So many factors make up my love or hatred of a certain name: the sound, appearance, length, nationality, nicknames, associations, literary connections, others with that name I’ve known…
And almost never does the meaning even slightly affect whether I like or dislike a name.
In fact, I seldom even look at the meaning.
I do know that one of the meanings of my unborn daughter’s name ([name_f]Cordelia[/name_f]) is Flowers From the Sea, which I find gorgeous.
But the meaning of my unborn son’s name ([name_u]Owen[/name_u]) I cannot remember, if indeed I ever knew. Maybe something about whiteness?
Since these are the same names I would have given children who got to be born, I just have to surmise that name meanings do not even register with me.
I find this quite odd, but it is true, and I am wondering if there are other name lovers like me in this respect?
And, if so, what does this say about us?
The only negative meaning I know of is [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f] (blind), but I still like the name.
Any thoughts? Thanks,
[name_u]Leslie[/name_u]
(whose name is Scottish for something outdoorsy… I think!)
I struggle with this. I love the meaning of my name. It’s played an important role in shaping my character and I’d like my future children to feel the same way about their name meanings.
Unfortunately, a lot of the names I love don’t have great meanings. Some have family ties, some just fit, but few meet my meaning criteria. Ultimately I’ve come to terms with the fact that name aesthetics are more important to me than name meanings, but sometimes… just sometimes… I let myself be swayed by a name with a great meaning that just doesn’t fit.
Meaning is extremely important to me, but it tends to be more personal meaning than literal meaning. I can’t love a name just because it sounds nice and has a positive meaning.
I negative meaning would bug me, I couldn’t use [name_f]Claudia[/name_f] because it means lame. The name doesn’t need an amazing or significant meaning but is needs to be positive or neutral.
I don’t pay attention to meanings when I discover names I love. [name_f]My[/name_f] own name means messenger of God – I’m an atheist so it’s a bit of an eyeroll for me. Name meaning has nothing to do with the kid you bestow it upon. It’s fun in fiction to connect characters to their name meanings but beyond that I don’t really care.
The meaning is incredibly important to me. I may find a name I love, but if it has a negative or something boring like “son of…”, then it makes me automatically dislike it. I like names with strong, inspiring meanings, this child will carry this name for the rest of their life. I want them to hear that meaning every time they hear their name, as though it’s a blessing over their life.
For example, I love the name [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f], which means “strong woman”. And I would love my daughter to know every time she hears her name, that she is strong.
Meaning of names means very little to me - it’s just a bit of trivia really isn’t it? Unless it’s literal meaning is very significant to the child or person. Like a friend named their daughter [name_f]Faith[/name_f] as they thought the’d never have another baby but kept on hoping and trying. But on the other hand their son is called [name_m]Marshall[/name_m] - but I doubt that will encourage him to grow up to be a Lawman!!
It can definitely have that personal meaning to you, but there’s nothing about strength in the etymology. [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] just means “man”, with a feminine suffix. So you could stretch and say it meant “woman”, but you can’t really take it any further. It’s a beautiful name!
With name meanings I think to me it depends how obvious it is. Almost everyone looks up their name at some point in their lives, and it’s interesting to know and nice if you find a positive meaning. But for most people [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] does not jump out as meaning “twin” because most people don’t speak Aramaic. So it doesn’t really matter. It could make a cool name for a twin because of that, but most people called [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] aren’t twins and nobody bats an eyelid. Names tend to be fairly distant linguistically from the meaning in modern English. Name your child [name_u]River[/name_u] and it’s a different story from [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] I think, because there is no linguistic distance between form and meaning so everyone will think of a river. For names like that I think generally they are chosen specifically for the meaning. Aesthetics are practically more important for most other names.
Icelandic is different because there are a lot more traditional names which are like [name_u]River[/name_u], i.e. they are an actual word still in the language, everyone can see immediately what they mean. Úlfur the name is exactly the same as úlfur the noun meaning “wolf”, so you are very obviously naming your child after a wolf. There’s one name Kolbrún that very specifically means someone with dark hair ([name_m]Coal[/name_m]-brow), and people do tend to use it on dark-haired children, although sometimes babies’ hair changes colour and some people don’t care so there are still a fair few blonde Kolbrúns. When the meaning is obvious like that, I care, but when you’d have to look a name up to know what it means I’m not so bothered. For example, as an atheist, I would definitely use [name_m]Matthew[/name_m], but not [name_m]Christian[/name_m] or even [name_f]Christina[/name_f] or [name_m]Christopher[/name_m]. I prefer the idea of secular meanings, but with a name like [name_m]Matthew[/name_m] I don’t think it’s so important anymore.
It is very important to me personally, and I definitely take it into consideration when thinking about naming children. That is why I like to really research to find all of the possible meanings of a name (my son’s name means different things in different languages) and to make sure that I am not just finding the sparkly poster meaning. You know, like when people are like, “my name is [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f]. It means Beautiful Unicorn.”
BUT to most people, I really don’t think it matters at all. I don’t think most Claudias agonize over their names meaning “lame” and I doubt any little Kennedys are up all night wondering if they are destined for misshapen heads.
Though I do remember a few years ago, I was doing childcare for a group and all of the little girls were really into name meanings. We looked them all up and they all meant things like “noble” or “life”, stuff like that. They were all around first or second grade. One of the little girls was really upset because her name didn’t mean anything- but I pointed out that she is named after a place in [name_f]England[/name_f] ([name_u]Windsor[/name_u]) and her mother is also named after a place in [name_f]England[/name_f] ([name_u]Devon[/name_u]) so in a sense, she is named after her mother. It really perked her up, anyhow.
Meanings use to not matter to me, but now they kind of do. I love [name_f]Marie[/name_f] as a first name, but I hate that it means “bitter.” I keep adding and taking off [name_f]Marie[/name_f] [name_f]Anneliese[/name_f] to and from my list because it means “bitter resurrection.” I’m a [name_m]Christian[/name_m], so that doesn’t really sound good to me since [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] died because He loves us. I love the way it sounds, but the meaning bothers me.
Personally it is not just about how a name looks or sounds, meaning is quite important to me. However, to each their own and if it isn’t important to you then that just means we have different criteria for choosing names. I really would cross a name out from my list if it had a meaning I disliked and go in search of another I like with a more pleasing meaning.
It’s possible this has something to do with the fact that I am now past my child-bearing years, so while I am just as nuts about names as ever, I know I am not going to be naming a child.
When I was young and younger, I did look up meanings quite a bit, though I will say more as a curiosity. It is also possible that I would not have chosen [name_u]Owen[/name_u] and [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] for my children had I originally seen a nasty or unpleasant meaning for them.
A nice meaning can give a name extra appeal to me, but it isn’t that important and I wouldn’t be put off by a negative meaning. Most of the time the given “meaning” of a name is not entirely accurate and the actual root of the word is long unknown, anyway. Personal meaning (association with a personal hero, beloved book, friend, etc) is far more important to me.
Meaning is not at all important to me. A good meaning is a nice added bonus, but a bad meaning isn’t usually enough to put me off a name (exceptions: [name_f]Ascella[/name_f] and [name_f]Portia[/name_f].)
Like what darlingdoe said, to me it’s more about personal meaning and what my associations with a particular name are, as well as its sound. Meaning is a very minor concern.
Meaning is just one of the important factors in determining what to name a child. I do take it into consideration and in some cases, the meaning does come into play. For example, if I loved two names in equal measure, the meaing of the name could tip the scale in the end. However, there are some names that I just wouldn’t use. [name_f]Mallory[/name_f] means “unlucky” or “unfortunate” so that name is a no-go.
Where did you find that [name_f]Anneliese[/name_f] means resurrection?
[name_f]My[/name_f] source says its a combination of [name_f]Anne[/name_f] and [name_f]Liese[/name_f]. [name_f]Anne[/name_f] being a variation [name_f]Anna[/name_f] which is a variation of [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], meaning grace. [name_f]Liese[/name_f] is a variation of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] which means my God is an oath. [name_m]Both[/name_m] good things since you said you’re a [name_m]Christian[/name_m].
I went through a big phase where meaning was a HUGE factor to me. I found many websites unreliable. Most of my info comes from behindthename.com.
Any more I’m more concerned about my personal associations and meaning with the names. I love [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] and my OH liked [name_m]Isaac[/name_m] Date. While I didn’t love the flow I liked that together it was Laugter Eduring.
[name_f]Mary[/name_f]'s a lot more complicated than just meaning bitter. [name_f]Miriam[/name_f], the name it’s sourced from, has a number of possible etymologies including ‘beloved’ ‘longed-for child’ and ‘rebellious’ as well as ‘rising water.’
It’s still on my list, but I do toy with combo-ing it with a name that means ‘sweet’ because bitter is it’s most commonly known meaning.
I do like nature-meanings an awful lot. Plants and animals and gemstones. I know some people consider those meanings less cool but I love them.
A great meaning can’t save a name I don’t like though and I’m aware that for example [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f] and Ezriela both have lovely and unrelated meanings but I gravitated to them in the first place because they both have a sound I like.
Names/combos I really like at least partially because of the meaning:
[name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Liora[/name_f] - ‘star’ + ‘my light’ or [name_f]Esther[/name_f] [name_f]Felicia[/name_f] - ‘star’ + ‘lucky’
Ezriela - ‘G-d is my help’
[name_m]Jonathan[/name_m] [name_m]Hale[/name_m] - ‘gift of G-d’ + ‘healthy, strong’
[name_f]Miriam[/name_f] Libi - ‘longed for child’ + ‘my heart’ or also ‘rebellious’ + ‘my heart’
[name_f]Ramona[/name_f] [name_f]Tansy[/name_f] - ‘vigilant protector’ + ‘immortal.’
[name_m]Harvey[/name_m] - ‘Battle-ready’
[name_f]Shoshana[/name_f] - ‘rose’
[name_f]Celestine[/name_f] - ‘heaven, sky’
[name_m]Noam[/name_m] - ‘pleasant’
Might seem corny but I’m fond of them.
I can’t quite deal with the meanings of [name_m]Caleb[/name_m], [name_f]Mallory[/name_f], or [name_f]Jerusha[/name_f].
When I come across names I like, I like them for the look and the sound. Of course, unless I really loved all the other factors of a name, I wouldn’t not use it. I guess it depends on the person. I do think meaning is important, whereas some people it doesn’t matter what the meaning of a child’s name is.
