The Beauty of Names

Below is a guest post written by my sister, Abby, who occasionally blogs over on The Beautiful Strange . We hope you enjoy this post and have a fun and safe Halloween! What exactly is Giallo ? The Italian word for yellow, originally a term to used to describe cheap mystery books with yellow covers that enjoyed an immense amount of popularity in Italy, but in the late 1960s, a genre of film emerged that would take the same name.  A traditional Giallo film includes many themes that would ensure its skyrocketing popularity in the early-to-mid 1970s: mystery elements, thrills, psychological horror, sometimes with black-gloved slashers or wide-eyed mediums. While all of these aspects are not always guaranteed to be featured, and many critics argue about how to define a genre so unique and with so many archetypes, one thing you’re certain to find in every film is great style and European aestheticism. If you’re a big fan of the 70s’ and 60s’, horror films, and intriguing thrills, be sure to

Lliana and Noel Comedian and host of The Great British Bake-Off, Noel Fielding, has recently welcomed his second child with British Radio Host Lliana Bird, a girl who they named Iggy. Their other daughter is named Dali.

"The Three Daughters of King Lear" by Gustav Pope Origin: English, Celtic Gender: Unisex Meaning: N/A Pronunciation: RAY-gehn, REE-gehn Other Forms: Reagan, Raegan Note: Hello! I hope you've been enjoying my Halloween names so far! I was hoping to do more but my cockatiel that I've had since I was sixteen has been having some health issues and I've just been wracked with worry over him! But I do have a really special guest post that will be coming out on the day of Halloween which I hope you'll all enjoy! Much love, Bree. Growing up, Regan was just the sort of name I would have wanted. Short, strong, frills-free and tomboyish, Regan isn't just a popular "Surname" style of name - it also has the esteem of being a character from Shakespeare's "King Lear". But what it's most famous for is the reason I chose it for my series of Halloween names, and I bet it's the namesake you thought of as well. That of Regan MacNeil from "

"The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane" by John Quidor Origin: Hebrew Gender: Male Meaning: "No Glory" Pronunciation: IK-eh-bahd Other Forms: N/A Ichabod has been a guilty pleasure of mine since I can remember - something about the strong C sound and it ending with with the equally strong D I think. It's just fun to say! Ichabod is roughly translated to mean "no glory", which at first seems like a rather horrible meaning for a name. But in actuality there is so much more to it. In the Bible, Ichabod is the son of the priest Phinehas and an unnamed woman. His mother went into labor hearing that the Ark of God, also known as the fabled Ark of the Covenant, had left Israel and fell into Philistine hands. In the Book of Samuel it is explained his name means "the glory has departed from Israel". Of course the most well-known Ichabod is Ichabod Crane, the protagonist of Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Crane,

"At Harvest Time" by Jules Bastien-Lepage Origin: English Gender: Unisex Meaning: "The Season for Gathering Crops; To Gather or Catch" Pronunciation: HARR-vist Other Forms: N/A This is the first of my Fall/Halloween inspired posts this year! If you have any suggestions on ones you'd like to see, drop a comment below. I've always had a love for word names, the more unusual the better, and Harvest is no exception. I love the image it evokes, autumn leaves, the warmth of a fire, full moons, and the cozy feeling it gives me. I also love how well it would work for either a boy or a girl! The word Harvest has comes from the Old English  hærfest , meaning "autumn" or "harvest-time", eventually evolving into the Middle English hervest. Harvest has been celebrated all over the world, from Thanksgiving in the States and Canada, to the week-long Jewish festival called Sukkot. In Britain, since Pagan times, a good harvest has traditionally been celeb

Nara and Lucky Model Lucky Blue Smith has just welcomed his second child, a girl, the first child for his wife, model Nara Pellmann. They named her Rumble Honey. He previously had a daughter, Gravity Blue, with Stormi Henley.

"The Entry of the Animals into Noah's Ark" by Jan Brueghel the Elder Hello! I'm back with more alternatives to popular names and this time we're talking about Noah. Biblical, classic, and catchy, there's no surprise Noah shot up the charts all the way to #2. For the US, Noah has featured in the Top 1000 since its inception in 1880, when it sat comfortably at #126, and only ever dipped as low as #696 in 1963. When I think of Noah I think specifically of how it has an ending which is most often found in girls names, and of a wholesome, quiet sort of strength. Noble - Noble has to be my favorite virtue name for boys (#2 being Valor!), and I think it's just a great alternative to Noah. It comes from the Latin nobilis , meaning "well-known, excellent, superior, of high-birth", which in turn came from the earlier gnobilis , "knowable". Originally used mostly to refer to a well-known, well-to-do family during Ancient Rome, the later meaning o

Hermine from GBBO Season 8 Bona - I stumbled across the unusual name while researching royals and found out there is not only one but two Princess who bore it! The first Princess was Bona of Savoy, Duchess of Milan, who lived from 1449 to 1503 and married into the famous Sforza family. The second was Princess Bona, or Maria Bona, of Savoy, who married Prince Konrad of Bavaria. She lived from 1896 to 1971. Bona is Latin and means "good", "noble", or "kind". In Italy when you call a girl "Bona" you mean that she is beautiful. Hermine and Sura - I've started the newest season of the Great British Bake Off, one of my favorite shows ever, and as usual there are some interesting names in the mix! I'm especially intrigued by Hermine, the French and German feminine form of Herman, meaning "army man", and Sura, which is Arabic and means "Highness of Status" or "Glory". Gudrid - Gudrid  Thorbjarnardóttir ( Guðríður  Þo