Editor’s note: This post was originally published on August 24, 2011. It was revised and re-posted on April 29, 2013.
Babies are named Brooklyn. Why not this pretty place name also borrowed from the Big Apple?
Thanks to Virginia for suggesting Astoria as our Baby Name of the Day.
John Jacob Astor came to the United States from Germany by way of England in 1784. He became a fur trader, and with the assistance of his shrewd wife Sarah, the Astors quickly amassed a fortune. They expanded their business, and eventually invested in Manhattan real estate.
You’d expect to find his name dotting the New York landscape. But his investment in Hallett’s Cove – a vacation retreat for the well-to-do on Queens – was modest, barely enough to justify a name change. And yet the residents did rename their settlement Astoria. Apparently, he never even visited.
Today Astoria is a fascinating, vibrant, and diverse place, but it is not exactly upscale. Steinway made some of their first pianos there. It is home to the Museum of the Moving Image, a tribute to Astoria’s roots as a center of the American film industry, pre-Hollywood. Valentino and the Marx Brothers made movies on 36th Street.
The luxury link isn’t completely gone from this name, of course. The Waldorf=Astoria persists, a grand hotel dating to the 1890s, initially developed by two Astor descendants, with plenty of tangles and family intrigue behind the construction.
A few other Astorias dot the map, including a town in Oregon considered the oldest US settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally established as Fort Astoria by members of the Pacific Fur Company, the place name was inspired by company owner John Jacob Astor.
So where did the surname come from? Apparently, in Occitan – a medieval Romance language that developed near the borders of France, Spain, and Italy – astor means hawk, specifically a goshawk. Confirming this has been tricky – Occitan doesn’t have one standard form. But Astor’s family was from Savoy, part of the area where Occitan and associated dialects flourished. His family ended up in Germany thanks to their religious convictions – they were part of a movement called the Waldensians after twelfth century founder Peter Waldo. Persecution made them mobile – and made America a very welcoming home for the ambitious John Jacob Astor.
A few figures have worn the name in recent years:
- Muppet judge Waldorf has a sometimes-seen wife called Astoria;
- Terry Pratchett gave the name to his Ephebian goddess of love in his Discworld universe;
- At the end of the Harry Potter series, we see that a grown-up Draco Malfoy has married Astoria Greengrass.
Astoria sounds like popular girls’ ends-with-ia choices Amelia and Olivia. Plus she is sometimes suggested as a formal name for Story, sort of like the Rory/Aurora connection. There’s no etymological link whatsoever, but the sounds make it an option. Tori is another possibility. Another bonus: Astoria sounds like she could be a vintage antique, but she’s actually a relatively modern invention.
It’s an unconventional choice, but with Astoria’s pretty, current sound, she’s an option for parents who love feminine choices, but want something truly unusual, too.
Once upon a time I was a nanny to a rather sullen tween named Victoria/Tori. Ever since, to my mind Tori = spoiled, back-talking brat*. Astoria is too similar to Victoria to get my vote, but I do like Aster and Astrid.
*The issue was really her inattentive parents, but I was the lucky recipient of her bad attitude.
Oh, I can only imagine how that could spoil a name!
Growing up “The Goonies” was one of my favorite movies. 🙂 …it was filmed in Astoria, Oregon and they kept the name of the town in the movie…so I have a soft spot for the name…however I doubt I’d ever use it. Story would be a cute nn though.
I don’t remember that! But it is a fun trivia point, and – at least for me – a bonus!
I don’t like it. But then, I dislike any name that has the “ass” sound in it. We’ve been watching Dexter on DVD and hearing Astor hasn’t particularly
endeared me to her name (pretty girl but still). so Astoria’s not my cup either.
I agree all I here is “Ass-tori-ah”… maybe if you can guarantee that she be called “Ah- Stori- ah” it might be better.. but I think here in america we tend to have strong accents on the “Ass” as seen by Ass-tor in Dexter.. which also do not think is flattering
I say ah STOR ee ah. I have two relatives who have rented in Astoria, so I’m fairly confident that’s a widespread pronunciation, if not the only one in use.
I say it as ah STORE ee uh as well.
I really want to like this name, but can’t bring myself to. It’s pretty and frilly, but I find myself coming to the conclusion that frilly names just aren’t for me. Never do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you, and if I dropped my less-than-frilly-but-still-girly name because I just didn’t like being stereotyped as a girly-girl, then I have no right to give a daughter a frilly name. But meh, she could always go by Rory 😉
I was feeling homesick for Oregon the other day and mentioned Astoria to my dh as a possible name. Astoria is actually an incredibly beautiful seaside town and I’ve always loved its name. He dismissed it because it has the word “ass” in it. 🙁
Personally, I can’t get past seeing this as a place name; The Astoria was one of London’s most famous music venues until a couple of years ago when it was pulled down.
But I can definitely imagine more well to do parents adopting this to go with names like Arabella etc but the sounds and frilliness just aren’t for me.
I have become OBSESSED with Astoria within the past few days. I remembered she was Draco malfoys wife, which is how I rediscovered it. I wonder why JK Rowling chose the name for her. Most of the names she chooses are really significant to each character. I would pay anything to have a conversation with Rowling over her character’s names!!!
I looked Astoria up yesterday but was unable to find the meaning. When i hear Astoria, I picture lush green vines for some reason. It sounds like a flower name to me. Astoria sounds like she has a rich history and long usage, but she doesn’t, which could be a good thing or bad depending how you look at it. overall, I love Astoria. I think she sounds exotic. I just wish she had a better meaning.
On the Harry Potter wiki (https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Astoria_Greengrass), I found that it might mean “star-maiden” in Greek. The hawk meaning seems much more legitimate, but I thought this paragrapah was interesting.
“The name may also be related to Astraea, a daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology who personified justice. Astraea is derived from Greek meaning “star-maiden”; this may related to her husband’s maternal family often naming its members after stars and constellations. The name may also be spelled Asteria, as shown on the Weasley Family Tree. Like Hyperion
Aristea is also a flower.
I love the name Astoria. And Harry Potter. I think in this case, Eva, it might be reminding you of the plant Wisteria.
Or asters, a popular flower…
Personally I find the Waldorf-Astoria connection a bit too heavy. I’d be tempted to simplify to Astor (or, to my taste, better still – Aster), or tweak it to Asteria.
I, too, love the simplified Astor. It sounds refined and chic, Astoria seems unnecessarily frilly.
I’ve seen this name suggested and hypothesised on so many name boards that it seems like a name that everyone is thinking about using … I wonder at what point name forum hype registers as growing name popularity in real numbers?
When I first heard it, I thought they were thinking about naming their baby after a hotel chain, haha.
It’s a pretty and ornamental name, but somehow reminds me of the word “hysteria”.
I actually like it a lot. It’s different while still being approachable. I like the associated names as well. Overall, I don’t know if I’m in love with it, but I definitely like it. I have no problem with it being a place.