Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every Saturday, one reader’s name questions will be discussed.
We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!
Peatreace and her husband are expecting twins, a boy and a girl in a few weeks. They’ve chosen Ptolemy John for their son, but they’re struggling to find a name for a daughter.
She writes:
My partner and I love ancient Egypt and would like to give our daughter a name with this meaningful attachment.
We love all names that relate to Egypt: Egypt, Cairo, Cleopatra, etc. However, we would like to have something new and unique. We thought a hybrid of Egypt and Anne – Egyptanne. We understand it sounds like the word Egyptian, so perhaps we could name her Egyptian instead!?
We have had many criticisms on the name. Is it really that terrible?
Furthermore, any other hybrid names that relates to Egypt we really appreciate you letting us know.
Read on for my answer, and please leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments!
Hi Peatreace –
Baby names inspired by Egypt! It’s a bold theme, but there’s no reason it can’t work. Ptolemy, with that silent letter P, is intellectual and quirky. But it will also be widely recognized as a name, even if it isn’t a name that’s often heard on a child in 2015.
It sounds like you’d like an even bolder name for your daughter. That’s pretty common – generally speaking, parents are willing to take more risks with girls’ names, and the number of girls’ names in use tends to be larger than the number of names in use for boys.
But here’s the catch: the more unusual the name, the less likely that it will please others. Cleopatra would be surprising, but my guess is that it would be received like Ptolemy. You’d get responses like, “That’s not a name you hear too often!” Or, “How interesting. Is it a family name?”
Does it matter if a name is really, really out there? Maybe not. I’m guessing that you’ve invested an awful lot of time spelling and repeating your name, and it doesn’t trouble you. There are downsides to choosing a really unusual name, and yet overall, I think that you can be bold and daring when it comes to names, and believe that it won’t be burdensome for your child.
So let’s look at your options:
Cairo – I think Cairo is a bold, but wearable, name choice. It seems slightly more masculine to my ear, but model Beverly Peele gave the name her daughter. And, of course, ends in ‘o’ options work for boys and girls. Ptolemy and Cairo sound great together.
Cleopatra – Cleopatra has lots of advantages as a given name. First, we recognize it as a name. Second, it’s associated with quite a powerful woman, but still shortens to the friendly, upbeat Cleo. Ptolemy and Cleopatra are clearly brother and sister. In fact, it might be a little too close of a fit for those who know their ancient Egypt. The most famous pharaoh Cleopatra – there were many – was Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic Dynasty.
Egyptanne – There are two issues with Egyptanne. It’s a smoosh of Egypt and Anne, correct? So it should be said just like Egypt-Anne. And yet, my eyes do want to read something different. It’s the downside of inventing a truly new name – a degree of confusion is inevitable. You and your partner need to decide whether that’s okay with you.
Egyptian – Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon named their son Moroccan, after a room in their home. It was the first time I’m aware of a demonym – a term used to describe residents of a specific place – being used as a given name. (Though there have probably been a few others.) On the one hand, it’s much clearer to say and spell than Egyptanne. On the other hand, it’s not any more expected as a given name.
Some suggestions:
Egyptianne – I usually prefer word names spelled as they would appear in the dictionary, but I might make an exception in this case. Egyptanne seems confusing, and Egyptian not quite like a name. Egyptianne is still quite the daring name, but I wonder if it strikes the right balance between the two?
Anuket – Anuket is the goddess of the Nile River in Egyptian myth. It’s every bit as offbeat as Ptolemy and even less expected as a given name. But Anuket feels like it could be a girl’s name in 2015, and also seems more authentically Egyptian than some of the heavily Greek-influenced names of the notable rulers.
Berenice – Berenice is another named favored by the Ptolemaic rulers. It’s Greek in origin and means bringing victory. (The family was originally from Macedon.) We know the name better as Veronica, the form most common in recent years.
Selene – Another name from the Ptolemaic family. They used the same names over and over again, so it’s a remarkably limited set of names.
Nefertiti – Among the most famous of all Egyptian queens. As given names go, it would be a little bit bolder than Cleopatra, but not as unexpected as Egyptanne.
Tiye – Wife of Amenhotep III, and an influential figure in her own right. The origins of her name are obscure, possibly because her family was foreign.
Hathor – Hathor is the goddess of motherhood. With girls named Harper, Hathor seems wearable.
If you’re focused on an Egypt-plus name, I do think Egyptianne might be the better bet. Though it strikes me that just plain Egypt is a great possibility, too. I’m also drawn to Anuket.
Readers, what do you think? Are there other Egyptian possibilities I’ve overlooked?
Wow thanks Abby and everyone for your kind suggestions! With your help we were able to complete our sibset. Would you like to know what our triplets will be named?! We hope you like them…
For our first daughter her name will be Anuket La Delta Jane
Our sons’ name will be Ptolemy Makepeace John
And our second daughter will be named Eveningstar De Egypt Jonesy
So, what do you think?!
We added a touch of french with our daughter’s names, as well as a casual name at the end to balance it out.
For our sons’ name we wanted to add a positive remark on the name Ptolemy, since the meaning isn’t exactly Egyptian but Greek and a little negative.
Again, plz let us know what you think. We really appreciate it.
Thanks x
Much better, IMO. Though just a couple of notes about French… “De Egypt” would properly be D’Égypte , and “delta” is a masculine noun, and therefore would be “Le Delta”.
Yeah I was a little confused about whether I had it right – thanks Panya!
I was inspired by the actress Cote De Pablo, love her name! With your help I found I quiet like the “Le Delta” instead, but not the “D’Égypte”.
Eveningstar D’Égypte – it just doesn’t look or sound right. Is it possible to leave it as “De Egypt”? What if I changed it to Egypt De Eveningstar, would that be better? Or rather I should drop the whole name, what do you think?
I’ve always liked that the twins of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII were named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene II, since Helios & Selene = sun & moon.
Female pharaohs:
Arsinoe, Cleopatra, Berenice, Hatshepsut, Merneith, Neferneferuaten, Sobekneferu, Twosret
Some other names not mentioned…
Names of ancient people in Egypt not of Egyptian origin:
Eirene [daughter of Ptolemy I Soter & Thais]
Ptolomais [daughter of Ptolemy I Soter & Eurydice]
Tryphaena [daughter of Ptolemy VIII Physcon & Cleopatra III]
Antonia [via Mark Antony]
Caesara [via Gaius Julius Caesar]
Caesariona [via Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar nn Caesarion, son of Gaius Julius Caesar & Cleopatra VII]
Gaia [via Gaius Julius Caesar]
Julia [via Gaius Julius Caesar]
Marca [via Mark Antony]
Marka [via Mark Antony]
Names of ancient people with Egyptian origin:
Amen, Amun, Ankhesenamun, Asenat, Beket, Beketamun, Bentanat, Bentanath, Bintanat, Bintanath, Iset, Ithaca, Kem, Meret, Meretamun, Mereth, Meretra, Meritamun, Merith, Meritra, Meryt, Merytamun, Meryth, Merytra, Nebet, Nebetah, Nebetia, Nebetta, Nebetu, Nefer, Neferet, Neferu, Nitiqret, Nitiqreth, Nitiqreti, Nitocret, Nitocreth, Nitocris, Nitokret, Nitokreth, Nitokris, Qalhata, Qaneith, Qetesh, Satamun, Satiah, Sebekkara, Shai, Sitamun, Sitiah, Tem
I actually have a huge list of over 3,000 Egypt-related female names, including various forms and spellings. I only listed names here which I think work within the parameters given. 🙂
This is going much more ancient than Ptolemy, but my first response to “what’s a good Egypt-linked name for a girl” is MERITATEN MERITATEN MERITATEN!! She was a Pharaoh’s wife during the eighteenth dynasty (per Wikipedia) and may have served as Pharaoh herself for a period of time.
I love love Ptolemy and Meritaten together; I love that they come from totally different periods of Egyptian history so you really would be showing a deep love for Egypt rather than just a certain timeframe; I love that they were both real people rather than using a god/dess name or a geographical name for one twin but a historical figure name for the other (equal weight, in a way); I also love that Meritaten has Meri or Merit or Tate as possible nicknames, should she want something that requires a little less explanation as she gets older.
What a gorgeous suggestion, Marycontraria – thanks!
DON’T use Egyptanne!!! You can use Egypt Anne, with Egypt being the first name and Anne being the middle name. I’ve meet a talented girl named Egypt before. Also, the middle name Anne would go with the pattern of a standard traditional name, with an unusual first name. Hence-Ptolemy John and Egypt Anne.
Sinope would be a great name option!
Egyptian doesn’t seem appropriate as a name, but I think you could get away with just Egypt. There is a woman named Egypt Sherrod who regularly appears on HGTV.
What about Asenath? https://appellationmountain.net/asenath-baby-name-day/
Egyptian or Egyptanne is terribly problematic, on any number of levels. And like at least one other commenter,I am bothered by the idea that you would name a son after a well-known historical scientist, and give your daughter a made-up name. Hypatia would seem to carry the same weight as Ptolemy. Arsinoe and Selene also fit the theme. And Cairo seems on trend yet distinctive, close to Caro and Carys and Chloe.
Cleopatra is awesome!
Great post and comments. I like the Egyptian name Merit for a girl: seems very wearable. On its own, it would seem like a virtue name, but alongside Ptolemy, I think its origin would be more evident.
Please do not name your child Egyptian or Egyptanne. Just don’t do it! There are so many other lovely suggestions here that go with your son’s amazing chosen name. Please, pick one of them.
I was also going to suggest Nefertari. When I first heard it researching Ancient Egypt I thought Tari would be a beautiful Egypt inspired but not too strange name and would provide a convenient shortening if you or your daughter wanted that option. It’s unfortunate that Isis is out now, as I think that would have been a great option. The alternatives Isadora Vega suggested might be useful here though.
I agree with everyone here that Egyptian/Egyptanne/Egyptianne is not a great name. I like Anuket a lot because it’s unusual and beautiful but can be shortened to Ani or Annie which would give your daughter the choice of having a “normal” sounding name should she choose. Also, have you considered Merari? It’s the Egyptian name that Miriam and Mary is derived from and means beloved and strong?
An Australian rapper had a baby daughter named Egypt earlier this year, and over 60% of people on my blog didn’t like the name at all, so I think you are going to get strong reactions.
http://waltzingmorethanmatilda.com/2015/07/08/celebrity-baby-news-egypt-and-alexandria/
But that does show that Egypt names are “in” at the moment.
I prefer Egypt to Egyptanne or Egyptianne, which just look like a mess to me. At least I know the name Egypt, while Egyptanne would need explaining.
And Egyptian looks racially offensive, I’m afraid. Apart from the actual people of Egypt, Egyptian is an old word for a Gypsy, so you could be potentially offending TWO ethnic groups.
I quite like Amunet, who is the feminine counterpart to the primordial god Amum.
I totally agree that Egyptian is racially offensive and thus not a good move at all. I find Moroccan offensive too. Denonym’s just do not work as given names.
I would recommend one of my own guilty pleasure names, Arsinoe. Even thought it’s derived from the Greek (as is Cleopatra), it’s a really Egyptian name. There were several princesses named Arsinoe, including Cleopatra’s sister. There are so few names that end in -oe, and Chloe and Zoe are too well known.
Alexandria is a beautiful historical name. Again, Greek derived, but much of what we know as Egyptian history occurred during periods of great Greek influence.
Osiris is pleasant sounding and a recognizable name.
Unlike Chloe and Zoe though, I’ve always heard Arsinoe pronounced ar-SIN-oh-way, not ar-SIN-oh-ee. It’s one of my guilty pleasures too, and the story of Cleopatra’s sister Arsinoe is just such a cool one.
Really! That’s interesting. I’ve never heard it pronounced by an English speaker. The Greek spelling of Arsinoe (Αρσινόη) mirrors the spelling of Chloe (Χλόη) and Zoe (Ζωή). The letter η is always pronounced with a long e sound. The -oe female name suffix was pretty common in Ancient Greece (Melinoe, Thelxinoe) and I’ve always found the sound particularly beautiful. I know that Greek names aren’t always pronounced the same in English convention, though.
But what if this baby girl grows up to have no interest at all in ancient Egypt or even an aversion to it if she’s given some of the really out-there names suggested? Nefertiti? Hatshepsut? Arsinoe? I’ve changed my mind about Egyptanne; at least part of that name — Anne — is recognizable to her extended family and future classmates. (And it gives her the option of Anne or Annie if she’s not overly fond of being named Egypt, which isn’t all that pretty sounding, certainly not like India.)
Maybe it’s time for “the Starbucks test” and to step back and ask for whom is a baby’s name chosen — the parents or the person who will bear that name all of her life?
I’m recalling that Abby’s daughter is named the classic Caroline with the unexpected and cute nickname Clio. I’m wondering what those suggesting these very ancient names have named their own daughters.
Abby suggested “Selene – Another name from the Ptolemaic family.”
behindthename . com
Given Name SELENE
GENDER: Feminine
USAGE: Greek Mythology, Greek
OTHER SCRIPTS: Σεληνη (Greek)
PRONOUNCED: sə-LEE-nee (English) [key]
Meaning & History
Means “moon” in Greek. This was the name of a Greek goddess of the moon, sometimes identified with the goddess Artemis.
This may interest you: “Cleopatra actually had four children: one with Julius Caesar, and three with Mark Antony — twins Alexander Helios (sun) and Cleopatra Selene (moon) and another little boy, Ptolemy Philadelphus. I’ve read that Cleopatra Selene was called by her middle name. Selene (sə-LEE-nee) is a very pretty name, with a strong connection to ancient Egypt and to the name Ptolemy. It seems like it could be perfect for your baby girl.
Interesting questions and answers about Selene (Cleopatra Selene) by Vicky Alvear Shecter, who has written historical fiction and nonfiction about Cleopatra: http://historywithatwist.blogspot.com/2013/12/top-10-questions-about-cleopatras.html
According to Shecter’s research, Selene named her son Ptolemy.
Really liking Selene for you!
A bold namer! I love this post! I went through a big phase in my tween years in which I was obsessed with all things Ancient Egyptian (that’s totally normal, right?) so this gets right to my heart.
Cairo, Nefertiti, and Selene are my favorite suggestions from the main article. I’m also really intrigued by Arsinoe, Lazuli, and Onofria from the comments. The only suggestion I don’t like is Berenice. It just doesn’t feel particularly Egyptian. And also, this might be a personal thing but it just reminds me too much of Bernie which I find unappealing. I don’t know. Maybe that’s just me.
So here are some other suggestions that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Nuit — A name from Egyptian mythology, she’s the goddess of the sky. It sounds like either “noot” or “knew it.” Her name is also written as Nut, but you might want to avoid that spelling.
Bast/Bastet — Another goddess name that I think could work very well, but you have to not mind the cat association.
Hypatia — It’s a Greek name, but the historical Hypatia did live, work, and die in Egypt. And she’s a great historical figure, too.
Kiya — The woman who may or may not be King Tut’s mother (there’s a lot of debate about this).
Nubia — The Nubians were in Egypt too.
Luxor — This one might be a bit too Las Vegas, but it is a real place with amazing temples. You could call her Lux.
Isadora — That might be really egotistical, but why not? It means “gift of Isis,” and Isis is an Egyptian goddess. I know the name Isis is having some trouble nowadays, but Isadora isn’t. There are other variations too, like Isadore and Isidra.
Oooh, ooh, I have a suggestion!
The masculine Onofrio was moderately common in medieval France, Italy, and Spain, but until I had to put together the entry for it, I had no idea its unusual roots. It’s from Greek Ὀνούφριος and this is from Egyptian Wnn-nfr ‘he who is always happy’, an epithet of Osiris. The feminine form is Onofria, or also Nofria or Nofra.
This would be a beautiful way to have an Egyptian inspiration, plus bonus excellent meaning.
I think Nefertari is more wearable than Nefertiti. Egyptian/Egyptanne/Egyptianne are awful imo.
Apropos of nothing much in particular, the newest feline addition to our household is Nefertari. Or Neffers, or Neffie, or Beffie, or Beffs. I’m a bit amused at how to beautiful and meaningful Nefertari got knocked down to plain “Beffs” in about three months!
How about Hatshepsut? She had the longest reign of a female ruler of Ancient Egypt. I’m not a big fan of smooshie names as they can look and sound rather confusing or misleading. Anyway why come up with your own when there are so many fantastic historical names or with links to Ancient Egypt that fit your search already out there to discover. Ptolemy is a great choice by the way!
Another royal Ptolemaic name is Arsinoë (I think it’s ar-sin-o-ee). The ars part is maybe not so great, but the nickname Noë, like Zoë, could be really sleek and adorable.
I honestly agree with the previous posters that Egyptian or Egyptanne is not a good name idea. That said personally I am not that much of a fan of Berenice which seems to be favored. Maybe it is because of a personal experience with a not so nice Berenice. I also don’t think it is different enough, for lack of a better way to say that. I personally really like Anuket as a name for Ptolemy’s twin. If you were one to nickname Tolly and Annie would be cute. I also like the suggestion of Tiye but wonder if Tiye and Ptolemy are too close.
Since there are other goddesses, as well as a Ptolemaic Queens, I would offer up the following suggestions…
Arsinoe – A lesser known queen than say Cleopatra and Berenice.
Bastet – Cat-goddess of the home.
Neith – Goddess of war & weaving.
Nephthys – “Mistress of the House” Sister of Isis & wife of Seth.
I have to agree that Egyptian/Egyptanne fails the “would I want this name myself?” test. I’d urge you to go with one of your other choices. I would much rather be named for a well-known historical figure than a nationality I have no ties to. I think Cleopatra is the best match with Ptolemy from your list, and the OCD person in my appreciates that both twins would be named after historical figures.
I actually know an Anubis, and I have to say that besides the god of the underworld thing, it’s just a gorgeous name and surprisingly wearable. Or maybe Ankha will suit. The ankh is a pretty recognizable symbol and means “breath of life”. It’s very wearable while still being subtly Egyptian.
Have you considered Egypt-inspired names like Lapis, Lazuli, or Nile? Lapis is a gemstone I associate strongly with Egypt, and Nile would make a surprising but familiar girl’s name.
Best of luck!
Please don’t saddle a child with “Egyptian” as a name. It’s an adjective/noun referring to people from Egypt, and it will always sound either like (in her full name) like it’s simply modifying her surname (“This is Egyptian Smith.” “Oh, what’s your first name, Smith? And what’s it like being from Egypt?”) or alone, like she’s constantly announcing her nationality to people when she’s only attempting to introduce herself: (“Hi, I’m Egyptian.” “Really? I’m Egyptian too, my name is Amir, what’s yours?” “No, I”m mean, I’m not *an* Egyptian, I’m an American, my *name* is Egyptian. “Okay, but what is it?” “Egyptian.” “Huh?” etc)
It’s like sentencing someone to a lifetime of “Who’s on first?”
Would you name a child Canadian, Norwegian, or Chinese? No, because It’s just so linguistically confusing. And especially when you’re already giving her brother not just a distinct, established name but a famous and dignified one, please reconsider naming your child with a word that’s a part of speech almost never used as names for very practical reasons. There are so many beautiful, unusual Egyptian names that won’t puzzle people as to what your daughter is trying to convey when she introduces herself the way “Egyptian” would.
If you’re in love with the sound, “Egypt” is a much better compromise. But next to the gravitas of Ptolemy, it would make a nice set to give her a royal name to match.
I am in total agreement with emmy. Especially with a twin brother named Ptolemy, I would give your daughter an (actual) ancient Egyptian name with similar gravitas, not the name of a place (Cairo or Egypt) or a newly created “name” like Egyptanne. I like the suggestion of Berenice, a name that would reflect your interest in ancient Egypt and also be of similar stature to her brother’s name.
From behindthename . com:
Given Name PTOLEMY
GENDER: Masculine
USAGE: History
OTHER SCRIPTS: Πτολεμαιος (Ancient Greek)
PRONOUNCED: TAHL-ə-mee (English) [key]
Meaning & History
From the Greek name Πτολεμαιος (Ptolemaios), derived from Greek πολεμηιος (polemeios) meaning “aggressive, warlike”. Ptolemy was the name of several Greco-Egyptian rulers of Egypt, all descendants of Ptolemy I, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. This was also the name of a Greek astronomer.
Given Name BERENICE
GENDER: Feminine
USAGE: English, Italian, Ancient Greek (Latinized)
OTHER SCRIPTS: Βερενικη (Ancient Greek)
PRONOUNCED: bər-NEES (English), *ber-ə-NEE-see (English)*, be-re-NEE-che (Italian) [key]
Meaning & History
Latinized form of Βερενικη (Berenike), the Macedonian form of the Greek name Φερενικη (Pherenike), which meant “bringing victory” from φερω (phero) “to bring” and νικη (nike) “victory”. This name was common among the Ptolemy ruling family of Egypt, a dynasty which was originally from Macedon. It occurs briefly in Acts in the New Testament (in most English Bibles it is spelled Bernice) belonging to a sister of King Herod Agrippa II. As an English name, Berenice came into use after the Protestant Reformation.
If named your twins Ptolemy and Berenice (which seem very compatible, with both names relating to the same Ancient Egyptian dynasty, yet from the Greek, and both three syllable names), the nicknames “Tollie” and “Berrie” would be darling, especially when the twins are very young.
Didn’t want to be the first, but yes– I totally agree that “Egyptian” is ill-advised. Honestly I would feel *extremely* uncomfortable referring to someone by that name. I’m a teacher and imagining this name on my roster…. my first thought would probably be, “some dummy put nationality instead of the student’s name.” Saying this name would almost feel like racial/ethnic profiling to me.
Cleopatra was not Egyptian; not sure if that matters to you (http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/11-things-you-may-not-know-about-ancient-egypt).
I will add some:
– Rosetta: for the Rosetta Stone, a key to deciphering hieroglyphics (i LOVE this name)
– Alexandria
– Giza: maybe cool?
– Memphis: ancient Egyptian capital city
– Delta: the Nile River reference
– Bastet: ancient Egyptian goddess associated with cats (if you are cat lovers, this could be awesome! super unique and “Bas” or “Baz” are kinda cool. This name just has a great vibe to me)
– I know an Isis in her 20s who does OK but most people are saying it’s a definitive no-go today, and I think I agree. But Iset is apparently a variation according to wikipedia and behindthename.
Good luck! You have awesome taste, and congrats on your baby!
Ooh I love the suggestion of Delta! Ptolemy & Delta! Yes please!
Delta and Ptolemy are perfection! Wish I’d thought of that one. 🙂