The Beauty of Names

Franz Joseph II and Countess von Wilczek with four of their five children Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein was born Franz Josef Maria Aloys Alfred Karl Johannes Heinrich Michael Georg Ignaz Benediktus Gerhardus Majella to  Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein and  Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria . He married Countess Georgina von Wilczek . Their children are: Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marco d'Aviano Pius, " Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein " Philipp Erasmus Alois Ferdinand Maria Sebaldus, " Prince Philipp Liechtenstein " Nikolaus Ferdinand Maria Josef Raphael, " Prince Nikolaus of Liechtenstein " Norberta Elisabeth Maria Assunta Josefine Georgine et omnes sancti, " Princess Nora of Liechtenstein " Franz Josef Wenceslaus Georg Maria, " Prince Franz Josef of Liechtenstein ", called "Wenzel"

Noriko Awaya Origin: Japanese Gender: Female Meaning: Several, including "Ceremonial Child" and "Benevolent Child" Pronunciation: NO-REE-KO Other Forms: Nori Does anyone else just love names of certain origins better than the rest? For me, those names are Japanese (and Irish and French!). Today's name is the lovely Noriko. Like with most Asian names, Noriko can have many meanings depending on what characters you use to write it. Most commonly it is written using 典 ( nori ), meaning "rule, ceremony" or 紀 ( nori ), "chronicle", combined with 子 ( ko ), which means "child". To put it in a more poetic fashion would be to say it means "ceremonial child" or "benevolent child" or "noble child". In Japan, it entered the top ten twice, once in 1928 and the other in 1956. In the 1930's, Noriko Awaya, born Nori, was a famous singer of  ryūkōka (popular music), and was called the "Queen of Blues". In J...

Victoria Eugenie with her six children Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain  was born Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena to Prince Henry of Battenberg and Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom . She married Alfonso XIII . Their children were: Alfonso Pío Cristino Eduardo Francisco Guillermo Carlos Enrique Eugenio Fernando Antonio Venancio, " Alfonso, Prince of Asturias" - Died at at thirty-one from a car accident. Like many of the royals, Alfonso had hemophilia which caused him to have severe internal bleeding. The gene was passed to him by his mother, just like in the case of his cousin, Tseravich Alexei, a fact which Alfonso XIII was said to never forgive her for. Jaime Leopoldo Isabelino Enrique Alejandro Alberto Alfonso Víctor Acacio Pedro Pablo María, " Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, Duke of Anjou " Beatriz Isabel Federica Alfonsa Eugénie Cristina Maria Teresia Bienvenida Ladislàa, " Infanta Beatriz of Spain " María Cristina Teresa Alejandra Marí...

The Australian Ballet's Madeleine Eastoe as Clara in "The Nutcracker" Origin: Latin Gender: Female Meaning: "Bright, clear, famous" Pronunciation: CLAIR-uh, KLAR-uh Other Forms: Claire, Clare, Klara, Chiara, Claribel, Clarette; Clarus, Clair Today's name is another classic Christmas choice that dates all the way back to Ancient Rome! Clara is the feminine form of the Latin Clarus , meaning "clear, bright, famous", and became popular due to Saint Chiara (or Clare) of Assisi, a follower and friend of Saint Francis'. According to tradition, after hearing Saint Francis preach at a Lenten service, she approached him and asked how she could live her life in accordance to the gospel. On the evening of Palm Sunday, Chiara escaped her wealthy family, along with her aunt Bianca and a companion, and headed to the Porziuncula chapel to meet Francis. There, they sheared her hair short and exchanged her beautiful dress for simple robes. She was placed in a c...

Honora Burke, circa 1690 by Theodore Russell I've recently become enamored with a set of names I like to call "Honor and Her Sisters", i.e. Honor and all the many forms of it -- from the Latinate lovely, Honoria, to the Breton Enora and the streamlined Nora. Instead of making separate posts for them, since they are so closely related, I thought I would put them all together like this. Please, let me know your favorite, and do you have any "Sister" or "Brother" names you like? Honor and Honour - A favorite among the Puritans of the 17th century, Honour comes from the Anglo-French onur  or honur, derived from the Latin honos, honor or honoris . The first known example of its use is in the 13th century. It means, of course, "to regard or treat with admiration and respect". This virtue name is a popular one among celebrities: both Jessica Alba and Tilda Swinton have daughters named Honor. There is also actress Honor Blackman, best known for playi...

Origin: Slavic Gender: Male Meaning: "More Glory" Pronunciation: WEHN-ses-las Other Forms: Wenceslaus, Venceslaus, Veceslav, Václav, Vyacheslav, Więcesław, Wenzel Are you ready to learn the history behind the beloved Christmas song? Today's name is Wenceslas! Wenceslas, or Wenceslaus, is a Medieval Latinized version of the Slavic Veceslav. Veceslav comes from the elements veche , "more" and slava , meaning "glory". The later form may have been influenced by the Czech word  věnec, which means "wreath" or "crown". The eponymous figure from the classic Christmas song is based on Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, sometimes called Václav the Good (921-935). The song tells of a "good king" who travels through the harrowing winter weather to deliver alms to the poor on the feast day of St. Stephen. His page is about to give up, but through following the king's prints, step for step, he makes it through the blizzard. While Wences...

Princess Catharina-Amalia of Orange Catharina-Amalia + Many More - On December 7th, Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange and heir presumptive to the Dutch throne, turned eighteen. Her full name is Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, and she has two younger sisters, Princess Alexia Juliana Marcela Laurentien and Princess Ariane Wilhelmina Máxima Inés. All of them have meaningful family names. Beatrix honors their grandmother, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, while Juliana does the same with their great-grandmother, Juliana of the Netherlands. Laurentien is for their aunt, Laurentien, who married Prince Constantijn in 2001. Wilhelmina is an often used name in the Dutch royal family, and just so happens to be the name of their great-great grandmother. And finally, Máxima is the name of their mother, Queen Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti, whose own mother was named María del Carmen Cerruti Carricart, showing us just where the Carmen in Catharina-Amalia's name came from. Ice...