The Beauty of Names

Art by Elsa Beskow Origin: Finnish Gender: Male Meaning: "Bear" Pronunciation: ott-SOH Other Forms: N/A Today's name is a favorite nature name of mine -- Otso! In Finnish mythology, Otso, also sometimes called Ohto, Kontio, mesikämmen (honeypalm), or metsän kuningas (the king of the forest), is a bear spirit that is never given an official name. Some traditions remembered the bear spirit as a relative that fled into the forest and was transfigured by its powers. If a bear was to be killed, a sacred ritual called Peijainen  was performed, wherein a feast was held for a slain animal. It's skull, which was believed to house its spirit, would then be kept in a sacred clearing, where it would bring tributes to it. The bear was the most revered figure in ancient Finnish culture. Throughout history bears have been both worshipped and feared. In several Native American cultures, the bear is a symbol of rebirth because of its long hibernation and eventual re-emergence. I...

Ronan - Origin: Irish Gender: Male Meaning: "Little seal" Pronunciation: ROW-nahn, ROW-nen Other Forms:  Rónán, Ronen Combos: Nathaniel Ronan, Ronan Tiberius, Wilfred Ronan, Ronan Percival I've been a lover of Irish names my whole life -- I was even gifted a book all about them when I was younger, and marked so many that I wanted to remember (both for future children and pets). So it's no surprise that I am constantly trying to foist Irish names on everybody! Ronan is a favorite of mine and I love that it sounds both soft and strong, with the lovely unisex nickname of Ro. And I think the meaning is adorable: "little seal". It comes from the Old Irish  rón (meaning seal) combined with a diminutive suffix. Recently, Ronan has seen a bit of an uptick in the US; in 2020 it ranked #269. It also has a bonus bit of charm for Catholics -- There are several early Saints named Rónán, one of the most famous being one who built the hermitage at Locronan in the 6th centu...

Māori Names - I came across this amazing article in The Guardian  talking about how there has been a resurgence of parents from New Zealand using Māori names, especially within the past ten years. It's a fascinating read and one that will interest anybody with a love for names. Two babies are featured in the article, one is named Ruataupare Te Ropuhina Florence Whiley-Whaipooti and the other is called Hinekōrako. The latter's father had this to say about choosing her name: "Hinekōrako’s name came to Dice as he was navigating a waka, a large traditional Māori sailing vessel, from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands back to Aotearoa. 'It was coming up to midnight. We came into a little storm. The temperature had dropped … there was thunder … Once we got through the storm we all turned around and just behind us there was this massive white rainbow … It was a lunar rainbow.'" “'I told our navigator about it and he goes’ 'oh yeah, that’s a tohu (sign), that’s Hi...

Origin : English Gender : Unisex Meaning : Diminutive of Robert; The bird Pronunciation : RAH-ben Other forms : N/A What came first -- the name of the bird, or the diminutive for Robert? I always assumed that the red-breasted bird's name was perhaps of a different origin than that of the nickname for Robert, but as it turns out, they are one in the same! Robin started life as a short form for Robert in Medieval England, ala Wilkin or Hopkin (for William and Robert again, respectively). Sometime in the the 15th century it was à la mode to name animals human names, and the little bird became known colloquially as "robin redbreast". Other English names for it included ruddock and robinet . The scientific name for the European robin is Erithacus rubecala , with rubecala coming from the Latin for red -- ruber . Its American brother is in fact no brother at all! The American and European robins might be called the same thing, but are not closely related, with the former b...

Kate Dolan as Portia by John Everett Millais Origin: Ancient Roman Gender: Female Meaning: "Pig" or "Port, harbor" Pronunciation: POR-sha Other Forms: Porcia Portia is a favorite of mine, with a rich history and plenty of strong namesakes. The only thing holding it back is the meaning - "pig". Portia is thought to come from the Ancient Roman family name Porcius, which comes from the Latin porcus , "pig". The original feminine form was Porcia, giving Portia a bit of ambiguity, with some thinking it's more likely to be a form of Portius which means "port" or "harbor". It last placed in the US top 1000 in 1991 at #961, making it a perfect pick for someone looking for something unique. In Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", Portia is the beautiful and witty Belmont heiress with a love of proverbs and wordplay. She later saves the life of her choice of suitor, Bassiano's, friend Antonio in court ...

"Alexandrine Le Normant d'Étiolles" by François  Boucher Origin: French, Greek Gender: Female Meaning: Diminutive of Alexandra; "Defending Men" Pronunciation: A-LEK-SAHN-DREEN, A-LEK-ZAN-DREEN Other Forms: Alexandra, Alexandrina, Alexandria, Alessandra This diminutive of the strong and ancient Alexandra gives the name a bit of feminine frill. Alexandra itself is the female form of Greek Alexander, which comes from alexo , which means "to defend, help", and aner which means "man". Alexandra was the Mycenaean epithet for the Goddess Hera, who held dominion over marriage and birth and considered the cow, lion, and peacock sacred animals. Illustration of an Alexandrine Parakeet from around 1770 to 1786 Alexandrine is a purely French concoction, with a few royal and aristocratic namesakes, like  Alexandrine Le Normant d'Étiolles, the daughter of Madame de Pompadour, one of Louis XV's most famous mistresses, who he was the ...

"Miriam" by Anselm Feuerbach I'm currently enjoying my first day off since the 21st so I thought I'd try and post a little bit! We've been having tons of huge school groups at work so every time before when I had a day off I just wanted rest and quiet, so blogging wasn't on the forefront of my mind. But I finally got a little bit of rest and am back in the swing of things. My Name, 2017 Style - Time Magazine has this great little gadget where if you enter your name and birth year, it will tell you what your name would have been in 2017 going on what your name was ranked the year you were born. My name, Bree , was ranked 713th in the year I was born, making my new name Dalia . In 2016 I would have been Akira , in the 1920's I would have been called Rosebud , and in the 1900's I would have been the zippy Zara . What would you have been? Salem - I've gotten a new cat - a kitten from a litter at my grandmother's house, which is currently b...

Happy New Year! Timothée - The first time this name really caught my attention was on actor Timothée Chalamet, a breakout star of the coming of age film "Call Me by Your Name". It is simply the French form of Timothy, pronounced vaguely like TEE-MAW-TAE. Chalamet, who was raised primarily in Hell's Kitchen, is the son of a Jewish mother and French father, and has a sister who lives in Paris named Pauline. He is fluent in French, and spent summers in "a little village about two hours outside of Lyon". Mauricio/Maurizio/Maurício - At work there was a large foreign family, and I overheard the youngest member being called one of these names. I originally thought they were Spanish, but their pronunciation makes me lean towards the second option listed above, which is Italian. The name was really beautiful to hear, and I've taken quite a shine to it since hearing it. Caleb - I've always liked this classic, Biblical option, and 2018 is t...

Origin:  Māori Gender: Unisex Meaning: The name of a bird native to New Zealand Pronunciation: TOO-ee Other forms: N/A I know there aren't that many, but I'm a person who is totally obsessed with birds of all kinds. I myself own a cockatiel named Icarus (but just called Birdie), have owned a parakeet, and plan on owning birds for the rest of my life. I also love wild birds, and have recently discovered the name Tui, which is used as a name, and is also the name of a bird from New Zealand. The Tui, which was called the "parson bird" by European colonists, is one of the largest birds in the honeyeater family.  At first glance they may appear to be solid black, but they actually have a beautiful iridescent sheen, and some brown feathers on the back and flanks, along with a collar of lacy white feathers around the neck.  Tui have two voice boxes, and along with being as intelligent as many parrots, are able to make an assortment of noises and calls, and even imi...

Vogue, January 15th 1919 I'm going to be doing a series of posts on all the months, focusing on names that are associated and inspired by said month, which for today, is January . January is the first month of the year, and is thirty-one days long. January was named after  Janus , the Roman God of beginnings and doorways. He is normally depicted with two faces, which is why cats with Diprosopus, a rare congenital disorder where the person or animal has essentially multiple faces, are commonly referred to as "Janus cats". The birthstone for January is the garnet , the flower is traditionally the pink  carnation , but sometimes it is the galanthus or snowdrop . In China the flower is a plum blossom and in Japan, the camellia . The zodiac signs are Capricorn , the sea goat (a goat with the tail of a fish), and Aquarius , the water carrier Ganymede . January in Other Languages: Janvier (French), Tammikuu (Finnish) January as a Name: Januarius, Januaria, and of co...

Zooey Actress Zooey Deschanel recently gave birth to a little girl who she has named Elsie Otter. She is married to producer Jacob Pechenik. On the choice she said: " Well, we just really like the name Elsie, and then we both love otters. They're really sweet, they're also smart, they use tools to keep their favorite tools, they hold hands while they sleep. There's so many amazing things about otters. They're wonderful animals."

Ned and Kate Kate Winslet and husband Ned Rocknroll, have had their first child together, a boy they named Bear. Kate Winslet has two other children, Mia Honey and Joe Alfie. They have also said that their son will take her surname.

"Lesbia and her Sparrow" by Sir Edward John Poynter Girls: Aderyn - This Welsh name simply means "bird" Faigel - This name comes from the Yiddish feigel , meaning "bird". Halycon - The name of a genus of kingfishers. Tsubame - Japanese name meaning "swallow". Llinos - This is name Welsh and means "greenfinch". Parastoo - This name means "swallow" in Persian. Dove Sarika - This names means "Myna bird" in Sanskrit. Philomel - Means "nightingale". It is often used as a name for the bird in poetry. Zipporah - This name means "bird", and is Hebrew. Boys: Sigurd - A hero in Norse legend that could speak to birds. Tane - A Polynesian God that supposedly created the tui bird. Crane Uthman - This name is Arabic and means "baby bustard". Tugary - This Turkish name means "lark". Unisex: Sparrow Lark Kestrel Wren Linnet

"The Forest Pet" by William Quiller Orchardson Girls: Enikő - Invented by the Hungarian poet  Mihály Vörösmarty. Based off the mother of the Hungarian people in legend, whose name was  Enéh, which meant "cow", or "deer". Maral - Armenian name which means "deer". Fawn - A name for a young deer. Zibiah - Hebrew name meaning "roe, deer." Bambi - Although Bambi was a boy, this name is more common among girls. Comes from the Italian bambino, "young boy",   or bambina, "young girl". Boys: Oisín - Irish name which means "little deer". This is the name of Fionn mac Cumhail's poet son in Irish legend. Raleigh - A surname possibly meaning "roe deer clearing". It could also mean "red clearing". Buck - From the word for a male deer. Tzvi - Means "deer" in Hebrew. Oscar - Possibly comes from the Gaelic os, "deer", and car...

Björn Andrésen Origin : Old Norse Gender : Male Meaning : "Bear" Pronunciation : bee-YORN, bee-YURN Other Forms : Bjoern, Bjarni,  Bjørn I've loved this name for quite some time, the sound, and the meaning both appeal to me greatly. I had almost totally forgotten about it until I heard it again on the TV show "Vikings", as the name of the name character, Ragnar's, son.  Björn comes an Old Norse byname, and today is used in Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands. There is evidence of prehistoric bear worship, especially among fishing and hunting tribes. The bear is the national animal of Finland, and prehistoric Finns, and Siberians, believed that bears were the spirit of one's forefathers. The Russian fairy tale, "Morozko", tells of the arrogant Ivan, who attempts to kill a mother bear and her cubs, and is punished by having his head turned into that of a bear, and is shunned by society.  Björn Andrésen is a Swedish actor and ...