Thursday, February 18, 2010

What's In A Name?

Thursday, February 18, 2010



In ancient times people were given names that fit who they were. Most were given these names on the onset of adulthood or if something great happened to them. We no longer take on new names that have great meaning to who we are as a person, but we can look up our names to see what they mean and find out if they ring true.

I looked up my daughters names to see if they fit their personalities. I used their first and middle names, put the meanings together, and came up with these names that are more titles than names.

My oldest daughters name translates as Noble One of the Lake. It seems to fit her. She walks around the house as if she were a queen and she loves the water. Of course i let her know that I am the Queen and she is a Princess. She's okay with that.

My youngest daughters name translates as Beautiful Day. Yes, it was a beautiful day when she was born, but more than that, when she laughs it makes the gloomiest day bright and beautiful.

Now on to my name. Beverly JoAnn. Beverly means "who dwells in the meadow of beavers". That's right Barb, my name does mean beaver, laugh all you want. Barb called me Beaver and Beaverly growing up. JoAnn means "gift from God". So Beverly JoAnn translates to Gift From God Who Dwells In The Meadow Of Beavers. Well, I'm going to change that up a bit. Beaver is a not so nice name for women, so I'm changing beaver to women. Meadow can mean land. In Celtic legend Avalon is a land of women. So now I have Gift From God Who Dwells In The Land Of Avalon. That name fits me better. I love anything to do with Avalon, and yes, I am a gift from God!

Now it's your turn. Look up your name and let us know what it means and if it fits you.

SIS BJ aka Aleena Ravenwood

40 comments:

Elle J Rossi said...

Great post BJ!

SInce I have so many names, it will take me a bit to look up all of them. But I will after work so stay tuned...

SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi

SIS Brandy said...

Most places I have looked say that Brandy means an alcoholic drink. Suprise suprise! I found one site thast says it means warm and comforting. I guess those two meanings fit well together, huh.

My middle name means lily. How to we put those meanings together?

Beth Ciotta said...

I'm not very good at this. Or maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I didn't come up with anything near as interesting as yours BJ. Even Brandy's has more zing. Maybe because her name is more 'exotic' than mine. I'm plain ol' Beth Ann. Not even an Elizabeth! I've always hated that, because I actually really like Elizabeth. Oh, well. Here goes...

Beth -- My vow is my God
Ann -- Grace

Care to take a crack at that one?

SIS Beth

Elle J Rossi said...

This is a great idea. Let's let Beaver, um, excuse me, Beverly decipher these.

Remember I have a lot of names. Probably because I'm still looking for myself. Who knows.

Okay. I was born Barbara Jean but had it legally changed to Barbara Justen 10 years ago. My pen name is Elle J.

Barbara: foreign, strange (yep! That's me)
Jean: God is gracious
Justen: Righteous
Elle: she
J: couldn't find anything on just a letter

Have at it, BJ.

SIS Barb/Justen/Elle

SIS BJ said...

Brandy

For Brandy I found fun loving and beacon light. Your middle name means graceful lily in Hebrew.

So we have Fun Loving Graceful Lily.

Or we can say beacon light means beacon of light, which is hope. Now we have Graceful Lily Full Of Hope.

You pick the one that fits you best.

SIS BJ said...

Beth

Beth: House of God
Bethia: Daughter of God
Elizabeth( Beth is short for Elizabeth: Beauty
Ann: Generous,loving,merciful and grace

We have: Oh Merciful One From The House Of God
Daughter Of God Full Of Grace
The Graceful And Beautiful One

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Ooookay. You obviously have a gift for this, BJ. I love the descriptions you came up with for me. Weird, but even though I didn't choose my name, I do think it fits my personality. What fun. Thanks!

SIS Beth

SIS BJ said...

Barb

Barbara: Stanger or traveler
St. Barbara is a protectress against fire and lightning.
Jean: God Loving, God is Gracious and Gift from God
Justin: Righteous

So we have: The Traveler Who Is A Gift From God
The Gracious One Who Protects
She Who Is Righteous And Gracious

Elle: Beautiful Fairy
Jay: Rejoice
The Joyful And Beautiful One Of Fairy

SIS BJ said...

Hi Beth

Which one do you like best?

Mickey Miller said...

So I looked mine up and I do not think the fit me. Well I think that my first name might. lol

Michael=like God
Thomas=twin
Wayne=wagon maker
So, Aunt Bj can you try to figure that one out.

Beth Ciotta said...

Well, I don't think of myself as 'beautiful,' although it's a nice thought. So it's between one and two for me. I like 'merciful', but think I'll go with: 'Daughter Of God Full Of Grace' I like the soundof 'full of Grace'. It implies a lot of nice things. :)

Boy, you sure came up with some great one's for Barb/Justen/Elle! So her!

SIS Beth

Aunt BJ said...

Okay Michael, yours was a little hard.

The Arcchangel Michael was the conqueror of Satan in the Bible. A wagon maker is a crafstman. Twin means double which is greater than one.
The Great Craftsman Who Conquers Evil.

SIS BJ said...

Hi Beth. I like the one you chose best. So you!

SIS BJ said...

Beth, I forgot. You are so very beautiful in every way. Don't you forget that.

Mickey Miller said...

I like what you came up with for me. It sounds nice.

SIS Brandy said...

BJ,

You are great at this! I love it!! Hope the visitors keep coming so I can see more.

SIS Brandy said...

Beth,

WHAT?!?!? Not beautiful? You are crazy. I am pretty positve that everyone who knows you would agree with me.

SIS Brandy said...

Michael,

HEY!! Great to see you here. BJ came up with a good one for you.

SIS BJ said...

Thanks Brandy. I'm happy you like them!

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Hi B.J.,
Great post. I love the way you word these meanings. Here's mine.


Brenda means Little Raven (Gaelic)
or Sword or Torch (Scottish)

and my middle name means Famous Warrior

SIS Bren

SIS BJ said...

Hi Bren. I checked your name out earlier today and got the same meanings.

Famed=great
Torch=fiery=light

I have: Great Warrior Of The Fiery Sword

Little Raven Of Fame

Little Raven Of The Great Light

Tori Lennox said...

My real name doesn't work very well for this because my real name is Vicki (just Vicki, not Victoria). :)

SIS BJ said...

Hi Tori

I looked up Vicki (not Victoria) and got Conqueror and Victory.

Elle J Rossi said...

Way to go, BJ.

This is awesome. I'm getting a name plate for my office! Double sided:

The Gracious One Who Protects on one side and The Joyful And Beautiful One Of Fairy on the other.

Thanks!

Chris Behrens said...

Christopher = "Bearer of Christ"

Charles = "Free man" or "Strong"


This one should be interesting.....

SIS BJ said...

Barb

Glad you like them.

SIS BJ said...

Chris

I find it hard to do names for men, bur i will give it a try.

Christ means The Anointed One and Charles means Strong. So I have: The Strong And Anointed One.

St, Christopher is the patron of travelers. St. Charles is the patron of learning and arts.

The Wise Traveling Artist. Sounds like the Bards of old.

Chris Behrens said...

Oookay, I owe you an apology! I thought there was no way you were going to be even close on this, but I stand corrected! You really have a gift for this and I thank you. :)

SIS BJ said...

Hi Chris. You are very welcome.

Chris Behrens said...

Can I trouble you for one more? My wife's name is Wendy Christine.

Beth Ciotta said...

Wow! This is fascinating. I love the way you're able to discover so many cool meanings and then to spin them into a phrase (or two) that always seems reflect the personality or aura of that person. You have a true gift for this, BJ. Thank you for sharing your time and energy today. What fun!

SIS Beth
PS... Brandy and BJ, thank you for the uplifting words!

SIS BJ said...

Hi Chris, Give me a few minutes and I'll get back to you with one for your wife.

SIS BJ said...

For Wendy

Wendy: name created by James Banie for Peter Pan, meaning: Friend, Blessed, Fair One

Christine: Masculine for Christopher meaning Bearer of Christ; or Faithful

Blessed Friend Of The Anointed One

The Fair And Faithful Blessed One

SIS BJ said...

Hi Beth

Thankyou for the kind words. I had a lot of fun doing this. Maybe I could do this for as my new job. Do you think I could make a living at it. LOL:)

Beth Ciotta said...

So funny you asked... I was imagining you researching and creating 'name meanings' for people as a sideline. Maybe designing/creating a cool celtic or retro looking 'name plaque'. Something they could frame and hang or display on their desk. Not sure how'd you go about it, or how much money you could make, but it did cross my mind. I'd buy one!

:) SIS Beth

Amanda Roberts said...

Hi to all the sisters in sync!

Great idea for a post!

Amanda = 'worthy of love'. I'm not so sure if this description fits me, but I'd sure like to believe it does!

Jo = 'God is Gracious'. Not Joanna or Joelle. Just plain Jo.

I'm named after one of my mom's favorite old TV shows - Gunsmoke. Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake) was the 'madam' of a saloon on the show. Not sure if this is a compliment to me or not! *g* But I've never actually disliked my name, so I feel pretty lucky.

So, BJ, what phrase can you come up with for me?

Beth CIotta said...

Amanda, you were named after Miss Kitty? How cool is that? I grew up watching GUNSMOKE. Sure, Miss Kitty, was a 'dove' BUT she had grit and compassion!

Looking forward to BJ's interpretation!

SIS Beth

Sisters-in-Sync said...

Thanks B.J. for your great interpretation. I like them all. It's fun to read what you come up with. Great job!

SIS Bren

SIS BJ said...

Amanda

Amanda: lovable; she who must be loved and in Sanskit it means bright=light

Jo: God is Gracious and Gift from God

Gift From God Who Is Bright And Lovable

She Of The Loving Light

She Who Is Gracious And Loved

Elle J Rossi said...

I like She of the Loving Light for Amanda.

For Bren, I like Great Warrior of the Fiery Sword.

My 2 cents.

Post a Comment