When you hear a new name, do you look into the meaning? [name_u]Or[/name_u] do you mostly research the meanings of names you already love?
Yes, I’ll try to find out the meaning of a name that’s new-to-me most of the time. Some names I’ve loved since pre-internet-in-my-hand I don’t know the meaning of!
Is there a name that you love almost only because of its meaning?
Yes! I never liked [name_u]Maxwell[/name_u], but since I learned it’s lovely nature meaning I’ve been really fond of it! [name_u]River[/name_u] associations are my favourite type of meanings, so [name_u]Maxwell[/name_u] became pretty much instantly loved when I learned!
Is there a name that you love despite having a meaning you don’t like?
[name_m]Plenty[/name_m]! [name_u]Gideon[/name_u], [name_f]Claudia[/name_f], [name_u]Courtney[/name_u], [name_m]Casimir[/name_m], [name_u]Tristan[/name_u] for example. As I am not naming any more children, I’ll blithely disregard a meaning if I otherwise like the name.
Is there a name that’s taken on a meaning completely different than its etymological meaning because of a connection in your life?
[name_u]River[/name_u] symbolism means a lot to me, so it’s importance goes beyond the literal. [name_u]River[/name_u], [name_m]Dacre[/name_m], [name_u]Beck[/name_u], [name_f]Rilla[/name_f], [name_u]Brooks[/name_u], [name_u]Douglas[/name_u], [name_m]Irving[/name_m] and the aforementioned [name_u]Maxwell[/name_u] are all super special. Also please see how a name came to mean gift to me in the tab below!
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you prefer names with obvious meanings (like virtue names), or prefer names that for most people won’t have anything tied to them?
It’s not a blanket preference but when I love a word name, I reeeeeally love a word name! E.g. [name_f]Faith[/name_f] (although I am not religious so I suppose meanings are always interpreted individually), [name_u]Peace[/name_u], [name_f]Hope[/name_f], [name_u]Starry[/name_u], [name_f]Amethyst[/name_f].
Does the meaning of a name have an effect on the energy you get from it (what type of person you could see it on, etc)?
Hmm, absolutely yes with word names and some particularly shiny meanings, such as [name_m]Isaac[/name_m]. Generally though, I think I’m good at seeing most names on most people and I don’t think a name is a personality predictor - life is too complex for that!
How would meaning play into naming an actual child?
I have named one child and this is how it went ~
putting this under a tab because of length!
I was looking at meanings on name websites. This was just over 20 years ago, I seem to remember being on babycentre.co.uk a lot! But I saw the name [name_u]Beck[/name_u] in the credits of a TV show. [name_f]My[/name_f] partner at the time immediately knew that this was the word for a little stream as it’s used in Northern [name_u]England[/name_u] where he was from. There are a loooot of place names here that contain ‘beck’. I liked the sound, but I adored the meaning. [name_u]Rivers[/name_u] have always been part of feelings of happiness, safety, solace and a sense of being connected to the planet/universe/something bigger than myself and my own little portion of experience.
Middle names were very differently chosen! I asked my two best friends to each give my son a middle name. One chose [name_u]Aidan[/name_u], which they gave me along with the meaning of ‘gift of God’ - more on that in a minute!! - and I didn’t mind the religious connection at all because, although I am not religious it is part of my culture. I was brought up in an evangelical christian household and using a name with a religious meaning felt as natural as participating in [name_u]Christmas[/name_u]. I hope that makes some sense.
I don’t need to tell the Berries that [name_u]Aidan[/name_u] does not mean gift of god! The fiery meaning is fairly at odds with [name_u]Beck[/name_u]
(Aden has religious connections via [name_u]Eden[/name_u], [name_u]Ayden[/name_u], [name_u]Adin[/name_u] and more!)
Anyway, the name [name_u]Aidan[/name_u] was a gift from my friend and [name_u]Beck[/name_u] is a gift to me so this meaning has stuck.
[name_f]My[/name_f] other friend chose another religious name, with a genuinely biblical meaning this time, although that wasn’t part of her decision in choosing it. I always forget the exact meaning! I feel like a terrible [name_u]Berry[/name_u] admitting that! Like, don’t delete my account
