Saturday's Seven

GIRLS




Joosiina - Finnish form of the French name Josine, which is a nickname for Josephine, the feminine form of the Josephe, which comes from the Hebrew Yosef and means "he will add".


Ksenya - Russian form of the Greek name Xenia, meaning 'hospitality' and derived from 'xenos' meaning 'stranger' or 'guest', essentially, the rights of a guest. Oksana is another Russian name that comes from Xenia.   

flag carried by the Padre Miguel Hidalgo, father of Mexican Independence from Spain

Nicolasa - Spanish, from the Greek Nicholas, meaning "victory of the people", from the name of the goddess of victory, Nike, and the word 'laos' meaning 'people'.
 

BOYS

Idi - Yoruba, meaning "eagle" (and a host of other meanings)

Ancient Egyptians used a hieroglyph for 'idi' which indicated deafness. This is the root of the word idiot.

Due to it being the name of the infamous tyrant Idi Amin, who slew or had slain, between 100,000 to 500,000 people while he was president of the African country of Uganda in the 1970s, Idi is not a name to be recommended for use anymore.

Leofric - English, from 'leo' meaning 'dear' and 'ric' meaning power or from 'leof' meaning 'dear' and 'ric' meaning ruler.

This name has landed in the history books because it was the name of the husband of Lady Godiva. He was the fifth earl of Mercia, which was a kingdom of ancient Britain, though by his time there was a king of all England named Edward (the Confessor).

Math - Welsh, from 'matu' meaning "bear".

Ozaias - Greek form of the Hebrew name Uzziah, which means 'God is strength' or 'strength is from God'.

Names #460-466

GIRLS

Kealohilani - Hawaiian, the name of a heavenly land, from 'ke' meaning 'the', 'alohi' meaning 'brightness', and 'lani' meaning 'sky' or 'heaven.

Lianet - I have not yet found anything on an etymology or origin for this name. Perhaps it is a variant spelling of the name Lynette, which comes from the Welsh root 'llyn' and means 'lake'.









Mamediarra- this seems to be a name used to honor a Murid saint from Senegal, Mame Diarra Bousso. She was the mother of the man who founded the Murid tradition, which is a Sufi branch of Islam. Her given name was Sohkna Maryama. This part of Africa is inhabited by various clans that speak Mandinka. French is also spoken in the area and so I believe this would make Mame mean either 'mother' or be used as a courtesy title or religious prefix. Diara is the name of one of the clans. It appears to mean 'neighbor'. To just use Diarra would honor the clan name, but to use Mamediarra honors the holy woman.

One of Russia's greatest victors, the first man in space

BOYS
 


Nikita - Russian form of the Greek name Niketas, which is derived from Nike, the goddess of victory and thus, means 'victor' or one who has been awarded victory.



Turkish hordes sacking a Roman villa


Odoacer - possibly Turkish, from Ot-toghar meaning "grass-born" or "fire-born" or from Otghar meaning "herder". Also possibly Germanic, from Audawakrs, which comes from 'aud' meaning 'wealth' and 'wakrs' meaning 'vigilant'



Odoacer, King of Italy

Powhatan - Algonquian, from 'powa' meaning 'medicine man' and 'atan' meaning 'hill' or 'mountain'. Powhatan is both the name of Pocahontas' father, the chief and leader of their people, and the name of that tribe of Algonquian Indians, as well as the name of their language. Powhatan is the name the English used for Pocahontas' father, however, his name was actually Wahunsunacawh, which seems to me a name that would have been hard to pronounce and remember and Powhatan was much simpler for the English.








Rutherford - English, from 'ruther' meaning cattle and 'ford' meaning 'river crossing'.

14 more Names

I missed posting for the 13th by 30 minutes, so I'm combining Monday's post with Tuesday's. Enjoy!

Girls

Nike - Greek, meaning 'victory'.

Odette - French form of Odo, which comes from a German word meaning "possessor of wealth".

Parthenia- Greek, from 'parthenos' meaning "maiden" or "virgin". It was used to refer to Athena, goddess of wisdom - the Parthenon in Athens was her temple. Parthenia is pronounced "par THEE nee uh".


Quinn - English version of the Irish last name O Cuinn, which means "descendant of Conn", which means "chief".



 

rowan tree in Snowdonia

Rowan - English form of the Irish last name " O'Ruadhán ", which means "descendant of Ruadhán", which comes from the name Ruadh, which means "red" and is often a nickname given to someone with red hair. The rowan tree gets its name from the Old Norse word "reynir", derived from the German "ruad-inan" which means "to redden". Some people may use Rowan in reference to the rowan tree rather than the Irish surname. Both seem to have essentially the same meaning. 

Came across this blog, Beneath the Rowan Tree, that seemed appropriate to share here. Adorable crafts for sale, such as crocheted clothes for dolls, such as a mermaid outfit, or dyed fabrics.

 
Shiloh - Hebrew, meaning "tranquil".


Tamar - Hebrew, meaning "palm tree".



Boys

Uther -from the Welsh name Uthyr which comes from uthr meaning "terrible".

Vassily - variant of Vasiliy, which is the Russian version of Basil.

Waldemar - German, either from 'wald' which means 'rule' and 'meri' which means 'famous' or a version of the Slavic name Vladimir, which comes from similar roots.

Xenon -Greek, from 'xenos' meaning "stranger" or "foreigner".

Yitzak - Hebrew, it comes from "tsachaq" meaning "he laughs" or "laughter".

Zebedee - the English form of Zebedaios, which is the Greek form of Zebadiah, which means "Yahweh has bestowed".

Atticus- Latin, meaning "from Attica" - a region in Greece (Athens is located there).