Archer

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in anything in so long! I took a break for a little while.

Meaning: “Bow”
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: AHR-chur
Origin: Old French
Other forms of the name: N/A

The word archer comes from the Old French archier, which came from the Latin arcus which meant “bow”. As a name, it is getting more and more use, ranking #550 in 2010 for the US.

Archery is used for sport today, but in history it has been used as a weapon in warfare and for hunting. After the invention of firearms, the use of bows became almost extinct. In the 18th century archery became a sport for the English gentry, and notably it was a good sport for women, who could still be seen as “feminine” and show off their femininity by playing.  There are many famous archers in mythology, from twins Artemis and Apollo, to Robin Hood. People who hunt using bows are much more skilled than those who hunt using guns. They must get much closer to the prey for it to be a humane kill.

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Freya

Meaning: “Lady”
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: FRAY-uh
Origin: Norse
Other forms of the name: Freyja, Freja, Frea, Frøya, Frey (male), Freyr (male)

Freya is the Norse Goddess of love, beauty, fetility, war, death and much more. She is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, has a chariot drawn by two cats, and has a cloak of falcon feathers. She has two daughters with Óðr, Hnoss and Gersemi. Freya rules the afterlife field Fólkvangr where half of the fallen warriors go, while the other half go to Odin’s hall, Valhalla.

She is often invoked for help with love and fertility problems. Her name may come from the Germanic Frau. The name Freya has become popular in recent years, it currently ranks #19 in the UK, but still doesn’t rank in the US.

Tristan

 

"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.

Philip

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.

Basil

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.

Sacnite

Meaning: “White flower”
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: SAHS-nee-teh
Origin: Mayan
Other forms of the name: N/A

I found this interesting name and thought it was lovely. I can’t find much on it other than it’s origin and meaning, so I’ll tell you a bit about the mythology of white flowers.

White flowers are symbols of death and purity, The Greeks and Romans have their own tells about how white roses came to be; In Greek mythology when Chronos cut off Ouranus’ genitals and it fell to the ocean, Aphrodite was born of the foam of the ocean and when it touched the shores, white roses bloomed there. In Roman Mythology it states that Venus was in love with Adonis, and when he died her tears fell to the earth and they formed into beautiful white roses.

To dream of white flowers is supposed to be an omen of death; Lilies are associated with chastity and virtue, they are common at funerals and symoblizes that the soul of the dead has been given restored innocence in death. Another story about the lily is that the Roman Goddess Juno was breastfeeding her son Heracles and some milk fell and created the milky way, the rest of the milk fell and created the white lily.

Janus

A bust of Janus

Meaning: “Archway”
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: JAYN-us
Origin: Latin
Other forms of the name: Ianus

An unusual name for a somewhat unusual Roman God. Janus is the God of beginnings and endings, the future and the past, gates, doors, and time. He is usually depicted with two faces each facing a different direction, as he looks to the past and the future. The month of January was named after him.

He was apparently welcomed by Saturn as a guest and eventually shared his kingdom with him. He was supposed to be wise and avuncular though he eventually ended up raping the nymph Cranaë who he made the Goddess of hinges thus making her Cardea.

Kupala

Meaning: “To bathe”
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: koo-PAH-lah
Origin: Possibly Russian
Other forms of the name: Kupalo

Kupala is the Slavic Goddess of water, herbs, magic, midsummer and sex. She is the Water Mother and is also associated with flowers and trees. Kupala has a festival on the day of the summer solstice in which her followers would bath in rivers or springs or even jump through fires to purify themselves. They would also make offerings of flowers which they would set adrift in the rivers.

After Christianity came into the picture, her festival became associated with John the Baptist aka Ivan Kupala.

Hyacinth

"Apollo and Hyacinth" by Alexander Alexeyevich

Meaning: N/A
Gender: Unisex
Pronunciation: HYE-uh-sinth
Origin: Greek, English
Other forms of the name: Hyacinthus, Hyacinthe, Hyakinthos, Jacinto, Jacenty, Giacinto

I know. Right now you’re thinking, “Hyacinth? For a boy?” Well I say, who ever made it a rule that flower names were to be only used for girls? This name could be used for either gender. The namesake we’re talking about today is Hyacinth, or Hyacinthus, from Greek mythology.

Hyacinth was a beautiful male Spartan who was loved by the God Apollo. He loved playing sports too, so one day Apollo and Hyacinth decided to play discus. Apollo sent the discus flying into the air, and Hyacinth went to catch it to impress Apollo, unfortunately it hit him in the head and killed him. Apollo was heartbroken. He would not allow Hades to take him to the Underworld so instead he turned him into a beautiful flower. His tears supposedly stained the flower with ai, ai, the sign of his grief. Another version tells that the West Wind, Zephyr, was also enamoured with Hyacinth though Hyacinth preferred Apollo. This angered Zephyr so he manipulated the wind so that it would strike Hyacinth. There is debate that the flower is actually an iris or larkspur, though you’ll have to decide for yourself.

Tiamat

Meaning: “Sea”
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: TEE-a-maht
Origin: Akkadian
Other forms of the names: N/A

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. People born under the Dragon are strong, proud, self-assured, passionate, artistic and generous. Unfortunately they are also violent, demanding, tactless, and brash. I thought it would be the perfect time to profile a name having to do with the mythical creature.

So today we are looking at Tiamat. Tiamat is the Babylonian personification of the sea. She appears as a huge dragon and gave birth to the first generation of Gods. Unfortunately she later made war upon them which ended in her death at the hands of her grandson, the storm God Marduk. From her body which had been cut into two, they created the heavens and Earth.

Dragons are a fascinating subject. Western dragons are usually depicted as evil while Eastern dragons are more peaceful. They are known for their love of jewels and usually keep a large stash in their dens. According to the “New Testament” the Devil took on the form of a red dragon with seven heads and ten horns in his battle with the archangel Michael. This is probably where we got the whole red with a pitchfork and tail association the Devil has. Usually the typical dragon is depicted as reptilian with horns and wings and four legs. However there is also a wyvern which has only two front legs. Wyverns are common as mascots or on coat of arms in Britain. 

Happy New Year!