AravisRose

Names, places, and a bit of everything else

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day

(m) Pollux - Greek, meaning “crown”. Castor's twin in the constellation Gemini.

(f) Pixie - meaning “fairy”. With Swedish or Cornish origins Pixie is a cute -- quite possibly too cute -- name that suddenly feels possible thanks to the craze for names that contain the letter x.   Though its origin may be uncertain, a pixie is internationally recognized as a sprite or fairy: tiny, sometimes green, usually pointy-eared.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day

(m) Jesper – From the Scandinavian story Jesper Who Herded the Hares. Jesper, pronounced more like yes-per, is the Scandinavian version of Jasper and would almost certainly be confused with it. If you have a Scandinavian heritage, it might make an interesting middle name.

(f) Melisande - This old-time fairy tale name is rarely heard in the modern English-speaking world, but it's so, well, mellifluous, that it would make a lovely choice for a twenty-first century girl--a romanticized tribute to an Aunt Melissa or Melanie. Pelleas and Melisande is a play by Maeterlinck, the inspiration for the Debussy opera of the same name. In modern times, Melisande became a princess via the Rankin and Bass film The Flight of Dragons. And Broadway buffs might remember Melisande as the name the main character Ella Peterson takes in the musical Bells are Ringing. The name of the beautiful red-haired character on Game of Thrones is spelled Melisandre.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Roark - Irish for “illustrious and mighty”.  This distinguished surname belonged to one of Ireland's great princely families.  Its many variations include Rourke (as in actor Mickey), and O'Rourke. The family surname is thought to be one of the oldest in the world, originating in the tenth century, following the death of a young prince named Ruarc.  It has literary cred via Howard Roark, the protagonist of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.

(f) Demelza - Cornish for “fort on the hill”. Complex and challenging modern Cornish name derived from a place name.   The given name began to be used in the U.K. in the 1950s via the serialization on British TV of the Poldark novels of Winston Graham, whose heroine was named Demelza.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Leif - Scandinavian for “heir, descendant”. Pronounced “LAYF”.  Leif is one of the most recognizable Scandinavian names, thanks to Icelandic  explorer Leif Erikson, and is still one of the best, with a pleasant aural association with the word leaf.

(f) Freya - Norse for “a noble woman”. Freya, the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty and fertility, has long been popular in the U.K. but just beginning to be appreciated here. Freya could make a possible namesake for an ancestral Frieda.  There is a Joseph Conrad novel titled Freya of the Seven Isles.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Galway - Place-name. Associated with the poet and novelist Galway Kinnell, this name of an Irish city, county, and bay would make an evocative choice. For further literary cred, writers Liam O'Flaherty and Frank Harris both hail from Galway.

(f) Nevis - Place-name. Highly unusual name of a small, tranquil island in the Caribbean; chosen for her daughter by singer Nelly Furtado. 

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Vintage Blog | B&W Blog

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Yarrow - English for “rough stream”. This plant whose pungent root is an old herbal cure, would make an unusual name. 

(f) Pepper - English from Latin for “berry.” Parents are beginning to scan the whole spice shelf for inspiration, picking up on Saffron, Sage, and Cinnamon -- and opening up a chance for this spiciest possibility of all.

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Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Carden - English occupational name. “wool carder”. Highly unusual but stylish-sounding occupational name, with a pleasant association with gardens. 

(f) Evening - Though this feels like a new invention, people have used day names such as Morning and Afternoon for centuries – and so why not Evening too?  It’s a lovely word with an evocative meaning and makes a perfect addition to this newly stylish group.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Cadmus - Greek for “one who excels”.  Cadmus is the name of the serpent-slaying hero of Greek mythology who also founded the city of Thebes and is credited with inventing the alphabet. Its ancient feel might appeal to modern parents — especially since Cadmus Peverell is a human Harry Potter character, one of the three original owners of the Deathly Hallows.

(f) Calista - Greek for “most beautiful”. Pretty and delicate, Calista is definitely worthy of consideration, especially for parents with Greek roots.  In ancient myth, Calista (or Calisto)was a nymph loved by Zeus, whose jealous wife Hera turned her into a bear. 

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Ewan - Scottish for “born of the yew tree”. This appealing name has a good chance of catching on due to the popularity of Ewan McGregor, and the trend towards Gaelic names in general.  Pronunciation is YOO-un.

(f) Winnie - English for “holy peacemaking, gentle friend“. This pet form of such names as Winifred and Edwina and Gwendolyn has loads of vintage charm, a la Millie and Maisie, with a decidedly winning vibe. 

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Callum - Scottish for “dove”.  Callum, a charming Scottish boys' name just beginning to be heard in this country but high on the list in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, is worth consideration as a less popular alternative to Colin and Caleb, etc.  Callum was popular among early Christians because the dove was a symbol of purity, peace and the Holy Spirit.  St. Columba was one of the most influential of the early Celtic saints.

(f) Isolde - Welsh for “ice ruler”. Now that Tristan has been rediscovered, maybe it's time for his fabled lover in the Arthurian romances and Wagnerian opera, a beautiful Irish princess, to be brought back into the light as well.  This would make an artistic and romantic choice, as the medieval heroine is seen as a symbol of undying--if unhappy--love.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Garrison - English for “son of Garret”.  As Harrison is to Harry, Garrison is to Gary: both of the longer versions sound more modern and appealing. 

(f) Romilly - English for “man of Rome”. Originally a male name springing from the Roman twin Romulus, this attractively dainty  name was introduced to the English-speaking world by painter Augustus John who used it for his son.  Romilly John became Admiral of the Fleet in England. A French surname from the twelfth century on, it's more recently and more appropriately been heard as a girls' name; Emma Thompson, for example,  used Romilly as her daughter Gaia's middle name.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Valerian - Latin for “strength, health”. This name of a Roman emperor and of a sedating plant doesn't have much of a baby name future, unless you just like its strong, rhythmic sound. 

(f) Verena - Latin for “integrity”. St. Verena was a third century nurse; Verena Tarrant is a beautiful red-haired  character in the Henry James novel The Bostonians.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Ivo - German for “yew wood, archer”.  Ivo is an unusual, catchy name with the energetic impact of all names ending in 'o'. Hardly heard in the U.S., it is used a bit more frequently in England, as is the related Ivor, a favorite of such novelists as Evelyn Waugh and P.G. Wodehouse. Ivo is currently most popular in the Netherlands.

(f) Zelie - Rhymes with keely,  French short form of Azalea, Zelia, or Solene.  There are many conflicting theories about the origins of the cute, popular French name Zelie.  The one certainty is that Zelie is rising through the ranks in France but is nearly unknown -- though eminently usable -- in the English-speaking world.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Orion - Greek mythology name.  Orion is a rising star, with both mythical and celestial overtones.   Heard sporadically in the late nineteenth century, it burst on the scene in full force in 1994 and has been shooting upwards ever since: it's now at Number 399.  The Greek mythological Orion was the legendary hunter who pursued the seven daughters of Atlas, was slain by the goddess Artemis, and then placed as one of the brightest constellations in the night sky by Zeus.

(f) Ariel - Hebrew for “lion of god”. Ariel is a biblical name, seen there as the messenger of Ezra, and also used as a symbolic name for the city of Jerusalem, while Shakespeare used it for a (male) sprite in The Tempest. For girls, Ariel enjoyed a considerable burst of popularity with the 1989 release of Disney's The Little Mermaid: by 1991 it had reached Number 66. Although its wave has crested, Ariel is still a name any little girl would love. It is also associated with the poetry of Sylvia Plath and with the Chilean-American writer Ariel Dorfman. The popular historian Ariel Durant was born Ida Ariel Ethel.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Remy - French from Latin for “oarsman”.

(f) Rilla - German for “small brook”. Bertha Marilla "Rilla" Blythe, main character in "Rilla of Ingleside" by L.M. Montgomery.

[aravisrose]

Baby Name of the Day:

(m) Silyen - Cornish variation of Welsh name Sulien meaning “sun born”.  Pronounced 'SEEL-ee-en'; very old name. Sulicena is an earlier feminine form found on a Roman-era tombstone.  Said to be the name of the most learned man in ancient Wales, in this country it would be open to mispronunciation, making it rhyme with Julien.        

(f) Elowen - Cornish for “elm”. Elowen is a lovely nature name from Cornwell that can be used for girls or boys.  Not heard much before the twentieth century, when the Cornish language was revived, it blends well with the Welsh 'wen'-ending names and the trendy El-beginning names, and has a pleasant, evocative sound.  Elowen does not have the long history of other Cornish names: it was officially recognized under the European charter as recently as 2002.