My mother named all of us 5 kids with the meanings of our names in mind. [name]Ever[/name] since childhood, I have taken the meanings of both my first and middle names to heart, and they have truly become my identity. Because of this, I really take a hard look at the meanings of names before considering them for my children.
Does anyone else have similar opinions to the meaning of names, or do you think that individuals can find a sense of identity beyond the meaning of their name, or in their name at all?
For example, my name means “[name]Free[/name] [name]Spirit[/name]” and “Overcomer”, and I have always felt that I already possess the strength to overcome hardship. One of the names I like, [name]Everly[/name], means “From the Boar [name]Meadow[/name]”. Would a girl named [name]Everly[/name] feel disconnected to her name because of the meaning?
[name]Calvin[/name], one of my absolute favorite names, means bald. I was a little deflated when I learned that. But it is still one of my top favorites, probably because I don’t think “bald” when I hear it. I love cool meanings. These can be weird/cool meanings like [name]Nova[/name] “chasing butterflies”, classic/cool meanings like [name]Margaret[/name] “pearl” and strong/cool meanings like [name]Edmund[/name] “wealthy protector”.
Then there are meaning names. I named my first doll [name]Charity[/name], and have loved the name ever since. In these names the meaning is the name, and people think of that instead of any other images of it.
I think you should how much meanings should decide when choose a name. I like nice meanings, but they’re not a huge priority. If you are really into the meanings of names and want to give a son or daughter the gift of a great meaning, I think you can rate this over sound and style.
[name]Everly[/name] meaning “from the boar meadow” is not bad. I would feel connected to nature if I had this name.
Name meanings are very important to me. I love all the names that mean lion! Names that mean some kind of a noun are my favorites, as long as I love the noun. But often I love adjective names. For example [name]Sebastian[/name] means “majestic” in some baby books I have read. If you put two names together, one can mean an adjective and the other can mean a noun. Put the two together and you can get a name meaning that is really cool.
The meaning of a name is of utmost importance to me, but that meaning can come from different places.
For ex. my first name means “victory of the people” and I always liked that. But my middle name [name]Marie[/name] technically means “bitter sea” but the more important meaning is that it was my grandmother’s middle name.
On the other hand, if as a parent you never stress a meaning, your child might never seek it out. I became obsessed with name meanings in 7th grade after reading “[name]Lord[/name] Of The Flies” – all the characters names match their personalities and role in the book. I thought that extra layer of “hidden” story-telling was so cool, and I was hooked but guaranteed my parents had no idea what my first name meant when they chose it.
So while a name has to have a “meaning” that meaning can come from different places. I never understood giving a middle name just because it sounds cool. Sorry, my opinion. I really believe there should be more of a story than “oh, I just liked it”.
I think it is interesting to know what your name means but I don’t think it is a deal breaker. My name ([name]Beverly[/name]) means from the beaver meadow. This is not exactlly something to be especially proud or, more indifferent. DH however has a name that means “conquering” ([name]Vincent[/name]) this is something he has taken to heart.
It is interesting to know what names “mean”, but this is how [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name]'s books were always so revolutionary, really - while all the traditional books told you that [name]Kennedy[/name] meant crooked nose or whatever, (maybe it was ugly head? It is late and my brain is a bit mushy), [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name]'s concept was to give names NEW meanings - i.e. their relevance in modern-day society.
So while I am interested to know that [name]Douglas[/name] means “dark blue water” and [name]Catherine[/name] is “pure”, I am more interested to know how the name sounds and feels today, in relation to others. If I really liked a name and it “meant” something not-particularly-wonderful, this would not necessarily influence my choice. [name]Stuart[/name] means “steward”, and how boring is that?! I like the sound of it, I like that it is rather retro and reminiscent of the 1950s, and I like its Scottish heritage.
Ideally, we find names that we love the sound of AND the meaning, but it is not always the way!
I think the meanings of names are important. Sometimes I like to decide what I want the name to mean and then build a combo based on that or I’ll pair names together to make a pretty word picture.
A few examples:
[name]Moriah[/name] [name]Galvin[/name]- I wanted a name that repersented the part in the Bible about how God watches over even the worthless sparrows. So I combined [name]Moriah[/name], which means "seen by YAHWEH"and [name]Galvin[/name], which means [name]Sparrow[/name].
[name]Darva[/name] [name]Shirley[/name]- [name]Darva[/name] means honeybee and [name]Shirley[/name] means “bright meadow”. Together it makes a picture in my mind of a sunshine-filled field of wildflowers humming with bees going from flower to flower.
If it is a name I’m going to use to honor someone, then the meaning doesn’t matter as much. Like [name]Frances[/name]. [name]Frances[/name] Means"from [name]France[/name]". It’s not that great of a meaning if you’re not actually from [name]France[/name], but it is the name of my great-grandma who died 10 years ago and whom I loved very much, so I am going to use it anyway. I have thought about pairing it with Ansara, which means sunflower, then it would be pretty. It makes me think of an Impressionist painting.
I think the meaning of a name is important to an extent. If I really loved a name and it had a horrendous meaning like “ignorant” or “homely” there would be no way that I could convince myself to use it. So, I guess the meaning isn’t that important as long as it isn’t horrible.
On the other hand, I have heard of people naming children based on the meaning of the name alone. For example, if someone is a swimmer and loves the water picking the name [name]Lynn[/name] which means “waterfall”.
I think of a name I love and then look up its origin and meaning to find out more about it. I also look up the popularity because that is important to me as well. I do not want my children to be one of five in their class with the same name.
I agree with other posters that meaning is important, but can derive from different sources. [name]Even[/name] if just the first letter of your name is meant to honor a relative with the same first letter, that is enough to make your name special and have meaning for you. I, for instance, am named “[name]Dana[/name]” (pronounced [name]Danna[/name]) in honor of my dad who went by [name]Dan[/name] – I have read numerous times that “dana” simply means “unisex.” On this website, the meaning is listed as “Comes from Denmark” which is equally boring considering we don’t come from Denmark! I would be really disappointed with my name if I wasn’t at least named after someone.
I recently asked my mother which baby names she would like for my next baby, and her choices were very interesting – I think they were her favorite soap opera characters . . . now wouldn’t that be a funny (and somewhat shallow) way to get your name?