The way to the meaning of the word Iowa is through the Ioway. Ioway is the French transcription of Ayuway, which is what the Illini and Meskwaki called the tribe. The roots of this word only get more twisted. Ayuway is actually an alteration of what the Dakota called the tribe: Ayuxba (AH-you-khbah), which is believed to mean “sleepy ones.” Ayuxba to Iowa: the “sleepy ones.”
Makes me wonder just how many other words have been given altered meanings by non-Native Americans, especially since so many names of US states originated from different Indigenous American languages!
Sorry this is so off topic it just interested my inner history nerd so I thought I’d share!
Ahmose: Egyptian, pronounced AH-mos, it was the name of a [name_m]Pharaoh[/name_m] who drove out the Hyksos in [name_u]Egypt[/name_u]. Means “born of Iah” (an Egyptian moon god).
wow! Thank you for that article, it was very interesting. I’m trying to find a concise way of wording the definition and origin of the name. Not sure if I should keep the “beautiful land” meaning. And yes I’m very curious what other how the other states got their names. thank you for looking into it <3. hope it can be added to the name database!
I had a classmate named Avinash too! We were kids but he looked Indian to me so I think it’s an indian name? He pronounced the first syllable as AH though
I am what, the 5th or 7th person who likes unusual botanical names? However, I don’t typically see them on the extended SSA list so I figured that’s why they haven’t been added after listing them in this thread. However, while I have not met one, Lunaria did make it to the extended SSA list last year!! So I think it’s finally time to add her to the list!
Here’s some of the other botanical names I like that I previously mentioned What names have we missed? - #1684 by KaiLun Also Lavatera (mallows), Nolana, Calendula (Marigold), Aiglentina / Aiglentine (sweet briar rose in French), and Torenia (wishbone flower)
I met a guy named Carol the other day so I looked up this name and noticed Carol only had a page for girls. Carol for a boy was in the US top 1000 from about 1910 to 1960 so I think that definitely warrants Carol to have a male page. Especially since Caroll has never been in the top 1000 yet it has a boy page…
In 1940 for example, there were 253 boys named Carol, 46 boys named Carolyn, 23 for Carole and Caroll, and 8 for Caroline. That’s 10 times more Carols than Caroll
Oaken. There is a puppy down the street from us named Oaken. He is named after Oak trees and even though he’s a dog, I think it would be cute on a kid.
i think a male entry should be added for Fern. not only are most nature / word names unisex, but Fern has usage as a male name; in 1903, it was rank 710 for boys
More obscure botanicals! bolded names are new as of this edit
Amabilis: “lovely” Cassinia: after Alexandre de Cassini
Dalea: after English botanist Samuel Dale (pronounced /deɪ’liə/, like how I believed Delia was pronounced when I first read it)
Dionaea: aka Venus flytrap, after an epithet of Aphrodite
Dracaena: “dragon”
Elisena: after Elisa Bonaparte (sister to Napoleon); also a character in the medieval Iberian tale Amadís de Gaula Gloriosa: “glorious Hedera: Latin for the ivy plant Kaliphora: “beauty-bearing”
Lutea: “yellow” Moonflower Morinda: “Indian mulberry”
Nandina: from the Japanese name nanten
Nemophila: “grove-loving”, aka baby blue eyes
Olyra: grass named after an ancient grain similar to spelt
Pellaea: “dark” Peppermint Philisia: “to love”
Polyantha: “many flowers”
Roella: after Dutch anatomist G. Roelle
Solandra: after Swedish explorer Daniel Carlsson Solander
Sophora: from the Arabic name for a pea-flowered tree sophera Tamarix: after the Tamaris (now known as Tambre) river in Galicia, where some species grow Tilia: the classical name for the linden tree Ursinia: after Johann Heinrich Ursinus
Arum: from the Greek aron possibly meaning “cane, reed”
Cedrus: from the Latin for the cedar tree, said to be derived from the name of the river Kedron in Judea
Dryas: “oak”, for the leaves resemble oak leaves
Ferox: “fierce” Foxtail Hemlock Ilex: the holly genus Leonotis: “lion’s ear”, as the shape was compared to Phlox: “flame” Pyrus: the classical name for pear trees
Rubus: “red”, like the berries of many species
Amora: female portuguese name that means berry. It’s also a variation of amor (love, in some romance languages - portuguese and spanish). The most famous person is a brazilian scriptwriter Amora Mautner.
Draguta: is a very old school feminine romanian name. Which means precious. Draga is a common variation of the name.
Cornel: is a name derived form Cornelius, also a surname. The surname is common in welsh countries while the name is used in Romania.
Argante: is the name of a female character in arthurian legends. Often shared the role of the lady of the lake depending of the version. The name means “silver”.
Elyon: name of a princess of a comic book, Witch. The name comes from the bible, one of the names of god. The name is probably unisex.
Treveri: A rare unisex name and surname. It means flowing river. It’s the name of an ancient community in Gallia, that originated the surname. info on wikipedia
Trevere is a variation of the name (I know an english man with this given name even tough I suppose it’s unisex given the origin)
Saleh: arab masculine given name meaning pious or virtuous. A variation of Salih.
So I think it’s finally time to add her to the list! 
