From the Behind the Name entry for [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]:
From the Greek name Αικατε”ινη (Aikaterine). The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name ‘Εκατε”ινη (Hekaterine), which came from ‘εκατε”ος (hekateros) “each of the two”; it could derive from the name of the goddess HECATE; it could be related to Greek αικια (aikia) “torture”; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning “my consecration of your name”. In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek καθα”ος (katharos) “pure”, and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.
So it’s debated, but essentially the answer to your question is: most likely an Ancient Greek word, one which may or may not exist in modern Greek (you’d have to ask a modern Greek speaker to know this).
Saying that ‘all names were made up at some point’ is as disingenuous as saying ‘all words were made up at some point’.
I think made up/invented names for a real child who will have to live with that name for the rest of their life is cruel and wrong. You may think it’s cool and unique but that name is always going to give a first impression to strangers that may not be positive.
Please don’t get upset or disappointed if your child chooses to go by something else or change their name when they get older.
at some point, they were as well. Unless, of course, there was a book left for the first speaking members of human race that had a base language with meanings.
All names came from words. So basically names are all made-up right? I think made up and modern invented names are different. It’s modern invented names that we’re talking about here and these names are also derived from words like how [name_f]Neveah[/name_f] was derived from [name_f]Heaven[/name_f] etc.
The reason it is disingenuous to say that ‘all words were made up at some point’ is that this implies a series of conscious decisions made by individuals or groups of individuals. Nobody knows how language first emerged, but the way in which it develops is, for the most part, a fluid, unconscious and social process. There are some words that you might describe as ‘made up’, but the vast majority were never made up, they simply developed within a certain language community, with no individual or small group of individuals having consciously decided anything. it can be compared to evolution in some respects (although of course the analogy only goes so far) - we would not talk about animals ‘discovering’ the eye - it just developed without any creature actually making a decision. I would strongly suspect that language emerged in a similar way, without people sitting down and actually deciding ‘this sound will refer to this object’ or anything like that. Whatever your opinions on the very first words uttered by human beings, though, it is a fact that the vast majority of words existing in languages spoken within historical memory were definitely not ‘made up’ - and neither are most names.
That’s the difference between ‘made up’ and ‘not made up’ that I, and I believe renrose, were trying to point out.
I like unusual names and don’t think there’s anything wrong with using an invented name in general. They are memorable, which can be a good thing. I think names should be considered on an individual basis. The only category of names that I greatly greatly dislike are those with alternative spellings for no reason other than a misguided attempt at creativity: the “Kreeative” names category. I dislike these because they just make life more complicated without the icebreaker reward of people saying “Oh that’s an interesting name, what does it mean? Why were you named that?”
However, there are plenty of unique names that I dislike. Vehemently. But not because they’re unusual. It’s usually due to really negative associations. [name_m]Nero[/name_m]. [name_m]Aryan[/name_m]. [name_f]Candida[/name_f]. [name_f]Melena[/name_f].
We’ve considered combining our names into a new name, perhaps that counts as “made-up”. You could make up plenty of names that I wouldn’t like because they’re too long and/or difficult to spell or pronounce. I wouldn’t want to saddle my child with a name that is very difficult to explain (that fails the Starbucks test). In short, for me to give a child a made-up name, it would have to have a very cool story behind it…how it was made up…why it was chosen…what it means
I don’t think new names are any less legitimate or respectable than old names. They all can have neat, touching stories behind them.
Leesie cre8tive spelling of Finnish [name_f]Liisi[/name_f]
Onnika cre8tive spelling of Scandinavian [name_f]Annika[/name_f]
Honnali or Honneli (rhymes [name_u]Connelly[/name_u]) from Honnalee, Puff the [name_u]Magic[/name_u] Dragon song
[name_f]Rosheen[/name_f] cre8tive spelling of Irish [name_f]Roisin[/name_f]
[name_f]Nula[/name_f] alternative spelling of Irish [name_f]Nuala[/name_f]
Seersha cre8tive spelling of Irish [name_f]Saoirse[/name_f]
…this was surprisingly useful to do cre8tive spelling in these cases! It becomes easier to contemplate whether I truly like a name once the spelling feels more intuitive (to me).
[name_m]History[/name_m] and meaning is a big part of the point of names, [name_f]IMO[/name_f]. If you just give a kid a serious of sounds that “sound cool” it feels like giving them something empty and shallow rather than something substantial that ties them to history. It also just comes off as sort of hubristic and self-centered,and ultra-individualistic. There can be exceptions, and I think sometimes phoneticizing can make sense, but generally I dislike it.
I think it’s great to make your own unique name. I named my 1st daughter mermaid but in Spanish so it’s spelled Sirena and pronounced sea rena. I didn’t come up with that name but there aren’t many out there with this name. I named my 2nd daughter Lunabelle and I forsure thought I made this name up. Until I seen someone post it here asking if it was a good name. She got alot of bad backlash for it. I messaged her and thought she was brilliant! I don’t know if she did name her daughter Lunabelle but I most certainly did name mine and she just happened to be born on a full moon. So it was awesome! At the end of the day we need people to bring out more unique names I love it! I’m sure there’s more that do too. ”
at some point, they were as well. Unless, of course, there was a book left for the first speaking members of human race that had a base language with meanings.