post-Colonial America, especially in New England. Some think it is just a corruption of Asahel, which is a Hebrew name meaning something like 'thank God for what he has made or done'. El is the part of the name referring to God so Asah would refer to God's acts. Asahel is in the Bible.

But there are a number of Biblical names with the element 'bel' in which that last syllable refers to the Semitic god Ba'al. Asa means 'healer' or 'physician' in Hebrew. So Asabel might be 'healer of Ba'al' (or 'healer of God").

Another possibility is that it is tied to the names Asa and Abel. Asa meaning "physician" or "healer" and Abel, a Hebrew name which might come from "hebel" which derives from "hevel" meaning "breath" or "vapor". Not sure if this would mean something like "breath healer" (and no, I'm not picturing someone equipped with Tictacs, but rather someone who helped with physical ailments, such as asthma and other health issues related to breath or else someone who healed the spirit, as breath and spirit were seen very much the same in ancient times or perhaps more just the meaning of a spirit healer, someone who healed with spiritual powers. It also seems it could mean something like someone who used breath in their healing, perhaps there were certain rituals or ways of healing that required the healer to, I don't know, breathe on the patient or follow certain breathing patterns themselves) or not.

Relative of the Day - Frances Virginia Carper

Frances was the 5th child of Sarah Welch and Alfred Carper, who are my 3rd great-grandparents. So Frances was the sister of Martha Elizabeth Carper, my 2nd great-grandmother. Which makes Frances my 3rd great-aunt. Martha was her younger sister. Altogether there were 9 girls and 1 boy in that family, so Frances was the 4th girl born and Martha was the 6th girl born.

I picked Frances because her birthday was April 18, 1837. She was born in Frederick County, Virginia, but died in Philadelphia (4 Jan 1919). She has been dead almost 100 years! She would have been 77 years old 100 years ago today. Can you imagine what Philadelphia was like in 1914? Women did not vote, most people did not have a car, many people did not have telephones (though I'm sure many did by 1919). Most people did not go to college and many never finished high school. Most people DID get their news from the newspaper or word of mouth. Groceries were delivered to your home. Most children were born at home, NOT at the hospital. Abortion was illegal. The KKK was nearing the height of its power. It was NOT a good time to not be white in the U.S. World War I had not started yet so Great Britain was still the greatest country in the world, not the U.S.

But for Frances she would not be noticing the things WE would notice about 1914. When she was born slavery was legal, there had never been a Civil War, or a Mexican-American War or a Spanish War. Native Americans still lived in most parts of the U.S. People rode horses or carriages or walked. They did not ride bicycles. There were many more roads by 1914, and railroads and ferries and canals, bridges and dams. People had electricity in their homes and cooked on stoves, not over a fire or in an outdoor oven. In 1914 the Frontier was Alaska and the West was New Mexico and Arizona. But in 1837 the West was much farther east. Indiana and Illinois and Missouri were the Frontier then, and Texas. Arizona and New Mexico were still part of Mexico. Mexico had only barely become its own country, rather than part of Spain. But in 1914 Mexico was in turmoil, in the midst of the Civil War (just think how many Civil Wars have been fought. I can only think of 4 - that just shows my ignorance - the U.S., England, Mexico, and Spain).

Frances was married Dec 29, 1853 in Washington County, Maryland to John R. Fugitt (I don't know hardly anything about him). They had 5 children- all boys! And she had come from a family of almost all girls. What a change. I only have birth dates for two of them - 1855 and 1865. Imagine, she was raising young children and pregnant during the Civil War, and living in Frederick County they were in the midst of War just about all the time. Even if Confederates held the area many people still suffered as both armies commandeered supplies from the people. Wars were fought in a place, not on a map, so their crops were trampled, cannons were fired near their homes and the roads they needed to travel on. Going hunting in the forest you could encounter a scout or spy from one of the armies. McNeill's raiders were active in the area as well, so there were the regular armies and soldiers, but there were also paramilitary groups. And the people firing guns and cannons that might damage your home or barn or kill your cattle or horses or you were your relatives. Maybe your brother or cousin was in the Confederacy, but you might have a brother who had moved to Ohio or an uncle in Pennsylvania who wore blue.

Back then a woman named Frances often had the nickname Fanny, not something we use nowadays. I think it's rather cute, though. One of Frances' boys died before he was 20 years old. After the War, but during Reconstruction, when penalties were imposed on Southerners. They could not vote and experienced other hardships (of course, nothing compared to the hardship of people who had been enslaved and were now free - but even when your suffering is less than someone else's, you still suffer). Her son Wesley died in 1874, but the year before Frances had to bury his younger brother Augustus, who was only 8. I cannot imagine what strength this woman must have had by the time she saw all the novelties of 1914. I wonder how much a World War matters to someone who has given birth while an army camped in their backyard (no, literally. I read about a church that Union soldiers turned into a stable).

Name Question of the Day - 7th in the Series

What do you think about middle names? Do you like having a middle name? Do you like some names best with no middle name? Do you think the middle name should fill some special role (i.e. honor someone, use a family surname)? Do you think girls should not have a middle name? Or boys? What about going by the middle name instead of the first name? Do you like that idea or not or not care? Do you think the middle name should 'match' the first name in some way? Or does it matter how it sounds with the last name? Tell me all your thoughts about middle names!

Basket of Names

GIRLS

Heatherlee

Iciar - Basque, meaning "high stone" or "high point facing the sea" or "sight from the top of the peak".

Jean d'Arc

Katiria



BOYS

La Vell

Micass



NOT SURE OF GENDER

Nevette (? girl)

Finish with a Flourish of Names!!

GIRLS

Xochitl - Nahuatl, meaning "flower", and pronounced "so chil".

Yara

Zuleika - possibly Persian, meaning "brilliant beauty".



BOYS


Dock
 
Elgar

Fernán

Gee 

Winding Down the Week With a Few Good Names

GIRLS


Saada

Teodora

Velda - This appears as a surname in Devonshire, England, first found in 1370, for the Bailiff of Kingsbridge, John Velda. The surname is related also to Veale, Vele, Veel, and Vela. Probably derived from the Saxon "feld".  See W. Davies "Some Notes on the Ancient Records Preserved in Kingsbridge Church", Devon Notes and Queries, 1909, Vol V, page 99, published by James G. Commin, Exeter, England.

There is also the Dutch surname Van de Velde.

Wilhelminia




BOYS

Arad - Hebrew, meaning "wild ox".

Bernat - Catalan form of the Germanic name Berinhard meaning "strong as a bear".

Cheyenne - English form of the Dakota Sioux name "sahiyena" for a Native American tribe. It means "little sahiya". This is not what the Cheyenne people called themselves however.

It is also the name of a town in Wyoming.

Mid-week Names

GIRLS

Kaithlin

Laurabelle

Makaylee


BOYS

Nehemiah

Osvaldo

Paxon

Rhemy

Keep your spirits high with these 7 fascinating names!

GIRLS

Zenaida

Eveleaner

Fleur-de-mai

Gentry


BOYS

Hajadiah

Isam

Jacinto -Spanish form of the name Hyacinth, which comes from the Greek Hyacinthus, which means "hyacinth flower" or "the color purple". It is pronounced "ha SEEN tow".

Begin the week with 7 new names!

GIRLS

Valaunta

Willa Mae

Yhoalibeth


BOYS


Anakin - according to Wikipedia the name of Luke Skywalker's father, Anakin, was based on the last name of a friend of George Lucas. But I also came upon the following trying to research this name. In the Old Testament a race of giants are called the Anakim - they are descendants of Anak and their name may come
from a root meaning "strength" or "stature". Personally I find this to be the perfect meaning to be associated with the Anakin in Star Wars, as Darth Vader is known for both his strength and stature. In addition the giant Goliath is supposed to be a descendant of the Anakim. The battle between Luke and Vader seems to me a David and Goliath type battle, in fact the entire rebellion could be seen as David and the Empire as Goliath. The Anakim were supposed to have dwelt in the Holy Land
before the Hebrews came there from Egypt.

Anak (the ancestor of the Anakim) is considered by some to be related to the Sumerian god Enki (who is also known as Ea among the Akkadians and Babylonians), patron god of the city of Eridu and also the god of crafts, mischief, water, seawater, lakewater, intelligence, and creation. He was associated with the southern band of constellations called the stars of Ea, and also the constellation As-Iku or "the field" (known as the Square of Pegasus in modern times) and he was also associated with the planet Mercury. He appears in the earliest texts - cuneiform - and was important at least 3,000 years before Christ. He was known as "Lord of Earth". He was considered the master shaper of the world and god of wisdom and all magic. Enki casts a spell on his grandfather, Abzu, the 'begetter' of the gods and then takes over his roles.

Anak is also associated with Anax. In Greek Anax means "king" or "lord" or "leader", in the sense of a tribal king or military leader. It comes from the stem 'wanakt' and sometimes appears as 'wanaka' or 'wanasa'. As the term is used in the ancient Greek texts, an anax (such as Agammemnon) is a kind of high king, or a king in charge of other lesser kings. Anax is also a term used to refer to Zeus who is the king of the gods and 'overlord of the Universe'. Even in the ancient Homeric writings Anax is not a term used for just any king, but reserved for legendary kings and gods. It is hypothesized that this term originates with the Proto-Indo-European 'wen-ag' meaning 'bringer of spoils'. It appears as part of other terms, Hipponax (king of horses), Anaxagoras (king of the agora), Pleistoanax (king of the multitude), etc. The plural, Anakes meaning "kings" was used to refer to the 'heavenly twins' Castor and Polydeuces whose temple was called the 

Anakeion and their festival the Anakeia.

Not that Georgie had any of this in mind when naming Anakin Skywalker. Still, it is interesting to me that the name could be seen to be related to these ancient figures.

Baldric -from the German roots "bald" meaning "brave" or "bold" and "ric" meaning "rule". This name was brought to England by the Norman invaders and was common in the Middle Ages.


Cicerón

Donofrio

Name Question of the Day -7th in the series

Let's see how good you are at coming up with name combinations with 2 or more middle names. I'll do a few to give you an idea and then contribute a combo (or more, if you'd like).


Belle Havilah Ingrid
Ginger Persephone Alannis
Elizabeth Jane Philippa

Frederick Simon Andrew
Sawyer Ethan Hayes
Oscar Cyrus Lucian

Name Question of the Day-6th in the series

What sort of name fascinates you?

Some people want to know what the celebrities are naming their babies, some people are curious about names from their ethnic heritage, others like to make up their own names or create unusual spellings of names, and others like names chiefly based on their meaning (or how they sound, what they look like written, etc.)


Tell me what sort of name fascinates you.

Obviously, I am fascinated by obscure names.

Sunday's Set of 7

GIRLS

Mai

Nella

Oleta

Pamelia


BOYS


Raimundo

St. John

Talladega - English form of the Muscogee word "tvivteke" which comes from "tviwv" meaning "town" and "vteke" meaning "border". This is the name of a town in Alabama that was on the border between the Creek (and the Muscogee were part of the Creek) and the Natchez.

However, the person I met with this name was named Talladega because the parents were big auto racing fans and there are Nascar races held here. His name is said "tal ah day gah", like the Talladega Speedway.

Names for the weekend - Saturday

GIRLS

Firstina

Gentiana

Hadria



BOYS

Ichabold

Janiah

Kemuel - Hebrew

Lowen

Name Question of the Day- 5th in the series

April is a nice name, I think. Not used as much as it was in the 80s. And I think it is one of the names that would make a great middle name. I'm curious what  names you think April would work well with.

Here are a few of my ideas:

Katherine April
Calista April
Rose April
Gwendolyn April
Victoria April
Jessamy April
Portia April
Isabella April
Georgetta April
Odette April

Names #639-646

GIRLS

Williamette

Zoa

Agurtzane - Basque, from 'agurtza' meaning 'salutation'.

Bunty - English, a term of endearment, it may come from a word for lamb, "bunt", according to britishbabynames.com.



BOYS

Callister

Dieter -Germanic, from Theudhar, which comes from "theud" meaning "people" and "hari" meaning "army".


Efraín - Spanish form of the Hebrew name Ephraim, meaning "fruitful". 

a fruitful couple

1375

This is how many names we have to learn after you learn the new names for today. Admittedly you may have heard of Sutton, Tyrese, or Vittorio before. You can probably guess that Vittorio is the Italian version of Victor - I just wasn't sure if you would know the spelling. In Spanish Victor is just Victor with a Spanish accent. Tyrese is the name of a famous model so maybe a lot of you already know this name. But I thought it would be good to activate more than one center in the brain when you hear this name. And Sutton surely you already know as a last name. But have you ever met anyone with Sutton as a first name? With today's new trend of using last names as first names, this name would still feel fresh and not overdone. But would it feel too forced? Or does it only work if 7 figures is the amount you make each month?


GIRLS

Nesta

Olinda

Pepa


BOYS

Roydon

Sutton

Tyrese

Vittorio

Name Question of the Day - 4th in the Series

Do names conjure different images for you? When asked to picture an Alice, for instance, do you see the same sort of girl as when asked to picture a Jennifer? Do names make you think of things unrelated to people? For instance, when you hear Hal do you think of psychotic computer? Or does Annie make you think of a German Shepherd (my friend had one - named Annie - lovely dog)?

Why do you think one person hears Alice and pictures a girl in a dress playing with dolls with long blond curls, gentle, kind, and nice and another person has a completely different image? Why do we have the SAME images of someone?

Maybe it's more understandable with names everyone has heard, such as Jennifer, Alice, or Annie. But what about a name you have never heard before? Why do you think some people think of the same thing with that name or why, if they do not, is that?

Since today's question had several parts, I think it can count for yesterday's missed question.

Today's Names Bring us to 632 New Names Learned This Year!

GIRLS

Grata
 
Haylyn

Krishelle

Myla


BOYS

Isam

Jebediah

Lud

Relative of the Day - Mary Ann Oates Whitacre

Mary Ann Oates is the sister of my 3rd great-grandmother Mahala Oates. This makes her my 4th great-aunt. She was the 11th child of 14 children born to Daniel Oates and Mary Noel. She was born Sep 8, 1830 in Hampshire County, Virginia (this is now in West Virginia but West Virginia would not exist for more than 30 years at this point). She gets to be relative of the day because she was married Apr 9, 1855 - also in Hampshire County. She married Enoch Whitacre. I don't really know much about him and would like to know more about her. I haven't done any Oates research for a while, though.

To put things in perspective a bit, she was MARRIED 5 years before yesterday's relative of the day was even born. She was from the same generation or time period as Aljourn Davidson's parents, only 2 years younger than his mother Mary Catherine Clark.  She was married 159 years ago today and was born 184 years ago.

There were 31 states in our country when she was married, the first bridge across the Mississippi was opened for crossing, my alma mater Penn State had just been founded, 

7 Not So Mundane Names

GIRLS

Willetta

Xanderia

Ylva
  


BOYS

Clovis

Daxton

Epaphras



Not sure which gender

Freal

Relative of the Day

Let's see if I can keep this series going as well as my Coldplay Song of the Day series went or the 2,014 Names in 2014 series.

Today's honoree:

Aljourn Hunter Davidson

111 years ago today he was married to Emma E. Campbell in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. I know that Aljourn died leaving no children and also that he remarried in 1917. But I don't have much information on Emma at all. When or where she was born or died, who her parents were, etc. Aljourn was from Morgan County, West Virginia, and died in Winchester. His name is unusual, it is a form of the more familiar name Algernon. His parents are my 3rd great-grandparents David Davidson and Mary Catherine Clark. His sister Mary Malissa Davidson is my 2nd great-grandmother. So he is my 3rd great-uncle. I look forward to learning more about you sometime, Aljourn!

Name Question of the Day - 3d in the series

What do you think of giving a child more than one middle name?

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.

J thru P, Seven Names for Thee

GIRLS

Katherlene

Lanara

Nebula


BOYS

Jeduthun

Manu

Othniel

Pelagius - Greek, meaning "of the sea".

597

So far this year I've introduced you to 597 new names. With the 7 from today you have now learned 604 new names. Our goal is to learn 2,014 names this year, so subtracting 604 from that leaves us with 1,410 names still to learn this year.

GIRLS

Donita

Ebba

Fairybelle

Geetanjali


BOYS

Channing

Helmut

Iker

Something to Sip on Should You So Desire, This Saturday

GIRLS

Orinthia

Roosevelta

Synfye

Trishalana


BOYS


Ajuwon Nigerian, probably used in Ogun State. Not sure of the language of origin or meaning. However, I was able to find that Ota, in Ogun State has a family by the name of Ajuwon who is allowed to present candidates for the 'enforcer' of the tribe, a 'generalissimo' type, who carries a sword. The people in this tribe speak Yoruba, so perhaps Ajuwon is a Yoruba name.

Baltzer - German, form of "Balthasar", from the Phoenician "Balat-shar-usur" which means "Baal protects the king".  Balthasar is a name used for one of the three wisemen that visited the Holy Family after Jesus' birth. It can also be used as a form of Belshazzar, which is a Babylonian king in the Bible. It is also a form of Belteshazzar, which is a name that was given to the Biblical Daniel by the Chaldeans.



Not sure which gender

Zavan - maybe boy?

A Few Names For Friday

GIRLS

Izette

Killashandra

Norita


BOYS

Jehoiada

Ludovico

Mungo - name of a Scottish saint of the early Middle Ages.


Prudentius

Another Name Question of the Day

This is a basic, 'get to know you' type question. What is your favorite name? And why?

My favorite is James. It's handsome, I guess. I like the sound. There was a character in a book I read as a teenager that I really identified with and so I've just always rather loved the name. The Book of James in the New Testament has some rather profound concepts. Of the Founding Fathers I always rather liked James Madison.

James Matthew is the first and middle name pair I like best. Ironically, though it's my favorite name, it hasn't always been my favorite and I just don't like it as a middle name at all. And the only nickname I really like is Jamie, though I guess you could use Jack and that's nice.

These Names Give Us Food For Thought This Thursday :) I'm Always agreeable to alliteration

GIRLS

Bethzabeth

Cambriella

Enda

Forrestine


BOYS

 D'Artagnan

Gottlieb

Hopper

New Feature!! Name Question of the Day

Rosa virginiana

It may not run every day, but I am curious what you think about things besides just these interesting and unusual names I've come across.

So today's name question is a result of a trip to the hair salon. I thumbed through a rose catalog while I was having my hair colored and was thinking, what if you gave your daughter the scientific name of a rose? (or other flower/plant, etc) What do you think of that idea?

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa arkansana

I happened on it when I saw 'rosa virginiana' and thought of my mom and just what that means to be a wild rose and especially the wild Virginia rose and it seemed like a nice way to honor her if I had a daughter. Rosa Virginiana. But I wondered if people would think a name like that was cool in the way that it was unique. And more so, what would my child think of having a name like that? Wild roses are my favorite kind and the rosa virginiana is a perfect example of the type of wild rose I like best.

Rosa bridgesii

There is the rosa arkansana or wild prairie rose that you could use as a name, if you want to honor your Midwestern roots, or if you don't want to name your child Prairie Rose (which I think is pretty, but it might be a bit harder in middle school to be known by Prairie or Prairie Rose than to be called Rosa).

Rosa carolina or Carolina Rose

The rosa bridgesii is a native California rose, also called the Sierra ground rose as it grows in the Sierra Nevadas and close to the ground.Would Rosa Bridgesii be a good name for a child? It seems better than Sierra ground rose. Though I suppose you could use Sierra Rose, but saying those r's so close together doesn't sound great to me.

Rosa canina or Dogrose

Some rose names already work as a girl's name, like Rosa carolina, or even just Carolina Rose. And some, no matter how pretty the rose, just do NOT work as a child's name, like Rosa canina - the dogrose.

Rosa chinensis or China Rose

Rosa damascena or Rose of Castile

Rosa phoenicia

Sweetbriar

Rosa woodsii or Mountain Rose

I thought Rosa alexandrae would work as a name. China rose probably works better than Rosa chinensis. Rosa coryana, Rosa damascena (the Damask Rose or Rose of Castile - one of the reasons I fell in love with the idea of Damascus as a girl's name. But what about just Damask Rose or Rose of Castile, or maybe Rosa castellana), Rosa xanthina (I don't like the similar sounds with the s - which some people say more like a z, and the x in xanthina which definitely sounds like a z - but xanthina is so pretty it might be worth it), Rosa gentiliana, Rosa giraldi, Rosa rubrifolia (for how fun it is to say! sometimes similar sounds aren't a bad thing), Rosa helenae, Rosa laevigata ( I also like Cherokee Rose or Camellia Rose-this one works especially well as a name, I think), Rosa luciae, Rosa lutea, Rosa persica (maybe one of my favorites to use as a child's name), Rosa phoenicia, Rosa villosa (does the rhyming bother you too much?), Rosa primula, Rosa seraphinii, Rosa sericea, Sweetbriar (it's not the scientific name but it definitely sounds like a plant name and not a person's name. Does it work? to me it's refreshing. Maybe you could just as well do Briar Rose or Rose Briar), or what about Evergreen Rose or Mountain Rose? I remember driving past a town called Mountain Laurel in Pennsylvania and thinking that would be a nice thing to name a girl