|
Click Here
for more articles
|
|
|
|
Baby
Name Meanings
|
|
by:
Michael Barrows
|
Speaking
as a Michael (a Hebrew name, meaning “Who is like God”), I’m really
proud of my name. And I think that I – mostly - live up to the title!
Of course, my mother would probably disagree; I think the phrase
“little devil” would probably pass her lips if she was describing me
during many stages of my childhood.
But then, my mother has her own issues; apparently her name (Kathleen)
is a Celtic name meaning “Little Darling”. Hmmm, that isn’t the way I
used to think about her during those regular occasions when she was
punishing me for my “not like God” behaviour…!
And that’s the fun of baby name meanings – parents make naming
decisions based on many, many different reasons, including family
traditions, religion, culture, uniqueness and “it just sounds really
nice.” But – in the Western world – we rarely do any real research into
the history or real meaning of names. So when the poor/lucky child
finally finds out the meaning of his/her “really nice sounding” name,
the results can be interesting, ironic, unfortunate or just sometimes
hilarious.
You can have a lot of fun thinking up family/friends names, finding out
the meanings and trying to make a connection between the two. For
example, my eldest brother Clive is apparently “a cliff dweller”, which
is coincidental, since he lives at the top of a very long steep hill!
Or why not play the game with celebrities – consider the following:
Badu (as in r n’b singer Erykah Badu): African name meaning “Tenth born
child”
Winona (as in actress Winona Ryder): Sioux name meaning “Firstborn
daughter”
Aaliyah (the late r n’b singer): Arabic name meaning “High, exalted”
Hilary (as in actresses Duff/Swank): Latin name meaning “Cheerful”
Some cultures have very interesting traditions when it comes to baby
name meanings. For example, Hindu names usually have connections with
very positive things such as truth, beauty, happiness, blessings, etc,
or one of the Hindu gods. In the Sikh culture, girls traditionally have
the middle or surname “Kaur”, meaning “Princess”, whilst the boys have
the middle or surname “Singh”, meaning “Lion”.
An African friend of mine once mentioned that many Africans are given a
second name corresponding to the day of the week on which they were
born. I think is a really nice tradition, but in my case, my middle
name would be “Sondo” (born on Sunday)!! Hmmmm…
Whatever type of name you have chosen, or are thinking about for your
“bundle of joy”, its worth doing a little research into the meaning.
And it’s never been easier, with the wealth of Internet resources and
books available, including my own site at www.all-about-baby-names.com,
which is jam-packed with resources, tips and information on baby names,
baby name meanings and baby products.
Your search may yield some surprises; for example, the lovely-sounding
name “Malory” is French and means “Bad luck”. You could get round this
by spelling it “Mallory”, but this means “Without good fortune” in Old
German!
Alternatively, you may end up a little confused by different meanings
of the same name; for example “Leah” is a beautiful girl’s name, but
what does it mean? Well…
• In Hebrew it means “Cow” or “Weary one” – uugghhh! • In Greek it
means “Glad tidings” • In Assyrian, it means “Mistress, ruler”
And a final warning: if you are planning to go for a funky,
unusual-sounding name, be sure to avoid “Bacia,” – its Ugandan meaning
is “Family deaths ruined the home!”
For more information and advice, check out the baby name meaning
resources at http://www.all-about-baby-names.com.
Enjoy your search and happy baby naming!
About the Author
Michael Barrows is a web publisher specialising in
niche marketing. Check out the wealth of baby resources and pick up his
FREE ebook "Baby Tips for New Parents" at his website;
http://www.all-about-baby-names.com
|
|
