I once wrote an article called What's Your Name? and I loved hearing everyone's name and where everyone's name came from. That was long ago and now I feel like asking the question. Where did you get your name? Who were you named after? Did you change your name?
I was named Maria Ana by my mother. I absolutely love my name. My father put both the names together early and named me Mariana and that's what I go by. Every now and then, I wonder where that extra A goes - maybe it's the artist in me? Who knows.
Some of us look like our names. I think I do. I can't imagine being named Susie or any of those wonderful cute names. I do like names that end in A. I like serious Old World names. Some of us grow into our names. What's Yours? Thank you. Salud.
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Comments: 73
My adoptive father's name was William and I was named for him. I was told that my middle name came from the fact I was given up for adoption at a Catholic hospital and the nuns called all the baby girls Mary. When I finally found my birth family a few years ago, I learned that my birth mom had always called me "Baby Mary Anne". So don't really know if my adopted parents used that suggested name or took the one used by the nuns. Either way, it turned out the same!
These days, I have several friends named Judy. So the boss (whose wife's name is also Judy) began calling me JGill - and now our Board of Directors calls me that. In High School I was Hey Jude. Now in my 50's, I am finding myself using "Judith" more and more.
A funny aside...I remember very clearly the day I met another girl with MY name. I was 4 years old...walking through all the yards to visit a friend. I ran into this girl and we asked each other our names. I was incredulous....up to that point in my young life I had not come across 2 people who had the same name. I was angry, but she was older. I thought I was going to have to get a new name. = /
Question.... How do you pronounce the first "A" in your name? When I see your name, I hear it with a more Spanish pronunciation. So - hard A or soft A?
it is pronounced Kathleen. Imagine in kindergarden having a teacher tell you that your name is spelled wrong
I am German and Irish but when researching my name it was interesting to find all of the origins of Susan and Marie I publish under Susan Marie because I am between people right now, as in my maiden and married names. One German the other Austrian.
The Austrian name was shortened when coming to the States and the spelling changed and my in - laws are the only ones who kept the original spelling and my Irish I am in the process of researching and have yet to research my German side but my name alone --> Susan Marie bears a lot of meaning.
Susan alone is from Mid Egypt and means "lotus flower" (I study Buddhism and Hindu also) in Egypt it is derived from Susanna.
In Persia, Susan means Lily (which is the more known version (and pronounced as
Sausan. This is also Hebrew --> Susannah - coming from a city in Persia called Susa.
Shusan is the Persian name for lily.
In French I am Suzanne, Susanne in German, Shoshana in Hebrew, Kukana In Hawaii, ZsaZsa in Hungary, Susanna in Italy, Xuxa in Latin, Zuzanna in Polish, Susana In Portuguese and Spanish.
In many of the first art forms, Mother Mary was often pictured with a lily. The name Marie is a form of Mary (as in Mother Mary) and you will see her often holding a lily in all art.
My name --> Susan has gone on to represent the fleur-de-lis meaning "flower of the lily", which is also is the coat of arms for many countries and is related to the origins of Mary and the bloodline of Jesus, and the Holy Trinity.
So I guess that makes me doubly blessed, eh?
( I found all of this while searching wikipedia)
By studying the German version you can come to its meaning viz "peaceful ruler".
I've strong Celtic blood and woud've loved a name that strongly celebrated my Celtic origin ...but you know what...I've never found that's "me".
My family name - Goryacheva - is from the Russian adjective "goryachii" (m.)/ "goryachaya" (f.), what means "hot"! Fits well with my first name - and with my character as well. :-) True, from what I got, some people derive this family name from the Russian "gore", with the accentuation on "o" - i.e. "unhappiness", "bad fortune", etc. Now I wonder what etymology is more correct... hopefully, the first one. :-) I definitely like it more, anyway.
And my full name is Svetlana Alexandrovna (i.e. Alexander's daughter) Goryacheva. We Russians are one of a few nations who still use father's name instead of second name. But, even though I'm a feminist, I feel myself quite comfortable with it. :-) After all, I loved my father - he has passed away two years ago - and I'm proud to bear his name as well as his family name. I want to keep them both even after marrying - if I ever marry, that is. :-)
Love and blessings in abundance - S.
For my moniker, that came from my mom. I changed the spelling from mini to minnie when I was around 11. I was short and everybody would call me a mini mini!! Now Im a decent 5' 5" . I like my Minnie name far better than the other one..Minakshi. So Im minnie to all my friends..even at Gather. Minakshi has been relegated to the copyright signs..and for my husband :P!
Thank you for asking this, Mariana. This is a very interesting subject.
Anyway, that is what my father chose for me and he loved it as a traditional name.
I hate it when people call me Dalai or Dalah though!
It also comes in handy to have a gender neutral name. 25 years ago, trying to break into what was then a very male dominated business (technology), the 'male' name allowed me to get my foot in the door and get interviews I might not otherwise have gotten. My sister and I were both named (by our older sisters) after a much loved aunt, who remained family long after our uncle divorced her.
A more interesting question would be, if YOU could choose your name, what would it be?
Salud.brb
Judy - well, if you would have grown up in the South, your name would be Judylee and that would have been it! Thanks for that info - I remember lots of Judy's growing up and seems most had red hair.
Hi Kathline - so nice to see you - I like unusual spellings!
***Susan*** I love Susan Marie - and I truly appreciate all the time you took to write out that very interesting history of the name Susan - the nerve of me for saying cutesy name, huh. It does hold significant meaning and you know the fleur de lis is the New Orleans crest. Thanks so much!
Fred, somehow your name fits you perfectly. You seem to be a peaceful and sweet man. I don't think too many folks misspell Fred! Thanks for commenting.
Dan, has a good question - can anyone come up with a good answer? Thanks Dan. That would make an interesting article.
Robb, it is drastic but I've learned that sometimes you have to go drastic - but remember some folks are stuck in their ways and refuse to learn a new name for an old friend!
After all, I loved my father - he has passed away two years ago - and I'm proud to bear his name as well as his family name. I want to keep them both even after marrying - if I ever marry, that is. :-) Svetlana, you'll marry a wonderful man who will respect your wishes and I think it's wonderful how you described the origins of your name. It's a beautiful name and I wasn't aware of the name of the father as a second name. I think names should be passed down; after all, you are part of your father and carrying his name is a tribute. I have kept my maiden name which is Titus and plan to no matter how many times I marry lol. Thank you Svetlana - as you know I love the name Ana! (my beloved Mother's name).
More later - I need to go visit yall! Salud.
My name used to be Wendy Ann and I thought it was such a boring name. Since my childhood I've changed my view and wish I was back to being a Wendy. I love my current middle name,(Ardena) as it is a family name; the name of a great grandmother I never got the chance to meet.
When I was 9 years old I was adopted and had the option of changing my first and middle names, as my last name was going to change anyway. Since I was 9 years old I have been in contact with 16 other poeple named Melissa and have only known 3 other Wendys. Missing my old name has made me want to make a reconnection to one of my favorite cartoon characters, Wendy Witch.
Miz Amelie - it's so good to see you again as I've missed you! How's your dad? Did he ever get his work published or sent to magazines or whatever? He's such a good writer as you are. Thanks again for telling us the origins of your Pen name which is lovely. Salud.
It also comes in handy to have a gender neutral name. 25 years ago, trying to break into what was then a very male dominated business (technology), the 'male' name allowed me to get my foot in the door and get interviews I might not otherwise have gotten. My sister and I were both named (by our older sisters) after a much loved aunt, who remained family long after our uncle divorced her.
A more interesting question would be, if YOU could choose your name, what would it be?
Pati, Patti, Patricia - thanks so much for commenting - I think my name would be Maria Ana or Mariana - same! It is a good question though! Thanks! SAlud.
In my cyber life, Ron is short for "Erroneous".
I hated my name as a child, no one knew how to pronounce it nor did they know how I spelled it. To this day seniors argue with me that it's spelled wrongfor a feminine name, but that's how it was spelled my two aunts not related and that's how my parents spelled it. It didn't help that when I was a child there was a cartoon sea-serpent named Cecil that I got teased about all of the time. However, today,since I've only known my two Aunt Cecile's, and no one else by that name - I'm proud of my name and am never confused with anyone else since there's only one of me! It also says a lot for my Dad and his sister, that he chose to name me after her, and I feel bonded to her even though she died before I was even thought of.
My middle name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth was my mother's best friend back then and she was killed by a stalker a long time ago. :( I don't know much about Elizabeth other than the fact that my Mom did not keep in touch with her widow.
My maiden name is Silver. Just a typical Jewish name I guess (it being a color)...it comes from my Russian side.
My married name is Graves...yep, there's a family crest involved and a LONG family history here in the US. It's nice to be part of the family with ancestors that are in the history books(or at least local lore here in MA). There was even a Graves that saved the village from the flood wayyy back.
My maiden name is Scottish, of the Frazer clan centered around Ediburgh. Houston, my married name, is also Scottish, from the MacDonalds, farther south.
My middle name is Putnam. My paternal grandmother believed I was a descendant of General Putnam of the Revolutionary War.
Alas, the general's performance at the Battle of Bunker Hill (Boston, MA) was a bit less than stellar!
Cheers,
Colonel Possum
I actually like my name - Tonia Samantha - and am so very pleased that my parents got Amaryllis Donella out of the way with my sister (sorry, Papa, but what were you thinking?!?). Either way, I am definitely more of a Tonia, and my sister changed her name when she was a teenager. Somewhere, Antonia plays into things (perhaps my baptismal name?) but the only person who ever called me that was my paternal grandfather.
Very interesting conversation you've started here Mariana.
Carol is my middle name, named after my godmother. I guess it sounded good with Roxanne....I always wanted it spelled with an e at the end.
Marie is my confirmation name. My maternal great grandmother was Antonia Marie, my paternal grandmother was Maria, my Aunt Rose's middle name was Marie, it is my mother's middle name...the list goes on forever. It is a family name. HOWEVER, when I was 4, my mother explained to me that when I made my confirmation, I would get another middle name. I told her that I wanted Marie. She thought that it was because of my niece having Marie as her middle name and that it was Nanny's middle name too. Ummmm, not exactly. To this day, I think it would break her heart to know that I chose my confirmation name because of Elvis' song, "Marie's The Name (of His Latest Flame)"!
Names have always been my fascination.
Rose or Rosa is a beautiful name - it suits you! Rose Marie is beautiful as well! Thank you.
Charles - well, I love the name Charley - named my dog that - lots of Charles are named Chuck or Chad too! nice name.
My name is Dorine, which my maternal-maternal great-grandmother thought she'd invented in 1897 when my grandmother was born. However, the name appears in thee work of Moliere, and my great-grandmother ws well-educated, so it may be that she had read it and it stuck somewhwere in her subconscious. Anyway, now there are 5 generations of us. BTW, note that it i DORINE, **not** DOREEN!!!!! People insisting otherwise really annoy me. I once "met" somebody sharing the name who was not a relative. Long ago, in the old days of 12k modems when one's email depended on having a university bitnet account (remember bitnet?--before the www was invented) running on a VM computer, I belonged to a language teachers' group where we discussed academic and classroom issues. Got a private email from a Spanish teacher in Netherlands who thought she was the only Dorine in the whole world until she saw one of my postings. And I thought all the other Dorines were related to me! My middle name is for my other grandmother, but it's terrible and I never use it and rarely even think about it.
My maiden name is Scottish, of the Frazer clan centered around Ediburgh. Houston, my married name, is also Scottish, from the MacDonalds, farther south.
Miz Dorine - I like your name and actually have heard of it once before but I think they spelled it Doreen - thanks so much for the long comment...names carry great meaning and one usually represents something about their name in some way. I do believe that the name stuck in your grandmother's subconscious. I'm sure you feel a kinship with the original Dorine in some way. Thanks for commenting! Salud.
After that, my mother never allowed anyone to call me anything (at least not in earshot of her), other than my proper name. But, some where along this great journey we are all on -- I met the love of my life Larry and he called 'Mo-zy' --hence my name on Gather. Until, you my dear friend started just shy of one year ago to call me Madame Mozzzzeeee. The rest as they say is history.
My first name is Leah. My mother picked it from a book she was reading by Pearl Buck. I love it because it is unique. I've only met a few others who spell it the same despite that it is from the Bible.
My middle name is Elizabeth. Elizabeth was my mother's best friend back then and she was killed by a stalker a long time ago. :( I don't know much about Elizabeth other than the fact that my Mom did not keep in touch with her widow.
My maiden name is Silver. Just a typical Jewish name I guess (it being a color)...it comes from my Russian side.
My married name is Graves...yep, there's a family crest involved and a LONG family history here in the US. It's nice to be part of the family with ancestors that are in the history books(or at least local lore here in MA). There was even a Graves that saved the village from the flood wayyy back.
This is so interesting - I hope you don't mind me cutting and pasting. So your name would be Leah Silver Graves. That's rather interesting! Salud.
Now reading this article reinforces that initial impression; even in your article, you reach out to others and show an interest in them. Gather is lucky to have you.
My name is Indian and it means "song".
We're camping out in a friend's motorhome in the parking lot all night. I'll be there Saturday by noon, I imagine. Sunday morning we'll be out of there by 8:30 A.M. for our 4x tour, but probably back again by 2 or 3 in the afternoon. You can e-mail me at cecile@explorehistoricalif.com or ccvargo@yahoo.com.
Brenda is a warrior name. Originally from the Norse word for sword, it settled into the English of the time as "mark by burning" or "branding." It was Irish and Scottish, which is my family's heritage.
Lois isn't bad when pronounced "Loh-is" but that cousin always said it "Laws". It comes from the Greek word for superior.
I always said that if I got divorced I was changing my name, so I did. I named myself Elizabeth, my favorite girl's name. Elizabeth means "God's promise" in Hebrew. My middle name was supposed to be Lauren, but was misspelled in my final decree as Laren. Laren means "the bay" or just "laurel plant."
Girly Comments & Graphics
I'm new to this site, and to many other things it seems. I feel like I'm here for a reason :)
Perhaps you kind folks could help me come up with a good name. I have some thoughts on the matter, but would like to see if what you come up with jibes with what I have in mind. ??
I am a pretty talented financier by trade, if that helps any...
Yours truly,