I’m quite interested in the etymology of names and thought, why not start a thread for berries to share some interesting facts about where names come from and what they mean?
I’ll go first. [name_f]Wendy[/name_f] was actually not invented by the author of [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Pan[/name_m], J.M. [name_u]Barrie[/name_u] - it had existed as a surname in [name_u]Britain[/name_u] since the 17th century, and as a unisex first name in the 1880s - but, namesake [name_f]Wendy[/name_f] [name_f]Darling[/name_f] definitely popularized the name for girls going into the 20th century. The real origin of [name_f]Wendy[/name_f] isn’t clear, and some believe it came from the Welsh [name_f]Gwendolyn[/name_f].
So mine is a question. Does anyone know the etymology of [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] and it’s variants? I love [name_f]Lenore[/name_f] and all I see is that the meaning is not known . With the [name_u]Or[/name_u] on the end I assume the meaning must have something to do with [name_u]Light[/name_u], brightness, shining one etc. But I’m unsure
This one is already on nameberry, but the name [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] comes from “lives near the ash tree grove”. Which isn’t as poetic as some, but I always thought it was nice and I even named one of my characters [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]!
@sparklingdust according to the baby name book* that I have, [name_f]Wendy[/name_f] comes from the Teutonic meaning ‘wanderer’
@Amber_Joy [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] is apparently from [name_f]Helene[/name_f] meaning light, according to my baby name book*
*I’ve noticed the book is sometimes wrong about the meanings of the names listed in it so I don’t know how correct they are but it’s at least one possibility of meanings that have been lost over the years
I’ll share my oldest daughter’s middle name. [name_f]Xochitl[/name_f] is a word and name in the Nahuatl language. It means “flower”. [name_f]Citlali[/name_f] is also a Nahuatl name/word meaning “star”. [name_f]My[/name_f] oldest niece has that as one of her middle names.
Ultimately [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] comes from [name_f]Aenor[/name_f] (with the Occitan Alienòr in between) which has an uncertain meaning.
I’m assuming the “light” meaning comes from its association with [name_f]Helen[/name_f], [name_u]Or[/name_u] and [name_u]Noor[/name_u] which share sounds with [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] but are not etymologically related.
I love both [name_f]Xochitl[/name_f] and [name_f]Citlali[/name_f], those meanings are great!
I’ll share: it’s on the name link for [name_u]Diamond[/name_u] on NB, but apparently it was given in the 1890s in honour of [name_f]Queen[/name_f] [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], who celebrated her diamond jubilee, and she actually suggested it as a name for her granddaughter, but she was named [name_f]Victoria[/name_f] instead. I think a royal family member named [name_u]Diamond[/name_u] would have been quite cool though!
Lots of great stuff here! Also, yes, @acajou Behind the name is a great source! It has a great family tree function to show alternate forms of names.
There are some ancient/ye olde names that really make me pause. All these names sound so 80s-90s and yet…
[name_f]Melissa[/name_f]: Ancient Greek for “bee”
[name_f]Tiffany[/name_f]: 11th century nickname for [name_f]Theophania[/name_f]
[name_f]Jessica[/name_f]: Shakespearean
[name_f]Ayla[/name_f] has multiple origins, I’ll talk about the Hebrew and Turkish ones in this post.
In Hebrew:
Alternative transcription of אֵלָה, which can be also transcripted as [name_f]Ela[/name_f] (f) or [name_f]Elah[/name_f] (m). Means “terebinth tree” in Hebrew. [name_f]Elah[/name_f] was the name of the fourth king of [name_u]Israel[/name_u], as told in the Old Testament. He was murdered by [name_m]Zimri[/name_m], who succeeded him.
In Turkish:
[name_f]Moon[/name_f] halo in Turkish. It’s derived from the colloquial term “ay ağılı”, which means “whiteness around the moon”. Some old sources claim it means “synonymous” but I could find no etymological evidence to prove this.
It comes from [name_f]Aenor[/name_f]. [name_f]Alienor[/name_f] is the original and [name_f]Alie[/name_f] - meant ‘another’ another [name_f]Aenor[/name_f]. No one knows the etymology of [name_f]Aenor[/name_f] but some believe it comes from the Germanic Audamar meaning ‘famous wealth’
. With the [name_u]Or[/name_u] on the end I assume the meaning must have something to do with [name_u]Light[/name_u], brightness, shining one etc. But I’m unsure