Meaning: N/A Gender: Female Pronunciation: I think PRA-zil-uh or possibly PRAX-il-uh Origin: Greek Other forms of the name: Possibly Priscilla
I really cannot find anything on the name Praxilla, or the pronunciation, so I’m winging this thing. Praxilla of Sicyon was a lyric poet from 5th century Greece. She was very popular in her day and not much of her work survived. She was named one of the nine earthly muses by Antipater of Thessalonica, along with Sappho.
Later on her poetry fell out of favor, many crictized her for mentioning cucumbers along with the sun and moon. In one of her hymns Adonis is asked “What is the most beautiful thing you left behind?” by some of the underworld dwellers, he replies:
“Finest of all the things I have left is the light of the sun, Next to that the brilliant stars and the face of the moon, Cucumbers in their season, too, and apples and pears.”
Some people think cucumbers were supposed to be used as a pun to mention her place of birth; in Greek cucumber is “sicyos”. Not much else is known about Praxilla, if anybody has any information on the name, please let me know.
A portrait of Marie Antoinette at thirteen by Joseph Ducreux
I have a weird fascination with the ill-fated Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. I think it is so interesting to hear all the different opinions about her. Here I have listed the names of some of Marie Antoinette’s family.
Marie was born to Empress Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina and Emperor Francis Stephen I in November of 1775 in Vienna, Austria.
She had sixteen siblings including herself:
Maria Elisabeth Amalia Antonia Josepha Gabriele Johanna Agathe – Dead at age three. Maria Anna Josepha Antonia - The oldest surviving daughter. She was called “Marianna”. Maria Carolina Ernestina Antonia Johanna Josepha - Dead at one. Joseph Benedikt Anton Michael Adam II - The oldest son. Maria Christina Johanna Josepha Antonia - The fourth daughter. She was called “Mimi”. Maria Elisabeth Josepha - Considered the most beautiful out of the daughters, until she developed smallpox which scarred her face. Charles Joseph - The favorite of Maria and Joseph. He died shortly before his sixteenth birthday. Maria Amalia Josepha Johanna Antonia - The eigth child. Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard II - The third son, known simply as Leopold II. Maria Carolina - The ninth child. She was named after her deceased sister and died shortly after being baptized. Maria Johanna Gabriela Josepha Antonia - She died of smallpox when she was only twelve. Maria Josepha Gabriela Johanna Antonia Anna - She was the ninth but sixth surviving daughter. She died of smallpox at sixteen. Maria Carolina Louise Josepha Johanna Antonia - The thirteenth and tenth surviving child. Ferdinand Karl Anton Joseph Johann Stanislaus - The fourth son. Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna - Marie Antoinette herself. She was the fifteenth child. Maximilian Francis - The last child.
Marie went on to marry King Louis XVI or Louis-Auguste at the age of thirteen. He was only fourteen.
They had four children:
Marie Thérèse Charlotte - Nicknamed “Mousseline” by Marie.
Louis Joseph Xavier François
Louis-Charles - Known as “Charles”. He died when he was ten. Marie Sophie Hélène Béatrice - Known as “Sophie”. She died when she was eleven months old.
Meaning: N/A Gender: Unisex Pronunciation: MAIR-ee-ehn Origin: English Other forms of the name: Marianne, Marion, Marjan, Mairwen
Marian is a lovely name, probably my favorite spelling of the name (aside from Marianne). The most famous bearer of this name is probably Maid Marian, the legendary Robin Hood’s love. Maid Marian was not in the earliest versions of the Robin Hood tale, but he did love a woman named Clorinda; later on Clorinda was used as Marian as an alias.
Marian hasn’t been on US name list since 1992, which would make it uncommon and ripe for a comeback.
The famous Marian we’re talking about today is Marian Anderson. Marian was a famous contralto and one of the most loved singers of the Twentieth century. Even though she was very well-known and loved, that did not stop the prejudice. She was often denied to sing in certain hotels and even eat at some restaurants. Albert Einstein often allowed her to stay with him and hosted her concerts at his home.
In 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution denied Marian the right to perform in front of an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. In 1939 Washington was a segregated city and black audience members were upset that they had to sit in the back of the hall. Then The District of Columbia Board of Education denied her permission to perform in a white school’s auditorium. Because of this Eleanor Roosevelt and thousands of other members of the Daughters of the American Revolution, resigned.
The Roosevelt’s, Walter White, and Marian’s manager, Sol Hurok, after some persuasion, arranged for Marian to perform an open air concert in front of an integrated crowd on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She performed “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” on Easter Sunday to a crowd of more than 75,000 people of all colors and was a big hit on the radio.
During World War II Marian often sung for the troops in hospitals and bases, and eventually married Orpheus H. Fisher. In 1955 Marian was the first African-American to perform with the Metropolitan Opera. She said of the night:
“The curtain rose on the second scene and I was there on stage, mixing the witch’s brew. I trembled, and when the audience applauded and applauded before I could sing a note, I felt myself tightening into a knot.”
Here is a short video of some of her famous performance at the Lincoln Memorial:
Meaning: “Strong, vigourous, healthy” Gender: Unisex Pronunciation: VAL-ehn-tien Origin: Latin Other forms of the name: Valentinus, Valentin, Valentino, Valent, Valentina (girl), Folant
Happy St. Valentine’s!
Valentine comes from the Roman family name, Valentinus, which comes from the Latin valent. Valentine’s is a holiday celebrating a few different Christian Saints. It was first associated with romance in the middle ages by Geoffrey Chaucer and friends; Geoffrey wrote in his poem “Parlement of Foules”:
“For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.”
["For this was Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]
Later on it became a day in which lovers would confess their feelings for eachother and give flowers, cards, and sweets. The little poem we know today goes like this:
“The rose is red, the violet’s blue, The honey’s sweet, and so are you. Thou art my love and I am thine; I drew thee to my Valentine: The lot was cast and then I drew, And Fortune said it shou’d be you.”
The whole “roses are red, violets are blue” bit goes all the way back to Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”:
“She bath’d with roses red, and violets blew, And all the sweetest flowres, that in the forrest grew.”
"La Muerte de Tristán e Isolda" by Rogelio de Egusquiza
Meaning: “Sad”, “Tumult” Gender: Male Pronunciation: TRIS-ten, trees-TAWN Origin: Latin, Old French Other forms of the name: Drystan, Tristram, Tristen, Tristin, Triston, Drustan, Tristão, Tristán, Trista (female)
The first of my Valentine names. Many people probably know the story of Tristan and Isolde; it was made into a movie starring James Franco and Sophia Myles in 2006.
The story goes that the young Knight Tristan goes to Ireland to fetch Princess Isolde for his Uncle, King Mark, to marry. Along the way the two ingest a love potion that causes them to fall deeply in love with one another. Different stories tell different reasons for the purpose of the love potion, some say that the person who made the potion instructed Isolde to give it to King Mark but she gives it to Tristan instead; others say they ingested it accidentally. Eventually Isolde marries King Mark, but because of the potion Tristan and Isolde seek out each other and have an affair.
The King’s advisors continuously try to have the pair tried for adultery, but they use tricks to keep of the appearance of innocence. Eventually King Mark finds out and resolves to have them punished. There are two different endings to this story.
The first is that Tristan it to be hung at the gallows, and Isolde is to be burned at the stake. However Isolde is instead made to stay in a leper colony. Tristan escapes from the gallows by jumping off of a chapel and saves Isolde. The two run away but are eventually discovered by King Mark. They come to an understanding that Isolde will be spared and so will Tristan if he leaves the country. So he does and marries Iseult of the White Hands, because of her name (which is a form of Isolde) and her beauty.
The other ending states that Tristan is wounded by a poisoned lance while trying to rescue some women and asks his Kahedin to get Isolde as he knows she is the only one who can heal him. He tells Kahedin to put white sails on his ship if has Isolde with him, and black sails if he does not. Tristan’s jealous wife lies to him and tells him that the sails are black and he dies from grief. Isolde arrives to find him dead and dies over his dead body. Two trees, a hazel and a honeysuckle grow on their graves and intertwine their branches. Many times King Mark tries to have the branches cut away, but they always grow back.
I was very surprised at the amount of replies I got to the last game and enjoyed reading all of the responses greatly. Since it did considerably well I thought to continue doing the name games.
For boys the first name must be a name that is more commonly used for girls, like Ruby or Ariel, and the middle name has to be from an animated film.
For girls the first name has to be something commonly used in perfumes or essential oils, like Orange, Cinnamon, or Lavender, and the middle name must be the name of a famous Queen or Empress, real or legendary.
My answers: Juniper Haku and Vanilla Jitō.
WINNERS: Bergamot Poppaea and Avalon Dash 2nd Place: Magnolia Antoinette and Greer Cogsworth
Meaning: “Friend of horses” Gender: Male Pronunciation: FIL-ip, FEE-lip Origin: Greek Other forms of the name: Phillip, Filip, Filippus, Philippos, Philippe, Vilppu, Felipe, Philippa (girl)
A charming and classic name that I think is very handsome, and has the adorable nickname of Pip! It currently ranks #402 in the US so it’s not too common but not too unusual either.
The name Philip comes from the Greek elements philos which means “friend” and hippos which meant “horse”. Six Kings of France and five of Spain were bearers of this name, and so were five Kings of Macedonia. The Philippines were in fact named after one of the Kings of Spain. There are many other bearers too. There is Philip “Pip” Pirrip from Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations”, the Prince from Sleeping Beauty is named Philip, and recently in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” there was a missionary named Philip Swift. Philip has appeared on the US’s most popular names since 1880 and hasn’t not ranked since then.
I know some people have said how they dislike the meaning of Philippa/Philip but I personally think it is lovely. I love names with some connection to animals or plants, and this one has a great meaning and has a great sound. Horses are graceful and strong animals and without them we would have not accomplished a lot of things today. Horses were invaluable to different tribes of people, they were used for hunting, food, and trading and of course, they helped us get around. Riding a horse and having a special connection with one is incredible, you feel free and excited and scared. Once you’ve ridden you can see why there is so much mysticism surrounding these majestic creatures. People have probably worshipped horses since the Bronze Age. Horses are seen as divine creatures and are sometimes a sacred animal associated with a certain deity.
This name is a nice option for people who are into classic names, names from literature, and horse lovers.
Meaning: “King” Gender: Male Pronunciation: BAY-zil or BAH-zil Origin: Greek Other forms of the name: Basile, Vasili, Basilius, Wasyl
Basil comes from the Greek basileus which means “King” and is known as the “king of herbs”; it is a masculine fire herb that is of the planet Mars. It is a staple of Italian cooking and is also used in Northeast Asian cuisine. The most common type of basil is called “sweet basil”. There is also Holy Basil and Lemon Basil, which is used more commonly in Asian food, and African Blue Basil.
In lore basil was said to protect against the venom of a basilisk, a mythological snake known for its deadly stare. In Indian mythology the God Krishna’s consort, Lakshmi, is said to take on the form of Holy Basil, or “tulsi”. Tulsi is worshipped throughout India and is a sacred plant. When someone is dying the petals of the tulsi are mixed with water and fed to them to lift their souls to heaven.
Basil last appeared in US popularity list in 1972 when it ranked #999 so it is fairly rare, a plus for many of us. Probably the most famous Basil is Basil Rathbone, known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in fourteen movies with Nigel Bruce.
Meaning: “Frenchman” Gender: Male (Occasionally used for girls, though it is usually spelled Frances) Pronunciation: FRAN-ses Origin: English Other forms of the name: Frances, Francisco, Franciscus, François, Francisque
Frances has seen a revival for girls, but what about Francis for boys? I personally like it, it has the nicknames Frank or Frankie which make it a bit more masculine for those who prefer less feminine names for their boys.
Francis comes from the Latin names Franciscus which meant, “Frenchman”. There are many namesakes to choose from, like F. Scott Fitzgerald (the “F” stood for Francis), director Francis Ford Coppola, Francis “Frank” Sinatra, and St. Francis of Assisi who was actually Giovanni.
Francis II was a King of Germany and a Holy Roman Emperor of Austria, among other countries. He was born Franz Joseph Karl in 1768 to Leopold II, another Emperor, and his wife Maria Luisa of Spain, in Florence, Italy where his father was Grand Duke. Eventually he was sent to the Imperial Court in Vienna where he was educated by his uncle, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. His education there was rough as his uncle thought of him as know more than a soft spoiled boy, but still Francis looked up his uncle. After that he was sent to a military regiment in Hungary. His uncle died in 1790 his father became Emperor, though he was stressed during his reign and became ill, passing away in 1792.
Francis became Emperor a little past his twenty-fourth birthday. He did not have a good relationship with France (his aunt was Marie Antoinette, though he barely knew her). Napoleon was always a threat to him until he led Austria into the French Revolutionary Wars. He was eventually defeated by Napoleon and he abdicated the throne so he was only Emperor instead of Holy Roman Emperor. He attacked France again but this time he was forced to be an ally to Napoleon and even ended up marrying his daughter, Marie Louise, to Napoleon. For the fourth time Austria turned against France with the help of others and this time they won. He was devoted to his family and once told his son Ferdinand, “Preserve unity in the family and regard it as one of the highest goods.” Forty-three years and a day after his father’s death he died of a fever surrounded by his family.
Once again the brides are on the right and the grooms are on the left!
Obelia to Primas
Mae Belle to Oscar
Eloise to Clarence
Lillie to Nolie
Harriet to Rufus
Alice to Green
Emma to Odom
Tabby to Redeemer
Cornelia to Hyman
Cora to Gilmore
Joe to Boss
Elizabeth to Zachariah
Vanata to Jim
Bertha to Napoleon
Georgie to Hickman
Cora to Alurunzy
Lucretia to Elijah
Adeline to Jordon
Belle to Emory
Vicie to Edgar
Caroline to Julius
Lovie to Marion
Beula Pearl to Jesse
Carrie to Kirby
Amanda to Lipscomb
Maybell to Weaver
Leuvenia to Lafayette
Eulalia to R.L.
Prizanna to Jas
Ruthie to Sank
Ludie to Ovid
Phoebe to J.M.
Jane to Sunday
Epie to Theadore
Mit to Pearl
Arbella to Floyd
Rosa to Bias
Alice to Pleas
Jettie to Grover
Sarah to Dock
Ottie to Alvis
Lissa to Pen
Mary to Feeling
Syneanthie to Ben
Stella to Cloud
Georgia to Comma
Mollie to Pet
Ethel Cloudia to Dennis
Artie to John
Bettie to Bertley
Jessie to Zill
Hannis to T.J.
Emma Novella to Jordon
Audrey to Cooper
Wordie to Bose
Eurellian to Don
Alberta to Perry
Nora to Abe
Texanna to Narcis
Muriel to Leon
Penna to Dave
Fronnie to Bryan
Selettie to J.N.
Creasy to Algus
