The Beauty of Names

Korean ballad singer, Lee So-ra Origin: Japanese and Korean Gender: Unisex in Japan and Female in Korea Meaning: Japanese: "Sky"; Korean: "Conch Shell" Pronunciation: SOH-ruh, SOR-ah Other Forms: So-ra For those who weren't aware, May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so I thought it would be a wonderful idea to feature some Asian names! I admit to not knowing as much about them as I would like, so if any native speakers know the correct pronunciation, spelling, etc., please don't be afraid to let me know in the comments below! Our first name of May is Sora. Sora, for the Japanese, is a unisex name meaning "sky". One of its oldest bearers is that of poet Kawai Sora, who famously wrote of his journeys with his Master, Matsuo Bashō, a renowned poet of the Edo period in Japan. His recordings of the middle of this period are seen as the most detailed and exact on record. In Korea, it is more commonly So-ra, with Sora being the comm...

Yara Shahidi Origin: Persian, Tupi, and Hebrew Gender: Unisex Meaning: "Sweetheart", "Strength", "Water Lady", "Honeycomb" or "Honeysuckle" Pronunciation: YAH-rah, YARR-uh Other Forms: Yaara, Iara, Uira To me this name is bursting with potential - it's short, feisty, and has a multitude of great meanings. It's already jumped a massive 312 spots from 2017 to 2018 where it currently sits at #672, and I think that's proof it's definitely one to watch out for. Yara, in Persian, can have two different meanings - "sweetheart" (or as Yara Shahidi's mother put it: "someone close to your heart"), it would seem, for girls, and "strength" for boys. In Hebrew (and more often spelled Yaara) it means "honeycomb" or "honeysuckle" which I think is gorgeous. In Tupi it means "water lady" or "lady of the water" and is the name of a character from Brazili...

Women's Home Companion, June 1916 June is the sixth month of the year. Junius or Iunius  is what the Romans called it, and there are a few differing tales as to how it's name came to be. Ovid gives two different ideas: one, that it came from the name of the Goddess Juno , wife of Jupiter, the supreme deity, and two, that it was inspired by the word iuniores which meant "younger ones", as it followed May, which might have been inspired by maiores , "elders". Ovid also claims that mid-May through mid-June is not an ideal time for marriages, as instructed by the high Priestess of Jupiter, but Plutarch thinks that the entirety of June is better than any of May for a wedding. There were multiple festivals held during June, one being the festival of the Goddess Bellona . Similar to Athena, Bellona, originally called Duellona, was the Goddess of the destructive and belligerent parts of war and consort to the God Mars. Often depicted holding a sword or spear, al...

Photoplay, February 1921 February  is the second month of the year. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than thirty days in it. The Romans called the month  Februarius  which came from the Latin  februum , which means "purification". Februa was a purification festival held by the Romans from the 13th of February to the 15th, which was sort of a "spring cleaning" type of ritual. A God,  Februus , who personified the month and purification, came afterwards, and may have even gone on to become  Febris,  (meaning "fever") a Goddess of her namesake and malaria. In Finland February is called  Helmikku , which means "month of pearls", referring to the snow droplets on branches that freeze into something resembling pearls. It's birth flower is the  Violet  and common  Primrose . The birthstone is the  Amethyst , a gem thought to protect one from becoming drunk, and the Zodiac signs are  Aquarius , the wat...

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...

"Miranda - The Tempest" by John William Waterhouse I am simultaneously afraid and fascinated by the ocean. It is so mysterious and so undiscovered, anything could be living out there. Here are some names that are as beautiful and strange as the place that inspired them. Girls: Darya - Persian, "Sea" Maris - Latin, "Of the sea" Naia - Basque, "Wave, sea foam" Océane - French, "Ocean" Mira - Sanskrit, "Sea, ocean" Nereida - Greek, "Nymphs, sea sprites" Rosemary - Latin, "Dew of the sea" Muirgen - Gaelic, "Born of the sea" Niloofar - Persian, "Water-lily" Meri - Finnish, "Sea" Aysu - Turkish, "Moon water" Meltem - Turkish, "Sea wind" Boys: Windsor - English, "Riverbank with a windlass" Mortimer - English or French, "Still water" Llyr - Welsh, "The sea" Irving - Scottish, "Green water" Glyndwr - ...

Göksu Üçtaş Origin : Turkish Gender : Female Meaning : N/A Pronunciation : GOHK-soo Other forms : N/A I've had this name queued up since watching the Olympics, but never got around to actually writing it.   Göksu Üçtaş is a twenty-three year old Turkish  gymnast   who sadly did not advance to the finals of the 2012 Olympics, and, due to an injury she sustained during training, could compete only in the balance beam event. In the 2009  Mediterranean  Games she won the silver medal, and at the World Cup for Artistic-Gymnastics in 2010, she won the gold medal in floor  exercise , and silver medal in both balance beam and vault. I assume she is named after the river  Göksu in the  Taşeli  Peninsula of Turkey. It flows into the Mediterranean sea, and is one of the most important breeding grounds for birds in the Near East, with over 300 species of birds having been seen there. Along with the birds, the endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtle...