Katniss Everdeen; Image via Wikipedia

Did you read the Fetching Names posts on The Hermiones?  (No?  Catch up with Part I and Part II.)  To be a Hermione, a name has to be many things, but the basic definition is this: vintage, but not delicate.  Clunky, but still cool.

On the original post punkprincessphd wrote this comment: ” … let us *raise* our daughters to be Hermiones, and don’t just stop at naming them such. But to go one step further, I wouldn’t mind if my daughter was a little bit Katniss, too.”

Katniss Everdeen, heroine of The Hunger Games trilogy, has much in common with Hermione Granger.  But her name is different.  It’s modern, but not invented.  Feminine, but not obviously so.  And like The Hermiones, the name has to exude strength.  But while Miss Granger is all about intellect, Miss Everdeen relies on an almost preternatural instinct.

And so here it is: The Katnisses, bold – even heroic – names for a daughter.

Aderyn – Katniss is an underdog from a neglected part of her world.  Something about District 12 brings to mind twentieth century Wales, and it pushes Aderyn to the top of this list.  A modern Welsh name meaning bird, Aderyn is less obvious than Lark or Wren, but still a definite nature name.  Call her Addie and she’ll blend in, but Aderyn is a stand-out.

Alix – Naming your daughter Charlie or Evan doesn’t make the list, but Alix does.  A medieval French variant of Alice worn by European royals into the twentieth century and still in use in France today, Alix splits the difference between borrowing from the boys and finding a feminine name with a unisex sound.

Briar – Like Katniss and Aderyn, Briar makes for a frills-free nature name.  This one only counts, however, if you resist the urge to pair it with Rose, the original appellation of fairy tale princess Sleeping Beauty.  Disney re-christened her Aurora, so the current generation won’t see her as a member of the tiara club, but parents and grandparents might get the reference.  Still, the image of a thorn-filled briar patch fits right in with Katniss.

Clio – Full disclosure: this is my daughter’s name.  Since Clio is originally a Greek muse, she almost qualifies for the Hermione list.  Except that -o ending screams modern, especially for girls.  Spell it Cleo and she’s a legendary Egyptian queen with a thing for eyeliner.  Similar in sound to the mega-popular Chloe, Clio is different, but still recognizable.

Echo – Like Clio, she’s not really new.  But the Greek nymph’s name sounds ever so modern.  Layer in the tough-as-nails character Eliza Dushku played on short-lived Fox-series Dollhouse and Echo resonates.

Elke – A short form of Adelaide whispered down the alley, this noble name is a cousin to fellow list member Alix, an there’s also an unrelated Hebrew name.  Elke makes the list for two reasons – she’s short and high energy, but there’s also her resemblance to the mighty elk.  Names like Fawn are sweetly feminine, but Elke has an edge.

Ever/Everild – Depending on your perspective, Ever is either a modern word name or a traditional appellation that coincidentally resembles the adverb.  Everild is one form of an old saint’s name referring to battle.  Both feel distinctively modern and sharp, as does Katniss’last name – Everdeen.

Greer – She’s rather harsh in sound, a traditional surname related to Gregory by way of Scotland.  Oscar-winning actress Greer Garson was born Eileen; Greer was her mother’s maiden name.  Ms. Garson put the name firmly in girls’territory.  Brooke Shields named her younger daughter Grier.

Landry – Now considered a surname, but originally a given name worn by a trio of medieval saints, Landry was one of several similar names on the very first draft of this list.  Hadley and Langley were both cut, but something about Landry endures.  While the original Landrys were male, and typically appear in the historical record as the Latinized Landericus, the name hasn’t seen much use in our era, making it fair game for both genders.

Leta – Similar names and alternate spellings include Leto, Leda, and Lida, but this version made the list thanks to über-blogger Heather Armstrong’s elder daughter, Leta Elise.  Yes, it conjures up swans and Spartan queens, but also rock icon and Runaways alum Lita Ford.  Lila and Lily are lovely, but Leta is courageous.

Luca/Lux – Luca is a traditional boy’s name, and lux is the Latin word for light.  Both have made occasional appearances on the girls’lists.  Luca is the middle daughter of Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli, and also a Hungarian form of Lucia - currently hovering just outside their Top Ten.  Lux is among the troubled sisters in Jeffrey Eugenides’grim and grisly novel-turned-movie The Virgin Suicides.  We love Lucy and all of her many elaborations, but she’s not quite a Katniss.  Luca and Lux are – the feminine equivalents of another young hero, Luke Skywalker.

What names have I missed?  What should be included on the second half of the list?  And would you use any of these names, or are you more of a Hermione type?

Zona Gale; Image via Wikipedia

She’s a blast from the past, a once common name worn by a famous writer.  Today, she’s all but unknown – and not likely to return.

Thanks to Beth one from her family tree for our Baby Name of the Day: Zona.

Zona literally translates to girdle in Greek.  Plenty of ancient mythologies considered them garments of great power – Aphrodite’s could ignite love and passion.  Ishtar’s girdle kept the world fruitful and multiplying.  They could be borrowed and stolen, and men wore them, too – Odysseus had a magic one that was part-life vest, and Thor stored his weapons in one.  They’re little more than a belt.

Since then, girdles evolved to a sort of women’s foundation garment, something to cinch in the waist, and then changed once more, to something also as obsolete as a petticoat.

Zona is also the source of our word zone – a geographic belt.  The sense has expanded until zone is synonymous with area.

I’m not clear if the given name is related to the Greek word.  But here’s what I do know: Zona ranked in the US Top 1000 from 1880 through 1941.  A few possible origins include:

• Other -ona names were big in the era – Nona, Ona, Lona, Leona, Dona, Mona, Iona, Arizona, Winona, Ramona, Verona, and Frona all ranked in the Top 1000.  And short, seemingly invented Z-names were in favor, too, including Zella, Zula, Zora, Zelma, Zola, Zetta, Zilpha, Zada, Zettie, Zelda, Zoa, Zelia, and Zana.
• Zona has Serbian roots, too, though I can’t pin down a specific origin.  A 1906 novel was titled Zona Zamfirova, and it was successfully adapted for the big screen in 2002.  In the story, a rich man’s daughter – Zona – falls for an ordinary Joe.  All ends happily.

Speaking of literature, Zona Gale was born in Wisconsin in 1874, became a writer, and eventually the first woman to the win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.  Gale was well-educated – she earned a master’s degree – and worked as a journalist in New York before returning home to devote herself to fiction.  Her stage adaptation of her bestseller Miss Lulu Bett would win her the Pulitzer in 1921.  In the story, Lulu strikes out on her own, leaving an unappreciative family and a failed marriage.  Besides her literary triumphs, Gale was a suffragette and activist.

There’s another nineteenth Zona, and her story is very sad.  Zona Heaster was murdered by her husband in 1897.  The crime might have gone undiscovered, but shortly after Zona’s funeral, her mother claimed that her daughter’s ghost appeared and explained that her death was no mere accidental fall, but murder.  Her mother successfully campaigned to have her daughter’s body exhumed, and an autopsy performed.  Sure enough, Zona had met a bad end, and her husband spent the remainder of his days in prison.

All of this makes Zona feel like an intriguing forgotten name with a modern sound.  And yet there is one almost insurmountable problem.  In Hebrew, Zona translates to prostitute – and that’s a gentle translation.  In our ever-so-connected world, this fact would be readily discovered by a daughter.

If you have Zona on your family tree, she’s a lovely choice for the middle spot, with her subtle connection to mythology and her literary pedigree.  But as a given name, it seems likely to prove challenging.  There are many other Zo- names from the same era without baggage.  Then again, I’m not certain how widely known zona is as an insult in the US.  Have you heard it?  And is it a deal-breaker?

Photo by me and the sysop via Flickr

Looking for name that is both a literary and a Biblical heavy hitter?

Thanks to Marlene for suggesting one that fits the bill.  Our Baby Name of the Day is Ishmael.

Ishmael has a distinctive sound, one that isn’t found in too many names.  (Alicia and company are the glaring exception.)  But the -ael ending is fairly common.  Michael and Raphael both spring to mind, and other popular names, like Gabriel, Samuel, and Nathaniel are similar, too.

If not the sound, could it be the meaning?  Nope.  Ishmael comes from the Hebrew for God will hear, or maybe God has heard – and this child is the answer.  After all, the Old Testament Ishmael is the much-longed for son of Abraham.

Oh, wait – maybe that is the problem.  After all, Abraham has another son – Isaac - afterwards, and Isaac is the one who inherits, making Ishmael the also-ran, eventually sent away.

Depending on your history, Ishmael became the father of the Arabs, including eventually the prophet Muhammad, making him a big deal in Islam.  He’s slightly less significant in Judaism – there’s speculation that Ishmael got the boot for living large, not just for offering a rival to Isaac.

But in Christianity, Ishmael seems to be largely synonymous with outcast, with emphasis on his dismissal.  And this leads us to the most famous bearer of the name, the fictional narrator of Herman Melville’s classic fish tale Moby-Dick.

Published in 1851, Moby-Dick is the story of Captain Ahab and the whale he seeks.  The narrator introduces himself with the memorable opening line “Call me Ishmael,” but we never learn if it is his real name.  He’s highly educated and keenly aware that going to sea was a sort of self-imposed banishment, not unlike the Biblical figure.  It’s led to speculation that the narrator’s phrasing “Call me …” was intentional, since he reveals little about himself.

The story’s success wasn’t enough to make American parents embrace Ishmael, though he’s long hovered at the edge of the Top 1000, making his most recent appearance in 1998.

The Spanish version of the name – Ismael - tells a different story.  Ismael ranked #362 in the US last year, a steadily used name.  In Spain, Ismael was quite popular just a few years ago, and still hovers near the Top 50.  He’s still on the rise in France, nearing the Top 100.

Ismael’s success might be attributed to Spanish or Islamic influence, though the ordinary spelling in most Arab languages is Ismail or sometimes Esmail, worn by rulers and politicians, athletes and actors.

All of this leaves Ishmael at sea.  He sounds very religious, the kind of Old Testament appellation non-believing parents often avoid.  But if you are looking for a name from the Judeo-Christian tradition, you’ll only use Ishmael if the story of his exile isn’t a concern – and that’s less likely.  Ismael and Ismail have an appealing sound, but probably only work for families considering them as heritage choices.

A young adult novel and a work of philosophical fiction also bear the name, but they have not changed our perceptions.

And so Ishmael remains on his own.  This makes him either the choice you’ve been looking for – the literary, Biblical name that isn’t as popular as Noah and Elijah - or one whose story puts him on the not-quite list.

Casimir II; Image via Wikipedia

He’s a Slavic import with a certain dashing style.

Thanks to Larkin for suggesting Casimir as our Baby Name of the Day.

Casimir comes from two apparently contradictory elements.  Mir means peace, but kazic means to destroy.  The original sense is probably something like “one who destroys the peace of his enemy,” but modern parents could focus on the peaceful part.

You can hear both French and Polish pronunciations here.  In English, kaz EH meer is probably closest.

Polish kings, nobles, and a saint have answered to the original form of the name, Kazimierz.  Neighbors in Pomerania had adopted it by the twelfth century, but it would be centuries until he reached Western Europe.

The quartet of Polish rulers make for a relatively admirable bunch.  Casimir III established the Jagiellonian University in Cracow in the 1300s, the oldest university in Poland and among the oldest in the world.

But perhaps Casimir IV’s son – the future saint – is the one that helped the name spread.  He was expected to inherit the Polish throne, and even served as vice-regent in his father’s absence.  But Casimir wasn’t willing to marry, and spent much of his time fasting.  He died in 1484, while visiting Lithuania.  He’s the patron saint of Poland, Lithuania, and youth.

A German prince is called Johann Casimir in the late 1500s, and over the next few hundred years, the name goes global:

• Spanish-born Casimiro Diaz evangelized the Philippines in the early eighteenth century.
• He’s also found in France by the eighteenth century, where Casimir, Comte de Montrond, was involved in various diplomatic affairs.
• Born Louis-Casimir Escoffer and known as Casimir Ney, the nineteenth century French composer was a master at viola.
• Casimir Dudevant was the French nobleman best known for marrying Aurore Dupin – the future George Sand.
• Count Kasimir Felix Badeni was a Polish aristocrat, who played a key role in administering the Austro-Hungarian Empire administration, though he was not particularly adept at his work.
• Casimiro de Abreu was a Brazilian-born poet who flourished in Portugal in the mid-nineteenth century.
• Casimiro is also in use in Italy around the same time, with a powerful Italian-born cardinal called Casimiro Gennari.
• Jean Casimir Guyon was a French surgeon and pioneer in urology in the early years of the twentieth century.

Casimir had a good run in France, peaking in the 1930s.  But in the 1970s, an orange dinosaur called Casimir dominated children’s television.  Just like Barney struggles to overcome his associations with a purple T-Rex in the US, I suspect it has put a damper on the name.

In the US, Casimir appeared at the fringes of the Top 1000 into the 1930s, but today is simply unknown.

Short form Cass leans a little girlish, though Cas, pronounced Kaz, is almost cowboy.  And if you think you’re likely to use all three syllables, just like so many kids called Sebastian and Isabelle do, then there’s no barrier to Casimir.  It’s a great Slavic option with plenty of history and style.

Image via Wikipedia

As I mentioned in the first installment of this series, I am truly fascinated by novel names.  Every generation has them, and while it feels like we have more than ever, we can’t really know if that’s true.

In part one, what we have less of in 2012.  There’s less pressure to Anglicize a name, encouraging parents to consider Matteo or Matthias, rather translating it to Matthew.  Naming conventions and family traditions have faded, meaning that parents no longer look exclusively to relatives’or saints’names.  And the need to put a formal name on the birth or baptismal certificate has lessened, meaning that we have Sadie and Sarah, Jonathan and Jack.

Now let’s turn our attention to what we have more of in 2012:

7.  There is sometimes staggering pressure to avoid duplication.

Once upon a time, you might have named your son William after your dad, even if your brother Bill had already named his boy William, too.  Then again, you might already share the name Mary with your sister-in-law, your best friend Mary Jane and your neighbor Mary Anne, to say nothing of the grandmother after whom you were named in the first place.

Today we see the absolute opposite: “We can’t use Zoe because my co-worker’s sister just used it.”  Or “We considered Katherine, but my husband used to date a girl with a sister called Kate.”  Most painfully, “My friend stole Mason, and now we have nothing to name our son!”

Instead, the parents settle on Ava and Claire and Riley, and they’re none too pleased when their next job brings them a boss with a daughter called Rileigh or the new neighbors move in with an Ava or Claire the exact same age.  Popular names still repeat; we’re just far less tolerant of the ages-old phenomenon.

Because most of us change jobs, move towns, graduate from the local playgroup to a large middle school, we haven’t solved the problem of duplication if we know no child by the same name at birth.

Instead of shrugging off the repetition of William, cousins now call dibs on family names.  As repeating names – even the most common, enduring names – becomes taboo, this inevitably means there are more names in use.

6.  Access to the pool accelerates. 

There’s a reason that the Bible was source for inspiration for baby names: it was there.  Even into the nineteenth century, families owned few books.  Those who learned to read often learned by reading Bible verses.  If you wanted to find a name that you hadn’t heard used by your immediate family and neighbors, the Good Book was a go-to resource.

Literacy rates are tricky to pin down, but one estimate suggests that between 1841 and 1900, the rate in England and Wales soared from around 60% to close to nearly 100%.  Books and other printed materials were becoming affordable for the first time, though a handful of novels could claim bestseller status as early as the seventeenth century.

We remember the world pre-Amazon, but few of us can think of what it would be like to not have a bookstore of some kind, and a lending library, too, readily accessible.  The pool expanded slowly, with the Bible, along with a growing number of popular novels, songs, histories, and other sources encouraging parents to consider Homer or Geneva.

And now there’s this little thing call the internet, and we are flooded by the possibilities.

5.  More access also means more information about the edges.

If we face a constant deluge of information, much of it is about lives at the extremes.  While public figures can add their names to the pool, that’s been happening for centuries.

What’s new in the twenty-first century is that we’re surrounded by celebrity gossip and reality television.  Suri and Apple might still strike you as outrageous – but you’re not surprised to hear them, and they make Sadie and Clementine sound downright ordinary.

It isn’t just Hollywood royalty, either – from the Kardashians to the Duggars, we hear extreme names often and casually.  Khloe and Jinger open the door for Jorja and Cate.  And when sports figures are known as Bear and Jimmer, is it really so strange to name a son Fox or Kenner?

Our familiarity with names on the edges expands the comfortable middle, making choices that would have been outside the mainstream just a few decades earlier feel perfectly approachable.

Catch up by reading the first installment here.  Look for the third and final installment in this series coming soon.

Circled Subway 5 by Rob Nguyen via Flickr

First, drumroll please … the winner of Nook’s Book is Elizabeth W.  (I’ve already sent an email to your gmail address, Elizabeth!)

Have I ever mentioned that I have this strange and obsessive habit of naming all-girl octuplets?  I’ve been doing it for so long that I don’t recall what initially inspired me.  But I stumbled across a list from 2008 – written after Alex was born, but well before Clio arrived.

I also have a list I wrote more recently – funny how different the two are.

My list in 2008 was:

1. Clementine Alexandra or Clementine Octavia
   
2. Eloise Katharine Wren
3. Tallulah Madeleine Kate
4. Persephone Anneliese
5. Hester Genevieve Rose
6. Verity Elisabeth Linden
7. India Christian Beau
8. Leocadia Maren Wynne

I suspect that I was trying to reach the nicknames Cleo and Elke with the first two names, but I can’t guess on the rest.  And I have dashes after some, making me think that I meant to go back add a second middle name for all of them.  And while I know why I chose most of the names, I’m surprised to see Madeleine and Wynne on the list.

Elsewhere online:

• Is Aggie the next Abby/Addie?  After reading Nook’s post on Agatha, I want it to be so!
• Love this post from Names4Real: Dimity & Diesel – a delicate. lady-like little girl and a turbo-charged rough and tumble boy.  There’s also a Lalita Rose on the list – I’m not sure Lalita is enough removed from Lolita to be comfortable.
• Grove, Dune, Caldera, Wave … lots of great choices on Elea’s Non-Floral Nature Names list.
• Eponymia published the third and final installment in her Rare Dutch Girls series.  Isaloe, Suze-Roos, Lio, Marisanne.  Loved these lists!
• Speaking of Dutch, are double names the newest trend in the Netherlands?  Marie-Lou, Ella-Noor, Emma-Sophie and Lola-Lily have all been heard in recent months.
• The Toronto Star baby name profiles are addictive.  This one, about finding a name for daughter #5, really drew me in.
• I enjoyed the Baby Name Wizard’s musings on completing the sibling lists.
• Oh, Philine - the perfect middle name to honor a Philip or a Phyllis!  Thank you, Sebastiane.
• Anna spotted brothers named Reef and Bede – let’s hear it for adventurous single syllables.
• Which reminds me, is Rooke too close to crook?  Or too taken-from-the-chessboard?  NameSoiree spotted a Rooke Hudson.  Of course, that’s also awfully close to Rock …

That’s all for this week.  The next installment in the Annai to Zen series is up tomorrow, plus thoughts on baby names borrowed from the gridiron at Nameberry!

You might not recognize Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, and you’re forgiven if you can’t tell the difference between Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand.  But very few of us don’t instantly know a Beatles song.  Plenty of the titles are pleasing appellations, and even more names are mentioned in their lyrics.

Abbey – The legendary Abbey Road, one of the most successful in a long string of successful recordings brings to mind the mega-popular Abigail, a Biblical good girl that shortens to Abby.  Abbey Road is a real place, pictured on the iconic album cover and home to Abbey Road Studios – hence, the name.  There’s no song with Abby in the lyrics, but there’s a Beatles link that might still appeal.

Clarabella – Okay, I take it back.  You might not recognize “Clarabella.”  Originally written for and recorded by another pop group in the 1960s, the fab four performed this one live on the BBC in 1963.  It would be decades before it was released as a recording.  If you like frilly valentines like Arabella and Elisabetta, Clarabella has a lot of appeal – plus you get to tell those who ask that you named your girl after an obscure Beatles song.

Desmond - The single “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is tremendous fun, and instantly recognizable, but the writing team quarreled over the lyrics and it was never performed live by the quartet.  Desmond, however, has another musical link – it is said that Paul McCartney was referring to reggae great Desmond Dekker.

Eleanor – She’s not a happy figure, dying lonely at the end of the song, but the haunting song is certainly memorable.

Harrison – Name your son John, Paul, or George doesn’t scream Fab Four.  (Though Ringo would raise a few eyebrows.)  In our age of Jackson and Carson, George’s surname isn’t necessarily a tribute, either – making it a subtle option for a superfan.

Jude – Said to be originally written for John’s son Julian, “Hey Jude” is both a single and an album title.  It’s a musical note for the Old Testament Judah, but this is no mere nickname.  Thanks to the song and Hollywood A-lister Jude Law, this name stands on its own.

Julia – Like Clarabella, this is a serious rarity, but a meaningful one.  A solo composition by John Lennon, it was written in memory of his mother, Julia.  She died in an accident when he was just seventeen.

Lennon – Maybe it is a family surname for some, but surely the majority of families who have chosen the name are thinking of the legendary John Lennon.  Lennon entered the US Top 1000 for boys in 2008 and now stands at #918.  That’s not exactly Landon, but he is catching on.  Depending on who you ask, the surname means sweetheart, blackbird, or cape.

Lucy – Despite assumptions that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was a not-too-veiled drug reference, the official story is that John’s son Julian drew a picture at school with the title, inspired by classmate Lucy O’Donnell.  Of course, with Lucy at #75 in 2010, the only sure signal that a little Lucy was named after the song?  If her middle name is Sky or Diamond.

Martha – A gentle love song dominated by the piano track, the explanations for Martha are several.  One indisputable fact: Paul McCartney had a sheepdog called Martha.

Maxwell – Like Lucy, this name’s popularity isn’t necessarily tied to “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”  Unlike Lucy, you can’t quite imagine parents being inspired by the lyrics.  After all, Max offs his crush, a teacher, and finally the judge who tries to bring him to justice.

Michelle – Now firmly in the mom names camp – and, of course, the White House – Michelle was already popular when The Beatles released their ballad in 1965.  “Michelle, ma belle …” had its origins in French bohemian culture, an influence from Lennon and McCartney’s school days.  Today parents are more likely to be inspired by Belle.

Molly - Also from “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” but unlike Desmond, we’re not quite certain why that’s the name given to the wife and singer in the band.

Pamela – The poetic Pamela becomes “Polythene Pam” in a 1969 single, inspired by two things: an early fan, and some less-than-G rated exploits John Lennon remembered.  Still, “she’s killer diller when she’s dressed to the hilt.”  Pam is also mentioned in “Mean Mr. Mustard” on the album.

Penelope – Penny Lane is a street in Liverpool, and a bus route, too.  It owes nothing to the Greek Penelope – instead, Penny was the surname of an eighteenth century Liverpool merchant and slave trader, a fact that had been forgotten until recent years.  Penny has an enduring innocence, thanks not just to the song, but also to characters like the orphan girl in 1977′s animated Disney film The Rescuers.  She picked up some serious edge in 2000 when Almost Famous introduced Kate Hudson as rock groupie Penny Lane.

Prudence - With girls answering to Grace and Faith, why not this virtue name?  “Dear Prudence” was inspired by a real person – Prudence Farrow, sister of actress Mia, and a fellow yoga student during their time in India.  Prudence was so intent on her study that she became a near-recluse.  The song was John’s attempt to lure her back to the group.

Rita – Would you name your daughter after a meter maid?  Apparently McCartney was inspired to pen “Lovely Rita” after receiving a parking ticket in front of Abbey Road studios.  There’s also Hollywood icon Rita Hayworth – born Margarita - making the name a companion for Natalie and Audrey.

Sadie – Originally an affectionate form of Sarah, Sadie has risen fast on her own, inspiring parents to consider other vintage nicknames like Hattie.  Unlike many of the names in Beatles’songs, though, there is apparently no real Sadie – sexy or otherwise.

Sally – “Long Tall Sally” was originally a hit for Little Richard back in the 1956.  The Beatles recorded a cover in their early days and it remains popular.  Like Sadie, Sally is derived from Sarah – also like Sadie, if there was a real-life Sally, she is lost to the mists of time.

Have I overlooked any great names from Beatles songs?  Would you use any of these – and if so, is it a tribute to the song or mere coincidence?

e61 by Too Far North via Flickr

Take the -ia from Olivia and Sophia, borrow the El- from Ella and Elizabeth, and you’ll arrive at a terribly pretty possibility for a daughter, one that just might have ancient roots.

Thanks to Cindy for suggesting her daughter’s name, Ellia as our Baby Name of the Day.

Ellia has multiple possible origins, from the simple assemblage of popular sounds to ties to a traditional Old Testament name.

• Ellia may simply have emerged as a variant, and perhaps even a feminine form, of Elijah and Elias.  Elijah was slimmed down to Elia in Italian and several other European tongues – think of legendary director Elia Kazan.  Census records suggest that plenty of men answered to Ellia, too, at least in the US, and almost certainly as a twist on the Biblical name.
• In more modern moments, I’ve heard Ellia connected to the French elle - she.  But since Elle is also a given name with ties to the popular Ella family, this one is probably on the fanciful side.

But here’s the most intriguing of them all.  The Roman gens Aelia was prominent for centuries in the ancient world.  The Emperor Hadrian was among their members, as were many distinguished figures well into the fourth century.  Aelia Paetina was the second wife of Emperor Claudius, so we know that Aelia was the preferred feminine form for family members.

The origins of Aelia and company are debated, but one suggestion is that it connects to the Greek helios - sun.

Plenty of names have come down to us from ancient days, and while Aelia is poorly represented on the map today, it was once common, bestowed by Hadrian and others to places where they constructed bridges or settlements.  Aelia Capitolina once stood on the site of modern-day Jerusalem.  Aelia survived in the Byzantine Empire even longer, worn by a few more empresses.

Could the personal name have trickled down over the years?  Cindy found it on her husband’s Italian family tree, traced back over several centuries.  This tracks with the census records – while some nineteenth century American Ellias were men, an equal number were women – suggesting that two separate origins for the name might be perfectly plausible.

With the exception of Cindy’s report, I can’t confirm another medieval Ellia.  Still, Italian was such a fragmented language, and written records were so slim that it means little.  It also strikes me that Ellia might have been recorded differently in Latin – could she be hiding as Elisabetta?

Two pop culture references might put Ellia on a 21st century parents’radar:

• Actress Ellia English has had a long career, from the television adaptation of Fame in the 1980s to the present-day Disney Channel series Good Luck, Charlie.
• There was also a minor – but important – character on sci-fi series Stargate Atlantis.  Jewel Staite of Firefly fame, played Ellia.

But is Ellia the kind of name that a modern parent would consider?  Look no further than Project Nursery.

Ellia has all the markings of a stylish moniker.  Her sound fits right in with Amelia, Stella and Eleanor - strong, smart, creative names for a daughter that wear well throughout life.  And while she might strike some as invented, her roots run deep.  If you’re looking for something just a little bit different, Ellia is one to consider.

Photo by ambernectar via Flickr

It’s a classic cocktail and a medieval appellation.  Would it be a possibility today?

Thanks to Findley for suggesting Pimm as our Baby Name of the Day.

I first encountered Pimm as a nickname for the heroine’s friend in the chick lit-ish Me Times Three.  Then it was a mysterious concoction favored by all of the posh socialite types in Madeleine Wickham novels.

Pimm’s is a gin-based liqueur, touted as medicinal by inventor James Pimm in the 1820s.  The original drink is Pimm’s No. 1 Cup.  As the company expanded, additional blends were added, all with a number.  Although it is now owned by global spirits conglomerate Diageo, Pimm’s still has a certain cachet – at least from an American perspective – thanks to its associations with Wimbledon, polo, and all things English country house.

The surname predates James Pimm, found on families back to the Middle Ages.  There are two possible – and possibly overlapping – origins.

First Pimm could come from Euphemia - a Greek name that literally translates to “good speech.”  The second-century martyr St. Euphemia is a major figure in Eastern Christianity.  Chances are that she came to the attention of the English-speaking world thanks to the Crusades starting in the late eleventh century.  The saint’s relics were captured by Crusaders, and her name begins to appear throughout Western Europe around the same time.

Effie and Phemie are the logical short forms of Euphemia, but why Pimm?  It may have simply been a corruption, or it may come from the Middle English tendency to pronounce every letter.  Many medieval Euphemias actually spelled their name with an f – Effemy is one vernacular form.  Pymme, Pimme, and Pimm are all found, too.

Second, it could be derived from a Saxon masculine name Pymma.  But whether your surname related to the Saxons or developed later would be difficult to say.  A number of sites conflate the two, even though several centuries separate them.

There’s another masculine origin for Pimm.  In Dutch, he’s a short form of Willem.  Just like the English William can answer to Bill, Willem becomes Wim and Wim has morphed into Pim.  Anne Frank and her sister Margot used this nickname for their father, though his given name was Otto.

Today you might catch financial journalist Pimm Fox of Bloomberg News – I’m not certain how he came by his unusual name.

You won’t likely meet a child named Pimm, though.  It was given to fewer than five girls or boys in 2010, and has never registered in the US Top 1000.  It’s so little used that gender is impossible to assign.  On the one hand, Pimm has the same sweet simplicity as Nell or Ann.  On the other hand, with short names like Finn and Flynn on the rise for boys, parents are considering choices like Penn or perhaps even Pimm.

The alcoholic associations are probably why more parents haven’t landed on this particular sound, but there’s enough history here to consider Pimm a possible choice in the middle spot.  Or, if you dare, a simple, crisp given name that you can explain has origins that date back to well before happy hour.