About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

16 Comments

  1. This is very interesting for me, as in South Africa, there is an Afrikaans name Lizaan. Luz is quite similar to Lizaan.

    Luz is a name that is a part of a specific taste. I think it could be perceived as first as being different, but overall, I think it could work. As a name, it does not appeal to me.However, I can understand the appeal for others

    I don’t think it is fair to say that it is a name only for the teenage years, as names like Katie, Bella, Belle,Evie are all nickname type names and are all used on adults. I personally find Luz much more mature and fitting than a Katie

    You have very interesting names on this site

    1. Thanks, Juliet!

      And I do know a successful attorney who still answers to Katie – but puts Kathleen on her business cards! 🙂

  2. Luz IS great as part of a double name! About 25% of the people that I have known with this name go by Luz alone; most go Luz Elena, Luz Maria or Maria de la Luz, or by nicknames such as Lucila, Lucina, Lucha, and Lucero in addition to Lucy. A telenovela from over 20 years had a character named Dora Luz, which I have always liked.

    1. Dora Luz – that’s really neat!

      Does Maria de la Luz lend itself to a particular diminutive? Or does the “de la” get dropped? I always wonder about that one and I’ve yet to ask a native speaker.

      1. It sometimes becomes Marilu.

        When writing initials (at least in Mexico, I do not know about other countries), a person will typically write it as Maria L. Surname, not including “de la”. This type of contraction is also common with names that include “de” or “del”.

        Elsa del Rosario will wite Elsa R. Surname and Jose de Jesus is usually J. Jesus Surname or J. J. Surname.

        1. Interesting, especially about how the name is written. Thanks – and I kind of love Marilu, especially if I’m giving it the right pronunciation.

  3. So, Luzanna’s name is pronounced loo-ZAH-nah. She was born in Latvia, and the story goes that her mom heard the name on someone else and liked it. your Slovene explanation seems to satisfy that.

    I can’t believe that this name came a DAY after I gave your ageda for not NotDing my pick! I’m hanging my head in shame.

    I like Luz in theory, but don’t think it always wears well in certain parts of the US. My old friend sometimes went by Lu, but then again, her name was pronounced with the Z sound, as opposed to the S sound.

    1. Yes, I did think that, Photoquilty. 🙂

      But actually I’d held off on this one forever and ever, thinking that I’d eventually come up with a solid explanation. It sounds like there should be an old movie or novel or song or SOMETHING. But nope.

      Interesting that she’s Slovene. I’ve actually been to Lausanne – I think it was a fluke that my bus went through there on the way between two other destinations. It’s gorgeous. I bought a postcard and a Swatch watch. I think I still have the postcard.

  4. Luz and Luzanna are lovely. I’ll give you an example of another -anne mash-up. Way back in high school (’84-’87), I had a friend named Christianne who was an exchange student from Denmark. She pronounced her name as Chris-tee-anna.

  5. So weird, I was thinking just a week or two ago of suggesting Luz as NOTD. My cousin is married to a Luz who goes by Lucy (They are Puerto Rican, so use the Loos prn. from what I can tell). I’ve always liked it a lot – for her at any rate. If parents of Lucy aren’t swayed by “loose” sounds, then this should stand a fairly good chance of being considered.

  6. I listened to “Licensed to Ill” a lot in my final month of pregnancy with my daughter… not sure what that was about… this time it’s Christmas tunes, unsurprisingly.

    Luz is a lovely name – even if it does sound like ‘loose’ (but then I like Lucy and Lucinda, too). Luzanna is not my cup of tea, but does REMIND me of tea: Luzianne tea (which I’m pretty sure is a variant of the State name). But I have nothing really to say against Luzanna, it’s just not for me.