Let's Talk Names...
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Today, I want to take some time to explore names. I for one am a devout lover of names. As a writer, I think that they are so key to a character's...character; who they are is rooted in their name. It's like when you try to imagine yourself with some other name than the one you've got, and it just sounds weird!! Almost as if names are connected to personality. My parents were going to name me...drum roll please...Margaret. Yep. So...not that much different than my name. Yet, my name, Meaghan, can be shortened to Meg, or Meggie. Now, think of Margaret...Mag, or Maggie. It's not that much different , they both just have a different sort of...tanginess to them.
Moving on.
For as long as we can recollect, people have had names. Bizarre names, funny names, elegant names, changed names, unique names. There is not one person (ok, maybe there is...but just roll with me, please) on this earth who doesn't have a name. The teaching pastor at my church said once, that you give your kids names just so then they will know who's calling them. That's really all that they are. Or is that all, or just a glimpse into the intricacy of a name?
During slavery, slave owners would strip 'their' slaves of their own names and assign them biblical or classical names, including short nicknames. This shows that names are defining of who we are. Later on, when slavery was abolished the freed-slaves changed their names to more unique and individual names, adapting their nicknames and such by adding prefixes and suffixes in order to individualize their names and ultimately establish their own identities.
Other cultures assign names: using birth order, or references to nature, a horoscope or according to their religion.
Well, I for one chose names (for characters in novels...I am not having children...) purely for their sound and look. For instance I love the name Juniper. Which according to behindthename.com comes from the English word for the type of tree, derived ultimately from Latin juniperus. Isn't that lovely! Another website says that it is taken from the name of a small evergreen shrub bearing berries used in flavouring gin. Well, at least you could be justified in calling her Ginny as a nickname!!! MIND BOMB: the Italian version of Juniper is Ginevra!!!! Not so out of the woods as it would seem.
I have this baby name book called The Baby Name Wizard., it's really cool. It gives the name, pairs it up with suitable sister and brother names, and explains the "history" of the name.
I'll give you an example;
-Any Anne of Green Gables fans out there?-
Marilla (mah-RIL-e)
Popularity: Rare
Style: Lacy and Lissome, Ladies and Gentleman,
Nicknames: Rilla
Variants: Amarilla, Marillis,
Sisters: Diantha, Amalia, Marietta, Jessamyn, Adelina,
Brothers: Cyrus, Mahlon, Ellis, Evert, Levi,
*Back in the 19th century you were more likely to meet a Marilla than a Marissa. That fact will sound natural to fans of Anne of the Green Gables, who associate the name with beloved Marilla Cuthbert. Marilla sounds perfectly contemporary today, with a lively sweetness. It does rhyme with gorilla, though.
So there you have it. I have to admit...I starred that one in my book. It sounds so sweet and soft. But it might be just because of Marilla Cuthbert...and it does rhyme with gorilla....kids can be so mean...
That's all for today...if there's anyone listening...feel free to let me know what names are your favourite, and if you want me to look them up in my book...I will (this is fun)!!!!
See you sometime soon!!!
Keep collecting the little bits of lavender. (I see that smile!!!)
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